Later on, we meet Adele, the little French girl that Jane teaches at Thornfield Hall. Although she has the best education available, her aim in life is still destined to appear beautiful and composed and to be make a good marriage. Through out the entire novel, Bronte continually point out that even upper class women had very limited opportunities at those times.
At Gateshead, Jane is considered as a poor relation, a dependant and a burden. In terms of blood, she is the same as the Reeds. Her semi-aristocratic lifestyle is that of upper class, but her poverty puts her in a difficult position. Jane is a kind of second-class citizen. In some way she is below even the servants, who certainly have no obligation to treat her respectfully – “No; you are less than a servant, for you do nothing for your keep”; “if she were a nice, pretty child, one might compassionate her forlornness; but one really cannot care for such a little toad as that.” Even worse, John Reed describes Jane as “bad animal”. John, like his mother sees Jane as a “dependant” who is not worthy “to live here with gentleman’s children”. Yet this ambiguous social standing is also one of the reasons that motivate much of the novel’s internal tension and conflict. Later on, we meet Mrs. Fairfax, Mr. Rochester’s housekeeper, who is a grown example of what often happened to poor relations. She is a widow and is employed by Mr. Rochester who treated her well and she has considerable status in the house.
By looking at the advice the maids give to Jane, it is clear that the Reeds expect her to appreciate the house she lives in, be obliged, to show gratitude towards her benefactress, be humble and know that she has limited prospects – “…Missis kindly allows you to be brought up with them. They will have a great deal of money, and you will have none: it is your place to be humble, and to try to make yourself agreeable to them…”, “you should try to be useful and pleasant, then perhaps, you would have a home here; but if you become passionate and rude, Missis will send you away.”
At Gateshead, it appears that Jane has no education as she often helps Bessie, the nursery servant by doing housework.
During the nineteenth century, many felt that the poor were more susceptible to the “sins of flesh”. Religion was often used as a way to suppress the poor, to “subdue” these sins and try to keep the poor in their place. Denying the masses education was another way those in power aimed to keep it. Charlotte Bronte uses this novel to attack these opinions and examine different religious views. She included three main religious figures: Mr. Brocklehurst, Helen Burns, and St. John Rivers. Each represents a different model of religion. Bronte attacks the very austere religious factions like Mr. Brocklehurs and his attitudes to the poor. She includes Brocklehurst to mock him and shows how shocking he is in the hope of making people realise this. Bronte also puts forward more tolerant views like Helen’s belief in forgiveness, which in start contrast a completely different view of Christianity to that of Mr. Brocklehurst. Later on, Jane encounters the practical and truly charitable St John Rivers who sets up village schools to improve the children’s prospects. He sacrifices his emotional deeds for the fulfillment of his moral duties and represents the Christianity of glory, ambitions and self-importance.
When Mr. Brocklehurst first arrives at Gateshead Hall, we get the impression of a satanic figure who is hardhearted and cold. Clad entirely in black and standing upright, “like a black pillar”. He metaphorically injuries Jane with his vile utterances which are a blow at her resolute character. When Brocklehurst questions Jane about hell, her reply is that she “must keep in good health and not die”. This simple answer sums up the wittiness, naivety and the true defiant nature of Jane. It is, however, unbelievably shocking to see that Brocklehurst can create these monstrous images of hell. Jane is only ten years old! Yet, Bronte uses humour to poke fun at his damnation.
Jane’s early years at Lowood prove to be a period of considerable tribulation as she endures harsh conditions, strict teachers and the tyranny of Mt. Brocklehurst. More over, the harsh conditions she experiences as a student at Lowood show us that, despite Jane’s intelligence, talent, and self–assurance, she is merely a burden in the eyes of society, because she is poor.
Lowood Institution was set up for girls that had lost one or both of their parents. In the book, the school is described as a very underprivileged school. Bronte depicts the hardships Jane encounters at Lowood to show that the school is not charitable and loving at all - “The porridge is burnt again” and “the water in the pitchers was frozen”. Bronte also gives detailed descriptions of the Sundays at Lowood. Girls had to walk to Brocklebridge Church with insufficient clothing to protect them from the severe cold, “no boots”, and “ungloved hands”.
We meet the hypocritical and cruel Brocklehurst again in Chapter 7. He preaches a doctrine of privation, while supporting his own luxuriously wealthy family at the expense of the Lowood. His “Christian teachings” concentrate on sin and obedience rather than love and tolerance. Even though Brocklehurst himself says that humility is a Christian grace, he does not practice it. Instead, he enforces hardness and humility on girls at his school and wishes to strip them of all possible vanity. Girls are undernourished, wearing simple and inadequate clothes, forced to have natural curly hair cut off and spend long days in poor living conditions with harsh regime. Brocklehurst’s proscriptions are difficult to follow and it is entirely unchristian, but he insisted on pursuing it. He justify what he does by stating: “I have a Master to serve whose kingdom is not of this world: my mission is to mortify in these girls the lusts of flesh; to teach them to clothe themselves with shame-facedness and sobriety, not with braided hair and costly apparel; and each of the young persons before us has a string of hair twisted in plaits which vanity itself might have woven…” Yet, ironically at the same time he indulges his clearly proud and conceited wife and children who are “splendidly attired in velvet, silk, and furs” along with “beaver hats”, “ostrich plumes”, “profusion of light tresses, elaborately curled”, “costly velvet shawl, trimmed with ermine” and “false front of French curls”. His hypocrisy is accentuated when Miss. Temple informed him that she had been given girls bread and cheese to eat, he insisted to pursue his proscription by saying, “Oh, madam, when you put bread and cheese, instead of burnt porridge, into these children’s mouths, you may indeed feed their vile bodies, but you little think how you starve their immortal souls”. “Bronte wanted to set Brocklehurst up so she could knock him down.
