8-14

When Rochester touches the rose 'the petals dropped', Rhys uses this as a symbol for the destruction of nature, purity, and ultimately, innocence. The Rose offers a symbol for Antoinette, she is wild compared to Rochester's Upper-Class English sensibilities and arguably part of nature; it is nature that Antoinette feels comfort in, nature provides the mother care that Antoinette's biological mother failed to provide; while Annette 'pushed her away', Antoinette is welcomed by the nature surrounding the Caribbean islands. When Rochester destroys the rose he is also destroying nature, this foreshadowing his destruction of Antoinette. The idea that 'the petals dropped' expresses the delicate nature of the rose, and with this the delicate nature of Antoinette. However, unlike the rose, Antoinette is not delicate physically but mentally; her mental capacity is on the verge of collapse like her mother. Just as Rochester easily destroys the rose, he can easily destroy Antoinette through rejection; Rochester is the symbol of male dominance and destruction, like Annette, Antoinette is doomed by the dominance of man tied through marriage. Rochester is the parallel of Mason with Anette.

Rhys uses features of the landscape to symbolise Antoinette; Rochester describes seeing a ravine hidden within the islands precipitous landscape, "one side the wall of green, on the other a steep drop below", this illustrates the idea that, although Antoinette on the surface seems beautiful, natural and ultimately 'sane'. Yet, like the steep drop that lies behind the 'wall of green', Antoinette has the darkness of insanity suppressed under her cover of sanity and beauty. Rhys continues the threatening association with nature with "those hills will close in on you", "an extreme green" - this resonates the idea that lunacy is inherited, and so natural, to Antoinette. The hills close in on Rochester as lunacy closes in on Antoinette's sanity. Furthermore, the language Rochester uses in association to nature is almost always negative, Rhys uses this to portray Rochester's inability to accept both Antoinette's culture and her home 'too much purple, extreme green'; Rochester is made uncomfortable by the islands inability to be tamed, also Antoinette's wild nature ('throwing like a boy') as it represents a threat to Rochester's male dominance- (highlights the divide between the two even further).

Antoinette's 'uncertain mind' is highlighted in doubts as to whether 'poisonous snakes' inhabit the island, repeatedly changing her mind as to whether they do or not, Antoinette's fragmented mind means she is unable to string concise sentences together. She is obviously conscious of her depleting mentality as she expresses this doubt to Rochester 'Afraid of what? Everything. Nothing. I'm afraid of what might happen" 'what might happen' is Antoinette losing her mind, falling into insanity as did her mother.

Daniel Cosway informs Rochester through a letter of the families inherited insanity, as well as illustrating the Cosway's somewhat, corrupt, past involving slavery and promiscuousness, adultery.

Antoinette becomes utterly dependant on Rochester; Rochester is the only figure in Antoinette's life that has shown her any type of intimate affection, naturally, she must cling on to this as her mother's rejection has left her insecure about her ability to 'love' or be 'loved'. For Antoinette, the sex Rochester gives her each death equates to love, she believes that she loves Rochester and vice versa, thus becomes  dependant on him as a source of protection, security, he tells her she is 'safe'; for Antoinette this represents the first time she has ever actually been 'safe' in her life. Unfortunately, for Rochester sex equates for nothing but pleasure and does not feel the same affection for Antoinette as she to him, from this point Antoinette is doomed. Rochester will eventually break from Antoinette as he will grow bored of her pleasure, as Antoinette is dependant on him this will force her into lunacy; repressed feeling of rejection from her mother, father and society will flood her mind, Antoinette will become 'Bertha'.

Ben Allen

Wide Sargasso Sea, Part Two 1-7.

The opening lines of part two are now narrated by, whom we assume to be Rochester from ‘Jane Eyre’, and are undoubtedly pessimistic; the list-like language that the speaker uses, each point separated by a short pause, creates a slow rhythm that mimics the feeling of dread that, evidently, Rochester feels: ‘So it was all over, the advance and the retreat, the doubts and hesitations.’ The language that the speaker uses emphasizes the end of a life rather than a ‘new beginning’ that a wedding symbolises; Rochester views the imminent life with Antoinette as doomed rather than hopeful. The speaker references the wedding ceremony ‘for better or for worse’, yet, due to the underlining pessimism in the language used previously, the reference is read in a satirical tone- emphasizing the negative ‘for worse’.

Rhys uses pathetic fallacy to emphasize the feeling of dread, the narrator describes finding ‘shelter’ under ‘heavy rain’; however, the rain could also symbolise the release of emotions that would normally be associated with a marriage, the release of tears and joy; the pair shelter under it as their marriage is utterly emotionless.

Amelie is laughing at Rochester because she recognises the corrupt nature and sense of ‘doom’ that surrounds their loveless marriage; she urges that the pair ‘be very happy’ sarcastically, since it is obvious that the pair have no emotional connection to each other. Rochester recognises that Amelie can see through his charade, he blames it on his recent ‘fever’ and attempts to persuade himself that he ‘is not [himself] yet’. Yet, it is Rochester’s own inability to love Antoinette coupled with his ‘doubts and hesitations’ that make the marriage doomed.

