The novel begins with Jane describing the weather “…cold winter wind…rain so penetrating…” these cold icy images reflect Jane’s treatment by the Reeds, who have never showed her any warmth or love. When Jane is reading a book, isolated away from her family, again Bronte focuses very much on the weather again. This book is metaphorical of Jane’s life. It describes a “rock standing up alone against a sea of billow” This quote is symbolic of Jane, battered but alive. It also describes “bleak shores” also relating to Jane, she feels alone and like a misfit. The reader feels sympathetic towards Jane straight away when they realise how isolated she really is from her own family. Jane has never felt part of this family; she has always been considered an outcast. “Eliza, John and Georgiana were now clustered around their mama.” These are the kinds of techniques often used by Bronte the give sympathy to Jane.
Bronte uses metaphors and personification to portray how she feels and how she is treated; John calls her a “bad animal!” Because we read the novel from Jane’s perspective this description manipulates us to feel negative towards John while sympathy is once again felt for Jane.
The characters introduced in the first chapter include Jane, Mrs Reed, her children and two servants. All of the characters help to show how hard life was for Jane, and other females of lower class in the Victorian era. Bronte aims to show the reader how difficult it was to be lower class, people of a lower class were looked down on, and they saw them as a waste of space. The lower class had no rights compared to higher class. Although Jane lives in an extremely wealthy household she is treated as thought she is lower than lower class, Mrs Reed especially likes to make Jane feel like this.
Mrs Reed only looks after Jane for her dead husband; she despises her and favours her own children. “She really must exclude me from privileges only intended for content, happy little children.” This shows us that Mrs Reed has probably told Jane that she is a bad child all her life and she is now unsure about how to b good. Even though Jane is good and obedient and always has been she is very unhappy due to her poor treatment.
John Reed; Jane’s cousin bullies her repeatedly and he is never punished for acting violently. Whereas when Jane finally retaliates and stands up to his torment she is sent straight to the “Red room” where her uncle “breathed his last”. “Take her to the red room and lock her away in there” These words show Mrs Reeds cruelty – she knows she will be terrified in there so she insisted on punishing her so she uses the opportunity to terrify her. In the red room there is a very gothic element of writing shown, Bronte uses powerful adjectives to create images of the types of things Jane would be going through, these emphasise the contrast between the dark power of the room and the innocence and powerlessness of Jane. The types of words and phrases she uses are “…largest and stateliest chambers… massive pillars… curtains of deep red… crimson cloth… deep surroundings shade rose high, and glared white…” All of these phrases give the reader a good picture of the kind of fear Jane would be experiencing in the red room. Jane later scares herself with her thoughts of a ghostly presence so much that she has a fit and falls ill. “Mr. Reed had been dead nine years: it was in this chamber he breathed his last…I thought the swift-darting beam was a herald of some coming vision from another world…I suppose I had a species of fit…”
Other important characters in the opening of the novel include the servants. Bessie was the first person to give Jane any comfort in her life, and even then she would not show affection to Jane in front of the Reeds. Jane is seen as lower down than even the servants, although a servant was more or less the lowest class there was!” No; you are less than a servant, for you do nothing for your keep” this is implying that she has no right to be in the Reeds house, when she is really close family and should be treated like a part of the family. Bronte describes Jane as being stuck between the two classes throughout the novel. These characters are used well to help us understand the treatment of women and especially the low class.
“Jane Eyre” is written in first person, which gives us her perspective and helps us to understand Jane’s feelings and therefore we will sympathise with her.
Jane describes the Reed family to instantly turn us against them and further our relationship with Jane. John Reed is targeted especially, Jane describes him as “large and stout…unwholesome…flabby cheeks…” his ugly appearance reflects hid evil nature. Jane obviously has no positive thoughts for him, which influences our perspective of him. We are also turned against Mrs. Reed when Jane describes how she treats her so badly compared to her own children, “…and with her darlings about her…me, she had dispensed from joining the group…” Her sarcastic tone shows her independence. Because Jane is speaking in first person we take her side and therefore we dislike Mrs. Reed. Jane’s first words in the novel are, “what does Bessie say I have done?” we straight away have the idea of what kind of character she is, strong and rebellious as she firstly answers back to an adults and secondly implies Bessie is lying. This behaviour was unheard of in the Victorian era and Mrs. Reed would not let her get away with it. “”Be seated somewhere; and remain silent.” Due to the authors manipulation of our perspective we feel sympathetic towards Jane, if Mrs. Reed was the protagonist in this novel it is likely that we would be supportive of her actions and dislike Jane as we do Mrs. Reed.
