However; the atmosphere here does not seem to change or develop that much at all. Words such as “sombre”, “dreadful”, “raw” and “heart saddened” start off this dismal mood right in the first instants. It starts off as a dismal atmosphere and ends, I suppose, in an even more dismal and cheerless manner – ie. Jane falling unconscious in the red-room. This adds further to the reader’s sympathy for Jane and makes them feel that this young girl deserves better.
As said, Brontë uses phrases like ‘clouds so sombre’ to create a dismal atmosphere. Brontë uses different setting in order to show what the characters are feeling. She often uses the weather in particular to create mood in the story: “rain so penetrating”, “a pale blank of mist and cloud”. This use of weather in particular to portray a character's emotion is known Pathetic Fallacy and was often used in 19th Century literature. The weather can be a reflection of just about any human emotion from happiness and elation to despair and desperation. This use of Pathetic Fallacy shows how unhappy Jane is; straight away she is separated from the rest of the Reed family, who are “clustered around their mama” looking “perfectly happy”. Here their moods are immediately contrasting Jane’s. The words “sombre” and “penetrating” create a negative feel and therefore make the reader begin to understand how Jane feels, sympathise for her and begin to form some kind of emotional attachment with her.
This opening chapter not only sets up this dismal atmosphere but also two of the primary themes in the novel: class conflict and gender difference. As a poor orphan living with relatives, Jane feels separated from the rest of the Reed family, and they certainly do nothing to make her feel more comfortable: "you are a dependant” and “you ought...not to live here with gentleman's children like us”. Jane appears to exist in a limbo between the upper and servant classes. Her class difference translates into physical violence in John’s mind, and Jane knows that she is “physically inferior” to her vicious bully of a cousin.
Jane's argument with John also points to the potential gender conflicts within the text. Not only is Jane at a disadvantage because of her class status, but her position as female leaves her vulnerable. John is a malicious cousin, described by Jane as "unwholesome" and "thick". I believe all Jane wishes for is an individual place for herself, free of the horrible treatment she gets in the House. By fighting back when John and his mother torment her, Jane refuses the obedience that was expected for a woman in her class position at that time.
A further theme displayed in these opening chapters is oppression. Jane is picked on right from the first page of this novel, sent off while her cousins play: ‘Be seated somewhere... remain silent’. We learn she is a penniless orphan, but also a sensitive girl whose imagination is elated when reading. Nevertheless she displays her strength in her defence against John, later in the same chapter. Stating that Jane is resisting her captors like a "rebel slave" Brontë continues to use the imagery of oppression begun in the previous chapter. This hooks the reader as they want to know if Jane ever does break this life of oppression and cruelty towards her.
Following on from oppression is the oppression of women in particular in the 1800s. At the beginning of ‘Jane Eyre’, Jane struggles against Bessie (the nurse at Gateshead Hall) and says, “I resisted all the way: a new thing for me". This sentence indicates what will be an important theme of the rest of the book, the theme of female independence and freedom.
Another theme, which you could describe as a lot more subliminal through these two opening chapters, is a recurring Gothic sense. For instance, the red-room has these deathly ideas within it; with red as the colour of blood; the room containing a miniature version of the dead Mr. Reed; the ghost Jane thinks she sees and the fact that Mr. Reed's body lies beneath the church. This Gothic-type novel, seemingly loved in the 19th century, uses the supernatural, uses suspense, and uses mysterious settings to create an atmosphere of fear and horror. Moreover, this red-room seems to be a clear symbol of imprisonment. Ironically, although John is the root cause of Jane's imprisonment here, the three aggressors in this chapter are all women, and Jane’s one saviour, it appears, was a male; her uncle: ‘Mr Reed...treated me kindly’.
Jane's situation as she sits reading ‘Bewick's History of Birds’ also has meaning – Jane's choice of books is particularly noteworthy in this scene. Like a bird, she would like the freedom of flying away from the pain she feels at the Reed's house. The way the sea birds live on "solitary rocks" is similar to Jane's situation – like them, she lives in isolation. Books provide Jane with an escape from her unhappy domestic situation. For Jane, each picture in Bewick's tale offers a story that sparks her imagination, but Jane also says that the book reminds her of the tales that Bessie sometimes tells on winter evenings.
A further feature worthy of note is the characterisation methods used. Brontë introduces characters in different ways in these opening chapters; for instance, notice how John Reed enters the novel. He enters in a violent burst, a rush. Our impression of him is dreadful right from the first instants – I found it disgusting how he treated Jane, how he beat and bullied her. In his very first line he calls her ‘Madam Mope’ (‘mope’ meaning miserable or to sulk) and, not two lines later, a ‘bad animal’. Speaking of her as an ‘animal’ shows how he sees her as lesser than himself, you could say he even sees her as less than a human as he calls her an ‘animal’.
But what about structure? Surely structure is an important feature of the novel; a feature which is often used to help make the reader keen to read on. And here it is no different, but what does Brontë do to achieve this. Well, Jane Eyre does have aspects to suggest good structure in these opening chapters. For example; note how chapter one leads onto chapter two. Chapter one ends on ‘take her to the red-room’. This is used as a cliff-hanger by Brontë; the reader wants to know what this ‘red-room’ is. What is it? Where is it? Chapter two also ends like this, with ‘unconsciousness closing the scene’. Once again this makes the reader ask questions. All of these things help improve cohesion, structure and make the reader want to read on to find out more.
To conclude; Jane uses many, many techniques to create interest, and make the reader keen to read on, in the opening two chapters of ‘Jane Eyre' but personally I believe the main factor which hooks the reader into the story, that makes the reader crave to read on into this novel is the emotional attachment the reader develops with Jane. All of the techniques used in these opening chapters relate back to this one. The sheer feeling of care and compassion for Jane mixed in with hatred of John Reed and others made these opening chapters a truly thrilling read. I personally felt I needed to read on to see mainly if Jane did get the better over John in the end – I, as I’m sure you do, certainly hope she does.