Antoinette speaks to Rochester ‘anxiously’; this could symbolise Antoinette’s eagerness to please Rochester, we could argue that since her mother’s rejection, she is determined to make the marriage with Rochester work, she cannot face another rejection, simply yearning for love and protection.  So, although it may be clear that Rochester has no emotional attachment to her, Antoinette conforms to the role of ‘the caring wife’ in an attempt to please him and form some kind of emotional bond, an attraction. Alternatively, this could also symbolise Antoinette being submissive to Rochester; although Antoinette matches Rochester in structure she is undoubtedly below him in status; she feels the need to please him, illustrating the dominance that Rochester has over her, simply because he is male.

Rochester reluctance to accept Antoinette’s culture is shown in the negative language he uses to describe the tropical island and its inhabitants; he describes the sea as ‘creeping stealithy’ upon him, as if he feels threatened by the islands inability to be tamed- after all Rochester grew up in the civilised upper-class English society, so naturally feels threatened by an island that seems ‘wild’ to him. Furthermore, he sees the colourful nature of the Jamaican people as ‘gaudy’ rather than positively ‘vibrant’; his refusal to enter the house of the island native shows his reluctance to socialise and accept the culture that surrounds him, he would rather be soaked by the rain than enter the ‘hut’ owned by an individual who would probably be his slave back in England. Interestingly, his use of the word ‘hut’ rather than ‘home’ to describe the woman’s residence could also show Rochester’s distance from the culture that seems so ‘Alien’ to him, ‘they are not English, or European either’.

In this section it is easy to feel empathy for Rochester as the ‘outsider’; we could argue that he is neglected of having a voice in Antoinette’s culture in his inability to understand the social norms of the culture so alien to him. Furthermore, he cannot even understand his company’s conversations; they speak in a ‘French patois’, which divides him from the community further. Rochester illustrates his distress himself describing how (the rain soaking him) ‘added to my feeling of discomfort and melancholy’.

Wide Sargasso Sea Q’s

The burning of Coulibri foreshadows the fire at the end of the novel, both Antoinette’s dream of burning the house, and the fire that destroys Thornfield in Jane Eyre. However, we could also argue that the burning of Coulibri symbolises the ‘burning passion’ that inherits Antoinette’s character, Antoinette holds a passion inside her that captivity cannot extinguish; she is both fiery in temperament but also in her overt sexuality. The ‘red dress’ that she adores later in the novel is a symbol of her sexual nature ‘I looked at the red dress on the floor and is was as if the fire had spread across the room’; Rochester detests and finds Antoinette ugly when wearing the red dress as it emphases her sexual nature, something that Rochester Is afraid of. Yet, Rochester is sexually aroused when he sees Antoinette in her white dress, because white traditionally symbolises the purity and chastity in a woman, the ‘virginal bride’. Rochester is attracted to her here because, unlike the overt sexuality presented in the white dress, the virginal bride is a symbol Rochester is able to relate to, coming from an upper class, English, family. The burning of Coulibri is also a physical portrait of the ‘fire’ destroying the workings of Antoinette’s mind, driving her to lunacy, insanity.

‘We stared at each other, blood on my face, tears on hers. It was as if I saw myself’. Antoinette is searching for an Identity because her family, particularly her mother, has rejected her. Psychoanalytically, we can argue that Antoinette has begun projecting her perception of herself onto the faces of others in an attempt to see if she will become accepted by them. We could also argue that, in Antoinette seeing herself in Tia, she is actually idolizing Tia, and the black community as a generalization; Antoinette realises that, although the Black people are in poverty, they are living a life free of patriarchal oppression ‘there is never a wedding’. Antoinette recognizes the destruction caused through marriage; Mason, metaphorically, ‘clipped’ the wings of Annette and refused her right to freedom, which caused her lunacy.   

 

On waking up, from the burning of Coulibri, we learn that Antoinette has been unconscious for the majority of six weeks after becoming sick; presumably the house burning down has caused her to break down physically. It is notable that after this the narration becomes particularly fragmented; Antoinette repeatedly skips large fragments of time and key information begins to be given to the reader in a casual form: ‘she died last year, no one told me how’; the informal delivery of this information symbolises how Antoinette has become numb emotionally, foreshadowing her  lunacy. Also, the cold delivery of this information rejects any form of empathy from Antoinette, it is clear that the emotional bond between Mother and Daughter has been severed. This kind of fragmented, reported narrations reflects on Antoinette’s diminishing mind; as he mental capacity weakens, as does her ability to tell the story; this is why Rochester is given the narrative voice in the second part of the novel.

