‘Glittering eyes of fear, moving where all else was still, had the effect of a real spirit: I thought it like one of the tiny phantoms, half fairy, half imp’
The fact that her own reflection intimidates her further draws on her feelings of fear. When Jane peers at her reflection, I thought the way in which she describes her eyes as ‘glittering’ was effective, in the way that even though the mirror and the room were extremely gloomy, and it was getting dimmer outside, her eyes managed to reflect some sort of eerie light.
Brontë uses many similes in this sequence, and this gives the reader a clearer image of the setting and mood, comparing the pillars of the bed like a tabernacle, a holy Jewish item. This gives a faint semantic field of religion, giving the idea of a sombre and holy atmosphere. Similes are also given to produce a royal theme to the room. She describes such a harmless comfortable looking chair as a ‘pale throne’, which gave me, personally, the idea that maybe ghosts or spirits might use it. It also serves as a contrast, one portraying the beautiful innocent looking throne, against an object of evil. The second contrast is that of one object being so simple and non-threatening, against the imagination and portrayal of a young girls imagination. Metaphors serve the same use, and she describes the room as a ‘jail’, which further illustrates her isolation and her helplessness. The furnishings are said to be ‘glaring’, personifying them to make them appear more menacing.
The writer uses little direct speech, giving a more vivid idea of the isolation Jane is experiencing, that she is detached from everybody else, and that she is in no hope of aid. It draws both the readers and the character’s attention to the surroundings, the weather, in which a good example of pathetic fallacy draws on Jane’s distress, intensifying the mood of fear.
The structure of the sequence in the red-room is clearly written, it is written chronologically, which is a good technique to gradually increase the tension to Jane’s eventual collapse.
In conclusion, I think that Charlotte Brontë effectively used all of mentioned techniques in order to portray the red-room as a terrifying environment, thus creating a scary sequence for the reader to imagine.
I will now go on to explain the important uses the red-room sequence has towards the reader and towards the plot of the story. First of all- one of the most important functions the red-room serves is that is holds a narrative purpose. It helps move the story forward, if Jane hadn’t collapsed as a result of the terrifying experience in the red-room, she would not have met Mr. Lloyd, the apothecary, who talks to Jane about school. Jane accepts his idea and she uses her education to get a career as a Governess at Thornfield Hall. Her education at Lowood Institution gives her independence as well as employment, and makes her a stronger woman.
The red-room is a dramatic sequence, and happens very early in the novel. Such a scene grabs the interest of the reader, urging them to read further, and anything doing this is a good use. The section is made more real by giving information on Jane’s familial background, the main fact being that her parents are dead and that she now has to live with her nasty Aunt, with whom she is not blood relatives with, only through the fact that she used to be married to the late Uncle Reed. This adds to the real life effect of their home environment and why maybe her cousins are detached and nasty.
This section interests the reader with its supernatural undertones. People will always enjoy watching programmes and films involving the mysteries of the supernatural. Readers of all ages will have found interest in- and enjoyed- supernatural novels such as ‘A Christmas Carol’.
Another use of the scene is that it gave us a lot of information on Jane’s character. This may make a reader want to read on, after sympathising deeply with her awful treatment delivered by Aunt Reed. Jane Eyre is the central character and so it is important that the reader knows about her character and her past. Jane seems isolated constantly, no one caring to love her; she never did expect love from Aunt Reed or her cousins. She knows and feels that she doesn’t fit in as one of the children at Gateshead, but she perseveres. Although she tends to keep herself to herself at the house, we get a great sense of her bravery. Jane’s bravery becomes apparent at a young age. For instance, when she has the courage to stand up for herself, to protect herself from further injuries from John. Her courage is the main reason why she ended up n the red-room in the first place. Also the fact that she endures being in the red-room with injuries to her head. We also see her as an honest person, she knows and accepts the fact that no one is forced to love her.
‘They were not bound to regard with affection a thing that could not sympathize with one amongst them’
From this quotation, she refers to herself as a ‘thing’ and she uses this word several more times, revealing her decreasing self-respect, or maybe also using a word in which they would have used. I think the fact that no one loves her helps the reader sympathise with Jane, maybe admire her indifference against the matter, and to love her as a character.
