How Charlotte Bronte makes the reader sympathy towards Jane Eyre in the opening chapters

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How Charlotte Bronte makes the reader sympathy towards Jane Eyre in the opening chapters

I feel Charlotte Bronte gets the reader to engage with the character of Jane Eyre by giving the reader a great sense of empathy towards Jane. It was vital Charlotte created this in her novel, as the reader would not have felt involved in the main character and may not have read the book till the end, or at all for that matter.  I believe this is what has made the book so popular even to this present day.  

 The reader feels so engaged with Jane throughout the novel as you first meet Jane as a young child and follow her throughout her life.  Bronte also writes the book in first person, which can make the reader almost visualise Jane as a close companion sitting next to them telling them her life story. The reader would not doubt anything Jane says for she is never melodramatic, which gives the impression of truth, honesty and portraying Miss Eyre’s character as moralistic.

   The book is semi-autobiographical with Bronte’s own experiences as a child.  “Lowood” brings in strong references to the boarding school of Miss Wooler, in Roe Head, where Bronte later became a teacher and later on a governess.

 Charlotte also uses carefully planned language, for example the name “Jane Eyre”.  The name “Eyre” came from a family whose historic house had a room in it which contained a mad woman, but this is not why Bronte chose this name as it carries a sense of being a free sprit, which backs up Jane’s free as air, strong minded and independent character.  It also bares the slight suggestion of an eagle’s eyrie, which could be seen as a metaphor for Jane’s quest for love and a family, as Jane loses the love of her natural parents, as well of that of her uncle.  She also has quite a cold upbringing and has few real friends or family to speak of in the first half of the novel.  “Jane” also gives the reader a link to the phrase “plain Jane”.  This carefully planned language is used to manipulate the reader into feel certain emotions towards different characters, for example sympathy for Jane Eyre.

  Charlotte Bronte opens her book with pathetic fallacy - “clouds so sombre, and a rain so penetrating”.  This immediately makes the reader in touch with Jane’s mood and helps to set the scene.

  Bronte immediately gets the reader to feel sympathetic with Jane from the start.  In the second paragraph there are phrases used such as “my physical inferiority to Eliza”. Although this was not meant to make the reader to feel sorry for Jane at the time it was written, it gives the modern reader a sense of injustice towards Jane.

  In the third paragraph you learn of Mrs Reed temperament towards Jane and her “Darling” children.  The reader first understands that Jane is excluded from her privileges, as Jane needs to be of a “sociable childlike disposition “, but this once again shows a sense of un-justness towards Jane, for as Jane has no privileges, how can she act “sprightly” and in a way which Mrs Reed would like her to?  Mrs Reed and her “Darlings” are “clustered” around the fire in a circle, whilst Jane has been shunned to look though the dreary window, which reflects Jane’s mood so well.  Mrs Reed also tells Jane to be more frank with her this is irony as it is Mrs Reed whom is deceitful, about Jane’s nature.  

 The word “Darling” is irony as you found out later on in the book the true fate of the Reed children, with Master John Reed gambling all his and his mother’s money away, then going on to commit suicide.  This backs up the view in the Victorian era that ‘bad people will have a bad fate’.  This theme appears quite often in the book with Mr Rochester paying with his sight for the wrongs in his past. You also learn a lot about the temperament of Mrs Reed’s spoilt children - “for the time neither quarrelling nor crying”.  Jane won’t let it drop she has been treated unfairly and this shows Jane’s passion for the truth and hates dishonest.

  The use of the word “clustered around the fire side”, the word “clustered” gives the reader the thought of a safe nest and the word “fireplace” is a symbol of a warm and loving home. This emphasises that Jane is not a part of this ‘home’ and is an outsider.  

  Jane argues back with Bessie as she knows Mrs Reed is lying about her and purely asks what she has done wrong and Bessie snaps back “Be seated somewhere: and until you can speak pleasantly, remain silent”.  So Jane goes and sits behind the curtain, on the window seat, with a book.  In the volume of the book Jane was reading, about birds, Charlotte brings out Jane’s imaginative side, which reminds the reader that Jane is only a child, but once again shows how adult she is for her years.   Jane uses the book almost as escapism.   Jane uses the word “shined”, when she talks about her secreting herself behind the curtain, this makes the reader think of Jane as being completely safe and comfortable in her little nest.  Jane is once again using pathetic fallacy, by looking out the window again to the “mist and cloud: near a scene of wet lawn and storm-beat shrub.   Jane once again reminds the reader she is only a child- “child I was”, as the book was wrote in adult language but from a child perspective it is quite easy to forget that Jane is a very young.    Jane starts to tell the reader what she is reading in the book.  She chooses to read about the sea-fowl.  Jane can emphasis with the sea-fowl as they tend to live on solitary islands- “solitary rocks and promontories”, this also makes the reader sympathies with Jane.  Then Miss Eyre reveals another part to her, her imaginative side.  She starts to get carried away by the images the book had given her and started to imagine a scene- “black hoofed thing seated aloof on a rock”.  This once again reminds the reader Jane is a small child, these frequent reminders make the Reeds family’s action towards Jane even worse.  Jane then talk about how she feel happy in her own way as long as she is reading a book in a peaceful place ”With Bewick on my knee, I was happy then: happy at least in my own way . I feared nothing but interruption”.  This is quite a shocking thing to read as you feel Jane is only happy when she is reading as she uses it as a form of escapism and I show how little love and affection Jane is shown by the Reeds’ and make the next events carried out even worse.

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  Straight after this powerful sentence Jane is hunted down by Master John Reed.  John calls for Jane in a rude and offensive manner- “”Boh!  Madam Mope.”  At first John cannot find her, until Eliza calls out “She is in the window seat to be sure Jack”.  Jane not wanting to make thing worse for her so asks Master John “What do you want?”  Master John makes Jane feel inferior, by speaking to him like he would one of his servants- “Say, What do you want Master Reed”.  He then asked her to come and stand in front of him, ...

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