On leaving Aunt Cora’s house Antoinette becomes subject to bullying from a young black girl and an albino black boy; this again reflects on how Antoinette has become marginalised by not only the upper class whites, but the black community also. She is seen as the ‘other’ even by an albino black (we would assume he would be marginalised to some extent from the superstitious black community). Furthermore, this event symbolises the danger that lies outside for Antoinette; the outside world, for Antoinette, is filled with hate and prejudice.

The act of the nun washing Antoinette’s wounds is symbolic of cleansing; the cleansing of her wounds is a biblical reference to Jesus washing the feet, and the act of cleansing the subject itself is supposed to rid the subject of their sins, or wounds suffered through acts of hatred and prejudice. In this instance the Nun cleanses Antoinette’s wounds in an attempt to heal some of the psychological wounds created through the rejection of Antoinette’s mother, by taking up a motherly role.  It is important that the role that Jesus played has been replaced by a Nun; it represents how Antoinette feels safe within the confines of a matriarchal environment, the convent. The outside world represents danger, as it is a male dominated patriarchal society, Antoinette is susceptible to the dangers of the patriarchal world; being poor, the only way she can achieve financial comfort is through marriage. The convent represents an escape from this, a relief, ‘the convent is my refuge’.

At the end of part one, Antoinette has the recurring dream of being chased through the forest by ‘someone who hates’ her; it is significant that Rhys structures the dream at this point in the novel, as it represents the dangers Antoinette faces in leaving the safety of the convent, the matriarchal society that protected her for a short while will be replaced by the dangers of the outside world, the patriarchal world. Furthermore, the dream foreshadows the imminent arrival of Rochester; we would assume that the person with her in the dream is Rochester.

If we were to give a psychoanalytical reading of the dream, we can see, in comparison to the first dream, that here Antoinette is following the mysterious figure instead of being chased by him; we could argue that this is a physical demonstration of how Antoinette begins to become submissive to Rochester later in the novel. Instead of embracing the passion that Antoinette embodies, eventually Antoinette becomes subverted to Rochester in an attempt to reconcile his love for her. The idea that she is ‘following him’ could be seen as an attempt for her to win him back. Alternatively, we could read it as Rochester leading the relationship, embracing the dominant male role and leading her towards entrapment. The dress that Antoinette wears is obviously a wedding gown ‘white and beautiful’; this foreshadows the wedding to Rochester later in the novel and, again, shows Antoinette becoming submissive and abandoning her liberates female state.  Furthermore, within Antoinette’s dream it states how ‘the tree threw’ her; this contrasts to how Antoinette previously found protection in nature, however, nature is now rejecting Antoinette. She is a complete outsider, isolated by nature and humanity.

 

Wide Sargasso Sea Context.

Jean Rhys was a white Caribbean woman, so naturally, she felt empathy for the character Charlotte Bronte depicted in 'Jane Eyre'; Bertha was simply the lunatic hidden away from society, she had no voice and was simply the antagonist to the protagonist within the story. Jean Rhys was disappointed in this portrayal of the Creole woman and felt that, like herself, she needed a voice, and at least deserved a 'backstory'; 'Wide Sargasso Sea' was Rhys's response to Jane Eyre, a prequel, an attempt to build on the history of Bertha/Antoinette whilst allowing us to feel empathy for the marginalised woman, rejected by her mother, wanting to be loved. While Jane Eyre only shows the woman as a lunatic; Rhys's novel takes the reader deeper into the psychology of the character, giving her a voice and a different perspective to allow us to feel empathy for the isolated character.  Rhys wrote Wide Sargasso in the 1960's; feminism was a big movement at the time and women were beginning to find a voice within the patriarchal society. Issues with race were beginning to be questioned, and the idea of freedom was everywhere thanks to post war euphoria. All of these elements can be traced within Wide Sargasso and probably provided a huge influence: Wide Sargasso could be read as a feminist text, giving a marginalised, Creole, woman a sense of 'freedom' and a voice; also questioning race issues 'White Cockroach'.

Another reason that Jean Rhys could of written Wide Sargasso is because of her own connections with the character. Like Bertha, Rhys had her own troubles immigrating to England, she hated the Country (visible in her descriptions of England within W.S) but didn't count herself as Creole either, she was a self proclaimed outsider ("i don't belong anywhere"). She would of been surrounded by numerous ex slave families when living in Jamaica, so would of seen some of the Race issues shown within the novel first hand. Rhys also had a drinking problem, she married numerous times and became a mistress to many men on many occasions, constantly moving around the world; like Bertha, we could argue Rhys's behaviour shows a need of love, company.

How does Rhys's use of pronouns compare with Bronte's?

Both writers use pronouns to separate the protagonist from their company, they become marginalised by the language used. There is never a 'we' only ever 'they' and 'I', both writers neglect to include their characters from collective speech, always keeping them apart; they are always the outsider looking in.

