show how childhood is represented in charlotte brontes, jayne eyre

Jake Aston

To show how childhood is represented in charlotte Bronte’s `Jane Eyre’.

The social status of children in the Victorian age was drastically different to that of present day. Children were relentlessly suppressed and stringent expectations identified a `good’ from a `bad’ child. Social eminence of children relied entirely upon the class and wealth of parentage. Children of high class parentage were advantaged in a number of aspects, primary aspects were evident, with high class society comes wealth which offers the child a secure and established life style, something that the majority of the Victorian population lacked. Having a high class parentage also founded many secondary aspects to the child’s existence and life style; they were instantaneously enhanced in the view of society which naturally offered a considerable amount of social and vocational opportunities to that of a child with inferior parentage. At this time orphans were seen as the one of the lowest forms of human life, and were often given the potent label of a sinner in what was a strongly religious society. Most orphans lived with this social stigma, and started to believe the ridicule and torment directed at them, subsequently accepting the limited opportunities in their life. However, Jane, a highly intelligent girl for an age of 10, refused to accept such an age dictated society, and rebels with modern ideals against the common stereotype. Jane is an extremely forthright, honest and does not comply to the standards and constraints set upon her by a Victorian childhood. Her drastic views are intensely controversial, especially coming from a female in that era. There appears to be many parallels between Bronte herself, and Jane during the plot.

The purpose of an opening chapter is to set the ground and scene for the many elements in the story to make their introduction. These include things like the characters, themes and other issues. The introduction of "Jane Eyre" has done this very well and in a manner that is subtle and not easy to discern. This opening chapter sets up two of the primary themes in the novel, class conflict and gender difference. As a poor orphan living with relatives, Jane feels alienated from the rest of the Reed family, who seem resolute upon utilising every prospect to make Jane more secluded from the family.

The novel Jane Eyre begins with the sentence "There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.” as if already engaging with the reader in conversation. It is this casual and relaxed beginning that begins to paint for us a semblance of Jane Eyre’s character and educated sentence structure. We are then introduced through pathetic fallacy to the persona and mood of Jane. `Leafless shrubbery’ educates the reader to the fact that Jane feels lifeless and unrecognised as a plant that lacked embellishment would. Bronte then begins to use the weather to give us a momentary look into Jane’s emotions, `cold winter wind’. This use of pathetic fallacy gives the reader a clever insight into Jane’s exact situation, the use of the word `cold’ shows the lack of warmth she is sown by the Reed family. Bronte further establishes the symbolism of Jane’s feelings, `clouds so sombre’. The word sombre concisely shows Jane’s dismal outlook on life however in my opinion the use of clouds has a allegoric meaning, clouds obstruct from view clear sky which is habitually seen as a contented thing, the clouds also symbolise the blocking out of Jane’s happiness in life. Bronte continues once more to symbolise Jane’s feelings through the weather, `rain so penetrating’. This exposes the reader into the rest of the novel, the penetration rain symbolises how she feels she has her life and emotions violated throughout the novel. The callous and sinister language Bronte uses to describe in the first chapter offers the reader an insight to Jane’s judgment and observation of the world and people around her. An example of the oppression she feels from the world and the Reeds is the actuality of her been imprisoned in Gateshead Hall with her torments.

Following this Jane’s position within the Reeds family is shown clearly, `she had dispensed from joining the group’ this represents the isolation Jane feels from the Reed family, who are ironically gathered around the fire, the warmth from which Jane cannot feel, this is another illustration of the lack of adore the family demonstrate towards Jane. Jane’s position in the family paradoxically represents the average Victorian orphan’s position in society; this shows that although Jane’s position is not satisfactory it is substantially superior to the averages orphans with no family to heed for them. Jane’s segregation is further emphasised when the Reed children are described as ` her darlings’ this further heightens the irony the reader senses as it is exposed that Jane is no one’s darling and is unaccompanied in her life. Subsequent to this Jane reveals her willed fortitude, `what does Bessie say I have done?’ here Jane questions on of her superiors which is followed by a outraged response by Mrs. Reed, `…be seated somewhere; and before you can speak pleasantly, remain silent.’ This in my judgment was the manner of reaction Jane wanted, it primarily gives her some attention she so desperately craves and also gives an excuse to be absent from the family devoid of accusation. Secondarily I believe she subconsciously acts in such a fashion as it is a diminutive sense of retribution for her towards the figure that allows her unjust treatment and constant ruling of her character.