Another major use of the red-room scene is that the reader gets a fuller idea of the relationships between the characters. It seems that all of the relationships that Jane has are poor. It also sheds light on the treatment she receives from other people within the house, that she is treated as an inferior. She endures this, and it builds the strength of her character, which gives her the courage, in the end, to leave Thornfield. Her courage comes from the fact that most of her life she has had to deal with difficult relationships.
The scene also gives us thematic information, basic rules of human nature, outlining the basics of good and bad. John’s brutality being prime example of bad, and also Aunt Reed’s cruelty when she shuts Jane alone and frightened in the red-room. But out of this, comes something good- Jane’s courage, endurance and strength of character that is much needed later in her life.
Also, to the modern reader, this section of the book gives great insight into how middle-class families lived 150 years ago. We may find it unusual and hard to imagine living in a house in which some of the rooms were almost unused. References to the servants Abbot and Bessie give us an idea of how luxurious their lifestyle was.
Concluding this section of my essay, I think Charlotte Brontë makes excellent use of the setting, the red-room. It gives detailed characteristics toward many of the main characters, outlining each of their temperaments, and also serves as a major turning point in Jane Eyre’s life.
The second setting that I propose to consider is that of Lowood Institution. This is the school in which Aunt Reed sends Jane- the outcome of the conversation with Mr.Lloyd the apothecary. She benefits greatly from the education in her later life, but Lowood Institution was a horrible place to be.
The setting of Lowood Institution serves uses akin to those of the red-room. It again holds a narrative purpose, which helps move the story along. Had Jane not received an education, she would not have been qualified enough to gain employment at Thornfield Hall, and consequently would not have met Mr. Rochester…
Another function served by the setting is maintaining the interest of the reader. A lot of this section is rather shocking- the main factor being the treatment of the children- which compels you to read further to see how Jane copes with treatment. The appalling standard of accommodation, food, clothes and relationships between the pupils and staff create an almost unbearable environment for Jane. Another way in which this section gains the interest of the reader is that some people may find other people’s experiences of school intriguing. School is something that everyone must endure these days, and so everyone’s ordeals are likely to be different. Using a school as a major setting allows the reader to compare experiences, to feel more involved with Jane’s story and to empathise with her. Using schools within books may have provoked the popularity of stories such as Harry Potter.
A second function used by the setting is that we learn much more about Jane’s character. Some aspects of her character are reinforced; for example, the bravery we see from Jane in the red-room is reinstated when she stands up for Helen Burns, when Mr. Brocklehurst cuts off her hair. Scenes such as this portray Jane as a selfless girl, someone who would stand up for other people, not just for herself. Furthermore on a more general note, a large amount of bravery is needed from Jane just for her to be able to stand the awful conditions at Lowood. Another instance of her astounding endurance is when she first arrives at Lowood and she is made to stand up on a chair to be introduced to the pupils as a ‘liar’
‘ “My dear children,” pursued the black marble clergyman, with pathos, “this is a sad, a melancholy occasion; for it becomes my duty to warn you, that this girl, who might be one of God’s own lambs, is a little castaway; not a member of the true flock, but evidently an interloper and an alien”
She tolerates this unfair treatment, even though she has already received her punishment by Aunt Reed prior to her arrival, and that her punishment is now continuing at school.
We also discover several new aspects of Jane’s character. For instance; Jane approaches Helen for the first time and asks her about her book
‘ “Is your book interesting?” I had already formed the intention of asking her to lend it to me some day.
“I like it,” after a pause of a second or two, during which she examined me’
This proves that Jane can be extremely friendly and affectionate when given the chance, and the fact that she was never really given such opportunities whilst at Gateshead meant that we never actually saw such qualities. Moreover, we find Jane to be sympathetic towards the girls, regarding their appearance and health. She even finds sympathy for the teachers.
‘And Miss Miller, poor thing! Looking purple and weather beaten, and overworked’
Also from this, we gather that she isn’t so much preoccupied with her own health, that she cares about others around her.
A further function given by the setting is that we learn a lot more about relationships. In this section we see a rather different side of relationships, a more pleasant side. Jane quickly forms an extremely close relationship with fellow pupil Helen. As I mentioned before, this shows how affectionate Jane can be, her ability to form relationships with people without the fear of being affronted by them. Jane is a caring girl, and in this section we see just how desperate she is to make friends, for people to love her, something she feels she has never experienced before.