Answers regarding 'Jane Eyre and the Governess in Nineteenth-Century Britain'

The Governess role was a common jobAnswers regarding 'Jane Eyre and the Governess in Nineteenth-Century Britain'

The Governess role was a common profession for the middle-class Victorian woman, simply because it required a high level of education and held a reasonable amount of respect towards the position, this enabled unmarried women to earn a living without degrading themselves to lower-class work. However, the role of the governess was a problem for the Victorian upper-class, suddenly upper-class families were employing ‘educated’ women in their homes along with the servants and lower classed employee’s, however, they could not allow them to stay with the lower class workers because they were of a higher class, similarly they could not have the Governess stay with them because they were of a higher class, the position made it hard to stick to the rigid class system put in place. Poovey refers to the governess position as ‘the fate that awaited any middle class women who failed to marry’ because the Governess role was the only option for a single woman, of an educated nature, to earn any reasonable amount of money, as the norm for a Victorian woman was to live of the money inherited from her husband. The role is also noted to ‘most closely approximate’ the role of ‘that of the wife or mother’

Bronte used the role of the Governess for two reasons, Firstly: the novel is part biographical of Charlotte herself, Charlotte, being a governess, would be able to write from a Governess’ perspective accurately. Secondly: The Governess role was a role that showed an independent woman, taking her future into her own hands, as Jane is a character seeking liberation from the Reed’s oppression the Governess role is ideal for the character, enabling her to write her own future rather than awaiting a husband, especially since she notes herself as ‘plain’ (doubting anyone would want to marry her). This decision was innovative, within Victorian Literature, to give the protagonist the role of the Governess as it idolizes an independent woman fighting against a male dominated patriarchal society. Women were expected to marry and live off of the wealth of a husband, Bronte focuses the reader on a character breaking this norm, this is how Jane Eyre could be read as an early feminist text, Jane is equal to Rochester, men and women are equal.

As soon as Jane becomes a Governess Bronte marginalizes all of Jane’s encounters with Adele within the story, this is because Bronte wishes the reader to focus on the protests the role presents rather than the job itself. Instead of a functioning teacher, we are supposed to focus on how Jane is going against ‘the norm’ in society by taking the position, challenging gender roles, Bronte incorporates the role to make psychological arguments rather than to show the function of the role.

The role of the Governess challenges the original readerships perception of the ‘sexual hierarchy’, suddenly women were becoming less submissive and taking working roles that could often equal or even surpass many roles of working men. Women now became competition for working class men in scarce jobs, because of the ‘depressed 1840’s’. Women were previously expected to stay at home and take up traditional women’s roles of wife and mother, working class men now argued against this new threat for work.

It is significant that Jane abandons the role of the Governess as it furthers Bronte’s illustration of a woman pushing the boundaries of the Victorian Ideology, towards women. The original readership would recognize that Jane abandoning her position puts her in a state of vulnerability, exposing herself to the male dominated society, However,  it would appear to contradict the intention of becoming a governess, to become independent, as she becomes dependent on the moral services of John Reed.

By concluding the novel with Jane marrying Rochester, Bronte seems to contradict the intentions of having Jane as the independent female character, as she has conformed to the norms of the Victorian society by marrying a wealthy man. However, it is also important to note the Bronte attempts to reconcile Jane’s independence. Jane is now Rochester’s equal, she is his carer, she also remains Adele’s teacher. 

1.Brontë uses pathetic fallacy within this extract to express an unsettling mood ‘driven to shelter by the wind’ ‘augment its rush and deepen its roar’; this disconcerting feeling mimics Jane’s feelings towards her relationship with Rochester, as she subconsciously feels it falling apart; whether she is beginning to recognise Rochester’s concealment of Bertha or recognises that she, as a lower class women, could not (in the eyes of a Victorian reader) marry Rochester because he is a higher class, the original readership would deem this as being unnatural. The harsh wind and rain is an example of the pathetic fallacy used to symbolise the disruption in society caused by Jane and Rochester’s proposed marriage.

 2.Within the extract, Brontë again refers to the motif of ‘Fire and Ice’, the cold wind and rain juxtapose Jane’s fiery personality; while the rain is a cold force wishing to attack Jane,  Jane again shows her independence and fiery nature, fighting against the elements. The idea that she is ‘fighting the elements’ from a feminist perspective could show Jane’s want of liberation, fighting against what was thought as ‘natural’ and ‘right’: marrying Rochester who was of a higher class, while still retaining her independence. However, Bronte also uses Jane as the ‘ice’ against the ‘fire’ that is the burning tree; the tree is split and burning, yet Jane remains calm and speaks to it ‘as if it were a living thing’, the idea that in this situation Jane is the ‘ice’ reflects on Helen Burns’ stoic teachings from earlier in the book. Incidentally, Jane talking to the tree ‘as if it were alive’ could also foreshadow Bertha later in the book, the conversation with the tree a sign of lunacy.

