How Does Bronte Convey Jane Eyre’s State of Mind in Chapter 2 of ‘Jane Eyre’?
‘I was a discord in Gateshead Hall’. The story of Jane Eyre tells of how a young girl struggles against the rigid social hierarchy to become an independent example of how a single person can change people’s views. In the Victorian era, when the novel was set, the rights of married women were similar to those of children: they could not vote, sue, or own property. Their role was to have children and tend to the house, and the only acceptable job a woman could have was a teacher or a domestic servant. In the end, they were to be treated as saints, but saints that had no legal rights. As a child, Jane lives with her aunt and cousins at Gateshead Hall, where she feels mistreated and that she had ‘nothing in harmony’ with the family. She uses an extended musical metaphor of ‘discord’ and ‘nothing in harmony’ to show that she feels incongruous. Jane’s state of mind changes dramatically throughout chapter 2 of ‘Jane Eyre’. Bronte uses a number of techniques to show this, including a narrative voice, imagery and symbolism, mood and atmosphere and the language. Jane progresses through five main mentalities: passionate rebellion, anger, self-doubtful depression, fearful isolation and hysteria. With each state of mind introducing individual techniques, the distinction between them is evident. The chapter begins with Jane being restrained and forced into the Red Room, a room of diverse emotions, by the house maids, for fighting with her cousin. The symbolism and superstition, associated with that chamber in particular, overwhelms her, and the chapter concludes when Jane unnerves herself to the extent that she finally faints.
The first apparent state of mind is rebellion and passion. We can tell this because Jane describes herself as a ‘rebel slave’. The use of the word ‘rebel’ suggests that she’s not going to accept the way she is being treated. She is strong and determined to fight back against the Reed’s, but also society itself for placing her at the very bottom of the social hierarchy. The 19th century didn’t hold much of a place for women, but Jane wasn’t satisfied with that, as she struggles against her aunt’s nepotism, purely because of her orphan and impoverished status, and therefore, her class. This could be a reflection of Bronte herself, as when she first wrote ‘Jane Eyre’ she adopted a male pseudonym in order for her work to be publicly respected, which it was. Jane also uses the word ‘slave’. This implies that she feels used and oppressed by the inability to express herself without being punished unjustly. Comparing herself to history shows that she feels the world hasn’t changed or developed, and the process of age hasn’t fallen on the Reed household. This also uses hyperbole to create Jane’s point effectively and exaggerates to establish sympathy for the character early on in the novel. Her passion is also indicated by the shade of the room she is forced into. Bronte used pathetic fallacy to colour the room red because red can symbolise positive and negative emotion, creating the confusion that Jane feels at the beginning of the chapter. It could also act as a warning to what Jane may face whilst locked in the room.