‘ “If others don’t love me, I would rather die than live. To gain some real affection from you, or Miss Temple, or any other whom I truly love, I would willingly submit to have the bone in my arm broken, or to let a bull toss me, or to stand behind a kicking horse, and let it dash its hoof at my chest-” ’
However, the most important function the Lowood setting serves is themes. Brontë uses this section for a more social purpose- to raise public awareness of the terrible conditions of 19th century boarding schools. This particular theme outlines the fact that many schools of this era were notorious for the cruelty inflicted upon pupils. Many advertisements in the newspapers described their schools quite openly as ‘dumping grounds’ for unwanted children. They also expressed that holidays- in which children could return home to visit their parents- were not compulsory. Brontë exposes the conditions of the schools based on personal experience- she and her two sisters Maria and Elizabeth were made to attend a boarding school similarly described as that in ‘Jane Eyre’. As written about in Gaskell’s story ‘The life of Charlotte Brontë’ they were sent to a school named ‘Cowan’s Bridge’ in which they endured years of poor treatment. Gaskell reveals in her tale that Brontë’s elder sister Maria was dragged from her bed and made to dress when extremely ill. Not only was she close to dying from a disease contracted by poor living conditions, she was also suffering terrible burns across her chest after receiving somewhat incompetent treatment supplied by the staff. Elizabeth died too, and Brontë’s father finally rescued Charlotte and brought her home from the school. I think the fact that Lowood Institution is actually based on treatment parallel to which the Brontë sisters endured is shocking to a reader of any era.
Other writers such as Charles Dickens’ wrote shocking stories about 19th century boarding schools, one being ‘Nicholas Nickleby’ run by Wackford Squeers, the merciless headmaster of the infamous ‘Do the boys Hall’.
Using literature proved to be more effective than newspapers when it came to raising awareness. A few years later, inspections were carried out in many boarding schools, and a lot of them were found to be below standard, and were shut down.
Concluding this section, I think Brontë made an effective section with such uses - with the incorporation of themes and shedding further light on Jane’s character.
I would now like to focus on the accommodation of Jane’s school Lowood Institute. The first room that Jane is taken to is the parlour. This is an attractive room of high luxury, fully heated, elaborately wallpapered and fully carpeted.
‘I looked round; there was no candle, but the uncertain light from the hearth showed, by intervals, papered walls, carpet, curtains, shining mahogany furniture: it was a parlour, not so spacious or splendid as the drawing-room at Gateshead, but comfortable enough’
The main reason for such luxury was for its use when parents of future pupils came to visit the school, and they were diverted into here- almost to give the illusion that the school was a nice place to be. Not even the staff were allowed in here. If the parlour were not being used for prospective parents, it would simply be a place for Mr. Brocklehurst- the owner of the school- to relax.
But clearly, for the pupils of the institution, a different story emerges. The next room I would like to look at is the schoolroom, a place in which the pupils receive their education.
‘A wide, long room, with great deal tables, two at each end, on each of which burnt a pair of candles, and seated all around on benches, a congregation of girls of every age, from nine or ten to twenty’
The room consists of two long tables, in which the eighty-odd pupils sit together, and learn together. This isn’t the best way of learning, with the pupils ranging from nine to twenty years old, yet still being taught the same things. Unlike the parlour room, there is no concern for comfort, there is no mahogany in here. The tables are made from ‘deal’ – an extremely cheap wood. The pupils are made to sit in forms, which meant sitting closely together on long benches, which probably weren’t very comfortable at all. The room is poorly lit, with only a couple of candles every now and again. Brontë draws attention to their uniforms, that they are rather plain and quaint. The girls were not encouraged to take pride in their appearance.
‘They were uniformly dressed in brown stuff frocks of quaint fashion, and long Holland pinafores’
I would now like to talk about the Refectory- the dining room where the girls eat. It is a gloomy room, with low ceilings that make the atmosphere seem quite stuffy.
‘The refectory was a great, low-ceiled, gloomy room; on two long tables smoked basins of something hot, which, however, to my dismay, sent forth an odour far from inviting’
The girls are made to eat porridge for breakfast- that is the majority of the time burnt beyond consumption. Brontë writes about such an instance, where the girls are made to eat burnt porridge for their breakfast. A taste in which parallels potato.