3.Bronte language is reflective of the Gothic genre, using phrases like 'gaped and ghastly' 'monster splinters' wreck and ruin', all evoking images of horror and destruction particularly 'wreck and ruin' which illustrates the idea that Jane is falling apart, something is being destroyed, all of this is very dark language reflective of the Gothic as a whole. Bronte also uses the phrase 'cloven halves' this could be a reference to the Devil's 'cloven Hooves' again provoking dark imagery of the Devil and Hell, religion is also a generic feature within Gothic texts.  

4. The Chestnut tree's destruction is a symbol of the destruction of Jane and Rochester's relationship, 'torn apart' because of the Fire that is Bertha. However, the fact that the 'firm base' and roots remained strong foreshadows the survival of the relationship, the 'firm base' is the idea that Jane's relationship is fixed on a 'firm basis' of intimacy towards each other, that cannot be broken. 

5. Along with the survival of the relationship foreshadowed through the reference of the 'firm base' and rigid roots, Bronte also foreshadows Bertha in this extract. She personifies a female moon, the moon being 'lunar' spurs the idea of 'lunacy', an insane mind, Bertha. The moon 'buried herself again instantly' behind the clouds, as if it were Rochester ushering Bertha back into her room, concealing her, out of sight out of mind. The tree burning is itself foreshadowing the burning of Thornifield 'it stood black and driven'.

6. Psychoanalytically, through Jane's direct conversation to the tree, we can see that Jane holds a s overwhelming sense of optimism, she is able to see life in something that is completely dead: 'scathed as you look, there must be a little sense of life in you yet' we could argue that Jane is actually referring to her relationship with Rochester, even though she cannot be with him she still finds the little life left within him to revive their love, adapting to be his carer, retaining independence 'you did right to hold fast to each other'. However, while being optimistic of it's survival, she is also critical in stating that 'you will never see birds again' or have 'green leaves'; again we could argue that Jane recognises that her relationship with Rochester will never be the same again, Rochester will never be fully healthy and they may never get over what Bertha did to their relationship (this would all be foreshadowed as is hasn't happened yet)   Jane is able to realise that, while there is hope, things will never be the same again. 

8. Bronte uses the imagery of the tree splitting in an attempt to express the unnatural act of Jane and Rochester's marriage in consideration of the rigid class system of the time, a view that the original readership would of shared. The class system in the Victorian era was expected to be set from birth, and the idea for a member of an upperclass family to marry someone of a lower class was deemed 'unnatural' Bronte expresses this literarily in the visual form of the tree being split in two, the tree, a natural thing. Jane progressing to a higher class would be 'breaking' the social norm, thus the tree breaks in half to represent to break in the social hierarchy. However, the idea that the roots remain intact portray how, although Jane does 'dent' the social class expectation, her damage will in no way be permanent; the class system will forever be rigid simply because of the natural greed the human race contains. Here, we could argue, that Bronte is taking the didactic approach to teach the, rather pessimistic lesson, that whatever we do, the social norm may never change. 

Jane becomes comfortable with the notion of death after being with Helen, and speaking about Death and Heaven. This comfort is a vast change from how she coped with the concept of death when she was living with the Reeds; we could argue that Jane's sudden comfort with death has spurred from Helen's description of Heaven: calling it 'home' and a 'future state'. Being shut out from the Reed's conversations, Jane would never have been taught about what comes after death. So, naturally she built up a fear towards death (certainly a fear of the unknown, not being educated about death) Helen's speech allowed Jane to become more familiar with death, particularly since Jane never regarded the Reed's household as a 'home'; Helen describing heaven as a future home with a 'universal parent' is more appealing to Jane than any experience in her life so far, being parentless and homeless.

Helen's acceptance with Death is similar to the way she treats life. Being a stoic she accepts all punishment given to her and believes "evil should be returned with goodness" she also accepts her death, believing it to be part of God's plan for her 'returning home'.

Helen refers to God as many roles: 'Maker, father, friend, universal parent' this is significant as it shows how she is using God to fulfil the roles she lacks, a comfort. Similarly with Jane, she finds comfort in this description of God; Helen is describing God as a being that takes up roles like 'universal parent' that Jane has never had in life.

Helen's interpretation of God is often based on duality. She speaks of the hour which will 'restore me to him, reveal him to me' and states 'i love him, i believe he loves me'.  This balance contrasts the way Helen lives her life; Helen gets treated cruelly by the teachers at Lowood, especially Miss Scatcherd. Returning 'goodness for cruelty', however she believes God will treat her equally, loving her as she loves him and so on.  Jane would idolize this idea because of her time spent at the Reeds house: there she was treated apart by Miss Reed from her other children. Jane was isolated and marginalised by Miss Reed, she treating her own children with love while Jane was treated coldly. The idea that God will love her equally as all others oposes how Jane has been treated before.