Subsequent to been separated from the family Jane reads, another corroboration of Jane’s intelligent and well meaning being. Contradictorily to the discontent Jane feels from being separated she describes herself as‘happy at least in my way’ when she is obscured from view by the curtain and window that she described as `protecting’.

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Symbolism of Jane’s emotions can be established when studying the passage from the book she begins to read, `Berwick’s History of British Birds’. ` the solitary rocks’, this represents the loneliness Jane has to endure after again being separated from the group. More symbolism can be found in, `melancholy isles’ Bronte’s use of the expression `melancholy’ again further establishes the symbolism of Jane’s depression. `bleak shores’ indicate Jane’s similar bleak existence and again establishes symbolism of her dejection.

While behind the curtain Bronte suggests that Jane is content and unperturbed, this suggests that although she is content at that moment while reading a book, there is still something that is different about her happiness, it is not complete. I think this is because she knows that this joy and peace will suffer the ‘interruption’ she fears Master Reed, this is represented in Jane’s imagination of the description in the book, `two ships on a torpid sea’. This is an allegory of Jane’s existence and her constant inequity at the hands of John Reed. As he starts searching for Jane, fear strikes her. The use of the phrase ‘wished fervently’ shows the distress and terror that Jane feels at the thought of another confrontation with Master Reed, and we promptly see the reasons earlier concealed that are behind Jane’s misery. John reed is of a very supercilious and arrogant disposition, this is further emphasized by the death of his father which in Victorian society made him most superior to all other in the house, however still remaining under the control of Mrs. Reed. This credence is shown when he orders Jane to `come here’ this shows his authority over Jane, he is also sat in the armchair, the seat of the man of the house in Victorian culture, which represents his authority in the house. Jane describes him with extreme abhor however this view of him on my opinion is overwhelmed by her hatred of him. John’s authority over Jane and the rest of the female household is an excellent representation of Bronte showing the Victorian patriarchal society.

Subsequent to this description Jane describes herself as `bewildered by the terror he inspired’ this use of effectual and powerful language shows the reader the fear that John Reed installs in Jane and how horrific his conducts to provoke such a reaction. Jane states she is `habitual obedient’ which emphasizes not the horror of Johns conduct but the regularity of such confrontations.

John’s taunts become more symbolic than the juvenile action of `thrusting his tongue out’ and become more insolent and his intent is shown clearly. `rat!’, john uses animal imagery to represent how low Jane’s status is and how he sees her as dirty and superfluous, as a vermin, rats are also commonly seen as a irritation as the feed and live of waste and are unwontedly dependent upon people which I the view John puts across about Jane. Jane states she is `accustom to johns abuse’ which yet again enforces the regularity of his exploitation.

John begins to insult her on a very personal level and extremely directly by stating she is not wanted by any one and that she has no right to take what he sees as his.

When John orders Jane to stand away from `the mirror and the windows’ so that he can throw the book without damaging these items represents that he values these objects as far superior to Jane. This sudden outburst of physical and brutal abuse comes after 2 main staged, first he psychologically demines her by ordering her to him and to stand before him, then came verbal abuse then finally his act of brutality. In by opinion the overall outcome, ` I fell, striking my head against the door and cutting it.’ This was more than Master Reed initially intended to do but the supplementary pain caused to Jane he seems content with, this further emphasizes the brutality of John Reed.