‘Burnt porridge is almost as bad as rotten potatoes; famine itself soon sickens over it’
Even the teachers are shocked by such quality in food.
‘I saw one teacher take a basin of the porridge and taste it; she looked at the others; all their countenances expressed displeasure, and one of them, the stout one, whispered “Abominable stuff! How shameful!” ’
And so as a special treat they are given bread and cheese for lunch. And after this they are made to go outside into the ‘garden’, where they are stood shivering, suffering from chill blains not on their feet, but their hands. Jane frequently hears a ‘hollow cough’ whilst praying in the garden, maybe this is an early reference to Helen’s disease, Tuberculosis. They return to the refectory again later, for dinner. The smell is only slightly better than that of the burnt breakfast, and what they were given were ‘shreds of rusty meat’, which may mean that either the meat was cooked in rusting pans, or that it was rusty with decomposition. Later on, before going to bed, they have water and bits of oatcake, after which Jane still feels hungry.
The final room I am going to write about is the dormitory, where the girls sleep. They were made to share beds with each other, and the staff would also have to share the same beds as pupils. This might explain the fast spread of the disease Typhus – ‘Jail fever’ - in which, at one point, over 45 of the 80 pupils were afflicted with. Typhus was quick to breed amongst neglected environments, dirt, poor health and food. On Jane’s first night at Lowood, she is Miss Temple’s ‘bed-fellow’. There is no privacy whatsoever, everyone has to get dressed and undressed at the same time. It is very poorly lit, more so than the lighting within the schoolroom. ‘A rush light or two’ is all the light they have- a rush light emitting roughly the same brightness as a tea light. The room is bitter cold, so much so, that the water in the washing basin gets frozen solid. The girls are unable to wash, and Helen gets beaten on the back of her neck with a branch of twigs for having dirty hands as a result.
Concluding this area, I feel that such terrible conditions helped readers feel in a state of sympathy with Jane’s environment, and to respect her brave character later in her story.
The final setting I am going to consider is Thornfield Hall; I will be concentrating on Jane’s first sight at the Hall. Thornfield Hall is the house in which Jane is employed. She works as a governess to a young girl called Adele, Edward Rochester’s ward. Mr.Rochester owns Thornfield, but he often goes away, leaving the housekeeper, Mrs.Fairfax, to look after Adele. But now Jane is to look after and teach her.
The arrival of Jane at Thornfield Hall again serves the purposes similar to those of both the red-room and Lowood Institution. Again, it moves the story along, for the meeting of Jane and Mr.Rochester will change both their lives.
Furthermore, we are told more about Jane’s character. We again see her courage and strength of mind. She even had the courage to turn down Mr. Brocklehurst’s offer of becoming a teacher at Lowood Institution; a safe and secure job that she didn’t have to move a great distance for. Jane swallows her fear and moves away a great distance to a different part of the country- to a place in which she knew very little - Thornfield Hall. This decision also reveals an adventurous side to Jane, to meet new people and start a new life out on her own. Jane makes one of the hardest decisions of her lifer- to leave Thornfield. We learn more of Jane’s morals. She leaves due to the immorality of staying with Mr.Rochester, a married man. We learn that she believes in doing the right thing, even if it hurts her emotionally, sacrificing her true love.
Moreover we learn additional information about relationships. We see that when Jane enters Thornfield Hall, the first person she meets is Mrs.Fairfax, the housekeeper. Mrs.Fairfax is a kindly woman, and Jane is highly grateful that she welcomes her so warmly.
‘My heart really warmed to the worthy lady as I heard her talk; and I drew my chair a little nearer to her, and expressed my sincere wish that she might find my company as agreeable as anticipated’
Through the above quotation, Jane expresses the importance of relationships in her life, and is still quite desperate to be in an environment with people who are her friends. As a woman, Jane is still very much loving and affectionate. Jane also appreciates Mrs.Fairfax’s thought into choosing a cosy room for her to sleep.
Jane, too, creates a close relationship with her pupil Adele, a young French girl, and the daughter of Mr.Rochester’s ex-lover. Jane looks after Adele and treats her kindly. She takes her job as teaching Adele seriously, but she appreciated the fact that the young girl found some tasks difficult, and Jane did not force her to do more than she was able. Jane takes teaching with Adele slowly, and lets her return to her nurse if she gets tired.