Chapter 6

Helen Burns follows stoicism, and believes in "turning the other cheek" towards those who treat her badly, finding the good in everyone and believing her peace will be given to her in heaven. As observed by Jane, she repeatedly receives torment from Miss Scatcherd for no good reason, even though she continually gives the right answers during teaching. However, to Jane's amazement she refuses to call her cruel, as she believes the bible "bids us to return good for evil" and even accepts that she has her faults that Miss Scatcherd is right to question. Jane however is fiery in character and cannot understand why Helen would ever accept the humiliation and beating that is given to her, she disagrees with Helen's philosophy and believes that one should repay goodness with goodness and cruelty with cruelty; unlike Helen, Jane resents the teachers at Lowood for their abuse and is quick to regard them as "cruel". From the beginning it is clear that Helen's passive and submissive nature to authority bewilders her, stating "I felt that Helen Burns Considered things by a light invisible to my eyes" but equally clear that Helen will have a lasting influence on the way Jane thinks "I suspected she might be right and i wrong". 

While Helen believes in forgiveness and endurance, Jane believes in standing up for herself and fighting back. Jane tells Helen of her struggles at the Reed residence, yet Helen gives a long speech regarding how she must forgive her enemies. As Jane returns later in the book to forgive Mrs. Reed it is obvious that Helen's philosophy had an impact of Jane's thinking. While she never became a stoic like Helen, Jane had to learn to control her own temperament. 

We could argue that Bronte has given Helen Burns these traits simply because: Jane is coming to Lowood at the peak of her childhood, turning from a small child into a wiser young Lady. Lowood is a new environment for her, which represents her chance to learn and become the Governess she wishes to be, Lowood is the symbolism of Jane's learning. By placing a character like Helen Burns in Lowood it gives Jane the opportunity to experience moral philosophies radically different to her own, which she will learn from and enable Jane as a literary character to progress (part of the bildungsroman genre).

Chapter 5

Within chapter five, Bronte paints vivid images of exactly what it was like to be in a poorer classed school during the Victorian era, and it Jane's experiences at Lowood Institute that help define the novel into a 'conditions of England' work. Jane describes walking through Lowood 'compartment by compartment, from passage to passage' this monotonous description could be synonymous with a prison, as if the bedrooms she passes could be cells (this is furthered later in the chapter when she describes the garden as an 'enclosure' with 'walls so high to exclude every glimpse of prospect' to reinforce the idea that she is trapped here) immediately her description of Lowood is negative- giving the distinct impression that this was not a nice place to be. She describes walking through 'dreary silence[s]' and when finally seeing some of the pupils there is only a 'hum', i infer from this that the residence are not having a fun time at Lowood- the atmosphere is dreadfully depressing. The room she walks into has only 'two candles' lighting the room and they all sit on benches showing the  meagre rations and discomfort here.  Jane describes Lowood 'institution' as a place very much governed and run through vigorous discipline ('discipline prevailed') she describes girls sat 'motionless and erect' on the benches as if they were regiments. All of this comes from Charlotte Bronte's own short experience of schooling and gives a representation of what exactly these school were like in the Victorian Era.

From a Post Colonialist perspective we could argue that Jane herself is discriminatory to other races: she describes a "strange, foreign looking lady" apart from the other teachers before revealing that she is only French. She then goes on to describe her as 'the dark one' 'the foreigner harsh and grotesque' we could argue that Jane is unfairly picking out that she is foreign as one of her bad traits, she also only mentions her in negative terms "the dark one" particularly harsher description than that of any other teacher at the school. As she is foreign Jane thinks suspiciously of the character "do you like the black one?" simply because she is not English; this is reflective of the Victorian thinking of the time.

Mrs Temples gives the pupils bread and cheese to make up for the 'burnt porridge' which opposes Mr Brocklehurst harsh rationing of food, Mrs Temple believes in generosity while Mr Brocklehurst's wants the school to be regimented and believes luxury ties with vanity, so the children would be better off in the eyes of god through living in these harsh conditions. Furthermore, while Mr Brocklehurts follows religion as a way of ruling and commanding his pupils, Helen Burns represents his opposite, a stoic, she believes in 'turning the cheek' and striving to accept the punishments given to her. She believes in finding the good in everyone. Helen Burns is the model Christian while Brocklehurst could be seen as a religious dictator.

From a Psychological perspective we could argue that Mrs Temple's name derives from Jane idolising, and placing the character on a pedestal. To Jane, Mrs Temple offers comfort that she has never received in her early childhood so naturally she places her as an idol. A Temple a reference to God, Mrs Temple offers divine comfort and kindness as well as being a 'godlike' idol. Temple's first name is 'Maria' which was also Jane's mother’s name. Bronte would have given Miss Temple this name to pursue the idea that she is a mother like figure for Jane.