Following this Jane describes her `terror had passed its climax’ and then goes on to state, `other feelings succeeded’ the language used in these two phrases show that although terrified Jane is able to overcome fear, this is a representation of her rebellious and strong willed nature that is reveled in the following novel. This disposition is represented for first time when Jane begins to throw insulting yet intelligent insults upon Master Reed. `wicked and cruel boy!...you are like a slave driver…you are like the roman emperors!’ Are three of the most potent insults Jane directs at him? The insults Jane uses, utilizes her knowledge she has acquired from reading books. Upon hearing this, John becomes confounded and extremely surprised, as it is out of the ordinary for Jane to respond to his violence in this way. This, perhaps, is a slur at Victorian society, and in reality it is not just Jane offering a retort to John, but instead Bronte challenging male oppressors from this era. Master Reed reacts to this with another onslaught of violence which concisely represents his lack of self discipline and control. He again returns to the verbal abuse of `Rat! Rat!’ that he utilizes earlier in his anguish upon Jane. Bessie describes Jane’s reaction as a `picture of passion!’ which reflects her refusal to submit to the expectations of her behaviour and obedience of a child in her position.

The second chapter opens explosively with Jane’s revolt, ` a new thing for me’. After the occurrence in the closing stages of chapter one Jane realizes her internal potency, and her disposition I express earlier becomes apparent, she no longer accepts punishment easily and begins to fight against her judicators. At the beginning of chapter two even Mrs. Reed’s maids are abusing Jane ‘mad cat’, ‘For shame!’ they cried. This would normally be seen as poor conduct, as in this era a maid or servant would be lower in the hierarchy in the household than any family member or guest, this actuality makes these insults significantly more demoralizing than if someone with similar of higher social status had composed them. The fact that Mrs. Reed allows the abuse of Jane by the servants shows that Jane is the most contemptible figure within the household and this emphasizes the view that she is below the status of servants, ` you are less than a servant’. Jane is threatened that her ‘passionate’ nature will get her thrown out of her home. In contrast to this, children today are encouraged more to be passionate and creative. The lack of this encouragement in the Victorian era is another form of the oppression children were forced to live through.

The servants further destabilize Jane’s dignity when Miss Abbot states, `incredulous’ this furthers Jane’s oppression as they question her sanity. Jane expresses her misery in her whole life, `my very first recollections of existence include hints of the same kind’ this shows that even throughout child hood Jane endured comparable abuse and maltreatment to that of her present dejected life.

When they are imprisoning Jane in the red room for punishment Miss Abbot uses religion to frighten Jane ‘God will punish her’ ‘He might strike her dead’. Even though these references are farfetched and ridiculous, in such a religious society, the mentioning of death and God would have struck fear into a child of Jane’s age, especially with her powerful imagination and the history behind the room Jane was forced into for punishment. The servants then for their own pleasure, much like the behaviour of master Reed, make up a immature story in an attempt to scare and further demoralize Jane, `come down the chimney and fetch you away’.