Also in this section I found it interesting to learn that Mrs.Fairfax was not actually married, she earned her title through her important job at Thornfield. In the 19th century, married women often had a higher level of respect, and enjoyed higher social status. And because of this, women who acquired important jobs were given the title ‘Mrs’ in order to give a level of equal importance to that of married women.
I would now like to move onto the suggestion of symbolism within this part of the text. Quite a lot of this section is used to prefigure something about Jane’s near future. During the course of the novel, a lot of the story is happy- Jane loves being at Thornfield with Adele, Mrs.Fairfax and Mr.Rochester. But on the other hand, there are unhappy times as well for Jane, Mr.Rochester’s betrayal, the Ingram’s attitude toward Jane, and her final decision to leave Thornfield.
Firstly, I feel that when Jane approaches the new area, it holds symbolic predictions for both happy and sad future events.
‘I felt we were in a different region to Lowood, more populous, less picturesque, more stirring, less romantic’.
Jane describes the new area as a ‘stirring place’, lively, which may interpret for Jane’s new life to hold a more social future. But in contrast- the fact that she then expresses the place as less picturesque and romantic than Lowood may prefigure bad elements in her future, love loss and ugly times. She then describes the night as ‘misty’- maybe darkness will pass over her life.
Another example of symbolism lies in Brontë’s description of the church Jane sees on her journey to Thornfield.
‘We were passing a church; I saw its low broad tower against the sky, and its bell was tolling a quarter’
Possibly the broadness of the church tower represents the safe and secure aspect of Jane’s new life, whereas the ‘tolling’ of the bells may well could represent death and depression.
When Jane reaches the gates of Thornfield Hall, they are open. This may epitomise the gates to Jane’s new life opening, welcoming her to a brighter future. But then they ‘clash’ shut, perhaps to prophesise that some opportunities are going to be closed to her.
Light can easily symbolise future events. As Jane walks up the path to the Hall, she sees a candle in one of the windows, maybe indicating a bright future life ahead. But conversely, Jane notices all the other windows are dark. Ultimately telling the reader that Jane’s life will involve both light and darkness. But again, maybe to outweigh the bad elements, when she goes inside the house, the crackling fire in the living room dazzles her, hinting maybe that there will be a happy ending, a great deal more light than dark in her life.
Warmth can also be interpreted symbolically. When Jane is shown to her room it is snug and warm, to foretell warmth and happiness at Thornfield. But then again, Jane notes the chill of the stairs; quite vault like- maybe again, outlining possibilities of loss and despair.
Expanding on the issue of symbolism- even within the novel the names of significant places in Jane’s life may denote the mood of her life. For example, the name ‘the red-room’- a gloomy and confining place may have been used to signify anger and pain. And, Lowood Institution suggests two sides to Jane’s time at the school, low times, examples being Helen’s death and Mr.Brocklehurst’s cruelty. But on the brighter side, ‘wood’ could be construed as a place of growth, nature and renewing life, a great opportunity for Jane to grow into a strong independent woman.
Finally the name ‘Thornfield’ holds the word ‘field’ which may foretell a vast life of openness, lush and colourful. One the other hand, the name could be read as a prediction for a life full of snags, and setbacks - Mr.Rochester’s betrayal.
Concluding this essay- I felt that Brontë made excellent use of the three settings incorporated into the novel. She used a wide range of techniques in order to illustrate Jane’s story more colourfully to us- whilst making use of relationships to help us gain a better idea of her personality, thus gaining the reader’s empathy for Jane. Brontë used these three setting as major turning points in Jane’s life, and without them, the story would be entirely different. They keep the reader interested, not only in the story, but also in Jane. The reader grows to love Jane as a strong and brave character and I enjoyed seeing how she managed to cope with such difficult situations. I thought it was interesting to find out that when Brontë first published the book ‘Jane Eyre’, she was not permitted to publish under her female name. She had to create a male name for herself. I think it’s a shame that Brontë was not given credit as the true author, but thankfully the system has changed now, although you may have noticed that the policy has not been completely abolished. Joanne Rowling, author of Harry Potter, had her name initialised to J.K Rowling, as not to deter male readers from reading it. All in all, I really enjoyed reading and analysing Charlotte Brontë’s infamous novel, ‘Jane Eyre’.