Chapter 4

Jane Eyre is a Bildungsroman novel as it follows the maturity of Jane from early childhood till over a decade later, Chapter 4 is an important step in Jane's journey as it shows a progression in maturity but also a close in a chapter of Jane's life; it is in chapter 4 that Jane finally becomes relived of Gateshead's residency and sent to Lowood school for the orphaned and the poor and finally given the chance to live independently, without the oppression of the Reeds. From the beginning of the chapter it is evident that things have changed at Gateshead since Jane attacked John Reed, he and his siblings no longer physically abuse her as she has become excluded from their presence; Jane becomes Bessie's helper around the house and naturally becomes closer to her because of it. After a visit from "the black pillar" that is Mr Brocklehurst, Jane learns that she will soon be leaving "in a day or two". After Mrs Reed attempts to extend Jane's suffering to Lowood (by asking Mr Brocklehurst to keep an eye on her) Jane vents all of the anger upon Mrs Reed that has been kept inside her for years: she illustrates the hate she has for each of her children, Georgiana's lies, Eliza's vanity and John's Gluttony, as well as her hatred for Mrs Reed herself. Jane Describes how after this "her soul expanded" and relishes in being "the winner of the field" as she describes the verbal battle with Mrs Reed as a "triumph". The Chapter ends with Bessie noting Jane's new found confidence admiring how "you've got quite a new way of talking", the pair then walk back to the house embraced as the chapter closes to give the impression of a Bright future for Jane.

Charlotte uses the adult retrospective voice of an older Jane to analyse her own, younger Jane's, thoughts. The narrator states how she finds comfort in loving one of her dolls "i doted on this little toy" as "human beings must love something" However, an older Jane then speaks out and marks how strange an idea this was, as if retrospectively she realises this was just childlike behaviour " it puzzles me now to remember with what absurdity i doted on this little toy"

Charlotte uses childlike language to help describe meeting Mr Brocklehurst from a child's perspective, she describes Mr Brocklehurst with a "grim  face at the top, like a carved mask" also "two inquisitive-looking grey eyes which twinkled under a pair or brushy brows" which almost parallels a description of the wolf in Red Riding Hood; this helps us imagine the character as a child would but also shows how Jane is making links between her descriptions of people to the children’s books she would of read. This shows her Childlike imagination.

 

Mr Brocklehurst's speech regarding Lowood school in comparison to his own daughters could be criticized from a Marxist perspective. It is obvious that Mr Brocklehurst attempts to lead the school under the same morals that would be exhibited in the Bible, however instead of adopting the Christian beliefs of equality; Mr Brocklehurst uses religion for authority and twists the words to justify how he makes the children at the school live as plain, poor individuals. It is obvious that instead of using the money funded for the school on the pupils he uses this wealth to keep his own family in good standing; the pupils at Lowood are 'plain' while his daughters have lavish curls and 'silk frocks'. This shows how the upper class reap off of the money intended for the lower classes, by Brocklehurst using the money for his own needs he is oppressing the lower class (his pupils) instead of aiming to use the money equally.

 

Chapter 3

A clear example of people being treated differently according to their social status is in the employment of Mr Lloyd. Mr Lloyd is an apothecary, and supplies the medicine (plays the role of a doctor) for the servants at the Reed residence. Mrs Reed herself and the rest of the Reed children employ " a physician" who would be the professional doctor. It is obvious that Mrs Reeds does not see the servants as worthy as having upperclass medical care, simply because they are of a lower class.

Bessie's song shows the significance in Jane's growth in maturity since leaving the red room. She states how before "they were a lively delight" but now hearing the song she realises the sombre meanings and truly understands that the lyrics "the poor orphan child" can be seen as Jane herself.

We learn that Jane's mother came from the Reed family, her uncles sister and was predominantly wealthy. However, she found love in the form of a poor clergyman (the Eyre heritage) and through marrying him was distanced and shamed by the Reed family, as to step down in class was seen as an atrocious act. Jane's father then contracted TB as did her mother leaving Jane orphaned and still distanced from the Reed family.

However Jane shares the same view as many Victorians did about social class, even though she resents the Reed family she would never let herself "belong to a poor family" "poverty looks grim", she still recognises her luck in residing with the upper classes.

The last piece of dialogue obviously promotes the idea that women will succeed higher in life if they are beautiful with "long curls and blue eyes" while a "little toad" like Jane could never succeed as she is plain to the eye. This suggests that women are entirely relying on their looks as a way to succeed, that they are entirely appearance and nothing else. A feminist would argue this as a poor representation of a woman, that Charlotte neglects to portray how a woman's intelligence or work could place her equally to a man etc

Chapter 2

At the beginning of chapter two we see rebellious/fiery side of Jane's character becoming exposed, she acknowledges that her "resistance" to being dragged to the red room is a "new thing" for her so we know that she does not often resist the forcefullness of the Reeds. She momentarily compares it to "mutiny"  and even herself to a "rebel slave". At this point Jane cannot control her emotions and continually resists the efforts of Abbot and Bessie to control her, she only lapses her resistance when she realises Mrs Reed is planning to tie her down with Abbots garments, at this point Jane acknowlegdes this "took the excitement out of me".
At this point in the novel it is clear Jane is still a young child who cannot control her emotions, her fit of anger draws paralells with that of a small child.