Post the exit of Miss Abbot and the servant Jane e begins to describe the `the Red Room’ were she has been locked, `the red room was a square chamber…pillars of mahogany… curtains of deep red…carpet was red.’ The decoration of the `red room’ symbolises the subjugation Jane suffers, contradictorily to the frequent view of red as a happy elevating colour, the deep oppressive red of the red room is contrary to that affect. The highly stained mahogany represents the sinister emotions of Jane whilst in the `red room’ and the lack of light and the overall heavy feel to the room represents Jane’s imprisonment both physically and mentally. This symbolism is furthered with the continued description of the room. `this room was chill, because it seldom had a fire; it was silent. The language used by Bronte `chill’ again represents Jane’s emotions, this constant use of symbolism means that Bronte can broadcast emotions to the reader without telling him directly. This chill could also represent a physiological supernatural presence in Jane’s imagination as her uncle had died within the walls of the `red room’ nine years previous, `lay in state’. Trepidation begins to dominate Jane’s emotions as any child’s would regardless of their intellectual capabilities. She begins to work herself up and lets her imagination dominate her mind, ‘light gleamed on the wall’ Jane then starts to think that this light is a ‘vision from another world’ Jane worries that this could be the punishment from God Miss Abbot mentioned earlier, or that Mr. Reed was coming to inflict further pain upon her . In this madness, Jane’s starts to hear noises which she ‘deemed the rushing of wings’. Her childish superstitions and panic finally penetrate her and she lets out a scream of pure terror, however, as usual Jane is vilified and accused of attention seeking, yet another sign of her oppression. The use of heavenly images by Bronte helps the reader to sympathise with Jane’s situation, especially through the previously mentioned first person narrative. The use of ghosts and strange lights would have an even more profound effect in Victorian times, as religion was a much stronger and more feared presence in that era. Within the `red room’ Jane paradoxically punishes herself for her superior imagination as everything that she is anxious of is accumulated in her imagination. Whilst looking into the mirror Jane reaches self realisation `strange little figure’. Jane cannot elevate herself to eulogize with and praise the reflection, this self disbelief is due to the criticism and disparagement that fails to relent from the Reed family in particular John Reed, `all John Reeds violent tyrannies…’. Jane then begins a seethe of rhetorical questions in an act of desperation, `why was I always suffering?...why could I never please?...why was it useless to try to win anyone’s favour?’. These three questions are the most dominant of her tirade. These questions present the reader with an insight into Jane’s internal turmoil and tumult, also this first person narrate creates an intense feeling of empathy and understanding as it presents Jane’s tribulation on a personal level to the reader and Jane’s turmoil is shared as the reader feels that they also have the demoralizing emotions.

In chapter seven Jane attends Lowood, a boarding school for girls. After Jane’s hypothetical poor behaviour at Gateshead Hall, her aunt has sent her to a Boarding school, where the head, Mr Brocklehurst, is exceptionally religious with puritan ideals. He allows the girls minimal clothing, food and no luxury. Jane talks about the harsh weather in the months gone by at Lowood, this use of pathetic fallacy reflects Jane’s harsh new surroundings and her feeling toward them. Also in these snowy months Jane was trapped inside Lowood, which, just like the red room is another sign of Jane’s mental imprisonment.

Symbolism represents Jane’s position, `impassable roads’ this represents Janes position `stuck’ she is unable to return to Gates hear, nor in my opinion desires to however is incapable of moving from Lowood as the only alternative available is work houses as many other orphans of her age had to turn to. Her physical affliction at Lowood is expressed when describing the state of her actually. `our clothing was insufficient… sever cold… no boots…ungloved hands…irritation.’ All these factors show concisely the harsh and insensitive conditions that Jane endures whilst attending Lowood. While at Lowood Jane has barely enough food to keep her alive. ‘Scarcely sufficient to keep alive a delicate invalid’ Most of the girls at Lowood were there due to the absence of their mother and father as their had died, and purely because of this they are forced to live in harsh circumstances and exist upon a bare minimum, as they are seen as a burden upon society and little is `wasted’ upon them. Bronte uses this emotive and descriptive language to show the punishment some children had to endure simply because they were orphans. Her drastic scarcity is shown when she describes the food as `precious’ and the insipid `cold meat and bread’ represents that there is no feeling of compassion towards the orphans. When walking back the path they take is described by Bronte as ` an exposed an hilly road’ this symbolism reflects Jane’s exposed struggle that she endures in life. Jane`s scarcity is again shown when a `thin scrape of butter’ is seen as a extravagance for her and the other girls. This unaided represents unmistakably how drastically her physical conditions have changed however her fear and seclusion remain however more omnipresent that before.