However, Helen and her doctrine of endurance and forgiveness represent a religious position that contrasts with Brocklehurst’s. She represents a mode of Christianity that stresses tolerance, acceptance and forgiveness. Helen is described as meek and forbearing and manifests certain strength and intellectual maturity. She told Jane, “ Love your enemies; bless them that cursed you; do good to them that hate you and despitefully use you.” When Jane asked whether if Mr. Brocklehusrt is a “good man”, she relied “He is a clergyman, and is said to do a great deal of good.” This shows Helen’s will to believe in other people. She also told Jane “Eternity is a rest – a mighty home, not a terror and an abyss. Besides, with this creed, I can so clearly distinguish between the criminal and his crime; I can sincerely forgive the first while I abhor the last: with this creed revenge never worries my heart, degradation never too deeply disgusts me, injustice never crushes me too low: I live in calm, looking to the end.” Helen also believes that everyone would go to heaven and death is merely a peace release and a homecoming – “We all must die one day, and the illness which is removing me is not painful; it is gentle and gradual… By dying young, I shall escape great sufferings.” It is clear that Bronte approves of Helen’s theory of love and forgiveness. But could these be Bronte’s own views? Helen has a great impact on Jane, as it is through her philosophy that Jane is finally able to forgive Mrs. Reeds in Chapter 21 and Mr. Rochester at the end of this book.
‘Jane Eyre’ is a severe criticism of the limited educational opportunities open to women, the idea that they "ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags." Shows the difference in expectation between the sexes
Educational opportunities were usually reserved for boys while girls were often simply trained to be wives. Despite its harsh regimes and poor living conditions, Lowood does give Jane a first class education that was available to girls at the time subjects taught. There were drawing, painting, embroidery and piano lessons, as well as reading, writing, arithmetic, history and geography. Some girls also learnt to speak French, like Jane. This was considered as genteel and educated. Jane is very accomplished as she is able to grasp all those skills, which ultimately allow her to achieve an independence that was rare for women in those days. She is able to earn a decent wage and be in a respected profession with status as teacher.
At Thornfield Hall, Adele receives the most privilege education that a girl could have. She is Jane’s only student, allowing her to pay full attention and spend more time with her. They have an excellent learning environment and equipment, and Adele receives some highly regarded skills, such as painting – “Most of the books were locked up behind glass doors; but there was one bookcase left open containing everything that could be needed in the way of elementary works, and several volumes of light literature, poetry, biography, travels, a few romances, etc”, “In this room, too, there was a cabinet piano, quite new and of superior tone; also an easel for painting and a pair of globes.”
As a governess, Jane has certain amount of status, which allows a certain amount of familiarity. She is also respected for being an educated and genteel woman.
In ‘Jane Eyre’ the clear division of classes and education is shown in the depiction of the higher classes in society being able to afford governess for the education of a child.
In this novel, it is obvious that Jane is a figure of ambiguous class standing. She comes from poor background, but her manners, sophistication, and education are those of an aristocrat. Jane remained poor while at Thornfield, but her connections are good. That is what causes her ambiguous state. Yet at Moor House, she enjoys economic independence and freedom and engages in worthwhile and useful work – teaching the poor.
St. John's Morton School is an example of a lower class school. It is set up to educate the poor. At that time, the vast majority of the country was illiterate. Education was seen as freeing people up and local factory owners and landowners set up schools for the masses. They need more educated work forces as industry had developed and more skills were required. However, there was still a sexist preference for boys as their education came first.
When Jane first starts teaching in the village school, she has her own prejudices about educating the poor. She feels “degraded” by teaching those illiterates because of the decline of her social status and asserts that the poor are not capable of being educated. Jane’s view of the poor is that of an aristocrat: “Poverty looks grim to grown people; still more so to children: they have not much idea of industrious, working, respectable poverty; they think of the word only as connected with raged clothes, scanty food, fireless grates, rude manners, and debasing vices: poverty for me was synonymous with degradation.” Jane is later astonished at finding “ estimable characters amongst them – characters desirous for information and disposed for improvement”. She is therefore ashamed of what she felt before and starts to take pleasure in teaching those girls whom she use to describe as “heavy-looking” and “gaping rustics”. Bronte shows the prejudices through Jane, yet at the same time she is telling us that the poor do blossom and they can be educated.
In conclusion, Bronte seeks to through the character of Jane. She is advocating the right of girls at whatever level to have a decent education and she shows us that girls can be accomplished, successful and independent if they are well educated.
Jane remains resolute and dignified through out the whole novel. She is not willing to sacrifice her own integrity for the sake of emotional gratification;