This omnipresent fear is shown upon Mr Brocklehurst’s first visit to the school, Jane is terrified of been branded a `bad child’ by the teachers as he tells one of her ordeal at Gateshead. Mr Brocklehurst’s anti feminist views are first shown when he orners `tuckers’ not to be washed, which he sees as far superior to the girls, parralell to the view of Jane and the windows. We immediately get shown his ideals a demands that he enforces upon the girls in the school. He says he does not want to ‘accustom them’ to ‘luxury and indulgence’; instead he wants them to be ‘hardy, patient and self-denying’. We can see that Mr. Brocklehurst is very hypocritical in his words and actions, for he says the above, yet he is affluent, well clothed, with more than sufficient food, while he wants his pupils to have none of the luxury he has. Mr Brocklehurst anti feministic views are further emphasized when he orders the shaving of a girls head due to the fact it is naturally curly, curls were the sigh of wealth in a woman which in his opinion was not acceptable for a orphan to have, this also further demoralizes any individuality that the girls still remain to possess, this is again revealed when he orders that `all the top knots must be cut off’. Mr Brocklehurst uses religion as an excuse for punishing the girls claiming he has a ‘Master to serve whose kingdom is not of this world’ He exclaims that by committing these awful crimes against the girls, such as principally starving them, he is torturing their bodies, to purify their ’immortal souls. Yes, he is positively torturing their bodies, however is he doing it to purify their souls or simply to be able to dictate and oppress the girls, to abolish their femininity and give him the power for the patriarchal establishment he desires.

Mr Brocklehurst is in a state of unfeasible hypocrisy, `splendidly attired in velvet, silk and furs…elaborately curled…costly velvet shawl.’ Janes description is Mr Brocklehurst daughters and wife is impossibly contrasting to that of the way he demands his pupils dress, his daughters acquire every possible constituent to Victorian femininity, however he demoralizes the orphans to a preposterous level.

I feel that Bronte uses Mr Brocklehurst to suggest the stereotypical man of the era, how they are domineering, hypocritical and oppress their female counterparts with ridiculous constraints while not applying these same rules upon their own lives.

Just as she was incorrectly punished at Gateshead hall, so Jane is at Lowood. She unintentionally drops her slate and is placed upon a stool in front of Mr. Brocklehurst, a very repressive and central position to the rest of the school. However, Miss Temple, Jane’s teacher ‘saw it was an accident’ and promises her that she ‘will not be punished’, Jane claims it ‘went to her heart like a dagger‘ this simile is used to show partly Jane’s pleasure at a rare moment of compassion directed toward her, and partly because she knows this is not true. Brocklehurst then proceeds on a long dialogue ordering the other children to ignore her and exclude Jane from their games, and for the teachers to watch her carefully. He eventually calls Jane ‘a liar’, an almighty strong statement in such a society and another show of Mr Brocklehurst’s religious beliefs. This passage culminates in Brocklehurst making a model of Jane and forcing her to stand upon the stool for ‘half an hour longer’ and for no one to engage conversation with her for the rest of the day.

Mr Brocklehurst’s punishment, divergent to his intentions, does not harm or upset Jane, because ‘in passing’ a girl ‘lifted her eyes’ and smiled at Jane. This gives Jane, for what appears to be, confidence in herself. ‘It was as if I was a martyr, a hero’ shows Jane’s pleasure, as for once she is appreciated by another human, not seen as a omnipresent burden. This is another of Bronte’s allegoric meanings, through this she conveys that no matter how much male oppression women endure they will not be seen in their eyes as superior.

Jane’s final statement that concludes chapter 7, `blind to the brightness of the orb’ ,further shows her intelligent observant disposition as she is able to observe strengths and commendable virtues in others despite her life of harsh unjust treatment.

Throughout `Jane Eyre’ Bronte highlights many flaws in Victorian society, she uses the novel to covey her views about the unjust treatment of particular minorities and groups within society, throughout the oppression of orphans is present and criticised however in chapter 7 the demoralization if feminism is highlighted and criticised with great endeavour, and the patriarchal society is dejected by Bronte with great sentiment.

Jake Aston