When Jane is speaking to Bessie, Bessie threatens that if Jane does not stop her tempers she will be sent to "the poor house",  she uses this as the a threat at is well known the upper classes fear poverty and being poor. For the Victorian's social stature was a fixed system, the class you were born into was expected to be the class you die in, Bessie threatens Jane with being sent to the poorer parts of England because she knows young Jane will view this decline down the social ladder as a horrific idea, as she displays later in the novel "Poverty looks grim... No i should not like to belong to poor people".

From the quote "God will punish her: He might strike her dead" make it obvious that religion in the Victorian era was still taken very seriously, almost as fact. It is clear that the speaker thinks that God is actually capable of striking Jane down; while modern readers may dismiss this claim, religious readers of the time would often agree with the statement.

Charlotte uses the adjectives "chill" and "silent" in describing the red room to create a link towards death or gothic settings like graveyards and ghouls, the silence only suggests that something will happen to break the silence and creates tension through this, the chill could reference the feeling of a spirit in the room or reference the cold touch of a corpse. Similarly, "cold as stone" also could parallel the touch of a gravestone or the rigid stone like qualities of a body.

The red room was the final resting place of her uncle, Mr Reed, so naturally Jane as a child is scared of the room.

When Jane is looking into the mirror in the red room the narrative shifts to a third person viewpoint, for this moment it appears as though Jane does not recognise herself describing a "strange little figure" with "a white face and arms specking the gloom". This description is obviously quite unnerving and freak-like; incidentally this idea of her not recognising herself parallels Bertha's insanity as she cannot recognise herself in the mirrors of Thornfield. Similarly, when Jane describes having a "disturbed mind" and "the brain was in constant tumult"

Jane's childlike imagination features when she begins listing fairytale creatures from Bessie's stories: Phantoms, half fairy, half imp.

Throughout the novel we continually get brought back the the colour red to emphasise motifs (fire and ice) or express symbolism, in this particular chapter it is the red room itself that is used to express hidden meanings. From a simple perspective the "red" room represents Jane's anger, simply "seeing red" and it is the "Red Room' That Jane will mentally return to upon suffering later in life. However, deeper psychological readings of the red room could lead you to believe the room represents the womb,  and when Mrs Reed forces her into it she could be wishing to force her back into "the womb" in an attempt to re birth her as a loveable child, or as a Reed child, as at the moment she cannot love her. Furthermore, linking again to the womb, the Red Room could reference a woman menstration, a "coming of age" and it is this chapter that we see the young Jane begin to change into a wiser, learned character. This chapter marks the beginning of Jane's change.

Chapter One

Pathetic Fallacy is used at the beginning of the chapter to express the bleak, depressing like that Jane lives, the "cold winter wind" and the "sombre" clouds reflects Jane's bleak outlook of life- there is no light to signify hope. The "penetrating" rain reflects young Jane's temper. All the language featured is extremely negative, again showing Jane's own bleak, negative outlook towards life.

The repetition of the pronoun "I" distances herself from the other characters, this reflects Jane's isolation from the Reed family. SHe continues this segregation when describing the perfect victorian family "clustered around their mama" with "her darlings about her" apart from herself. It is clear she is conscious of her alienation from the Reeds.

Jane goes on to quote Ms Reed talking over her, she expresses that she lacks "a sociable, childlike disposition" making it clear that Jane is not part of her perfect family.

Jane continues the theme of isolation when she sits herself behind the "red noreen curtain"/ This is significant as it presents a physical barrier between Jane and the outside world. The "red" curtain also foreshadows her being trapped in the red room later on.

Mist and cloud paragraph, motif of unknown. Blind? Future unseen, ghostlike?

Jane is attracted to the pictures of isolated structures within her book, the "solitary rocks and promontories". She is attracted to these pictures as it reflects her own isolated being. She becomes fascinated by a rock standing alone in the sea while "billow and spray" beat against it. We could infer that she see's herself within this image. She being the rock isolated within the sea that is her own world, an outsider and outcast, while resisting the "billow and spray" beating against her that is the Reed family's abuse towards her. She even makes this comparison herself " I formed an idea of my own: shadowy, like all the half-comprehended notions  that float  dim through children's brains, but strangely impressive." This making is clear that she is conscious of the fact she is making parallels between the book and her own life.

It is made obvious that the servants of the house must ignore the beatings Jack gives Jane simply because of his gender. He is their "young master", as he is the only male of the house, he will become the master of the house once he becomes of age. Simply because he is male, he has power over the other members of the household. This is a result of the male patriarchal system, the victorian women become oppressed by a society which is still dominantly male led. The maids at the house know that Jack will be their master eventually, so cannot interfere when he bullies Jane. Therefore Jack has power over every member of the household simply because of his gender.

In chapter one we are presented with a child with a fully developed self dependancy. It is clear she has come to turns with her isolation with the Reed family, but accepts this and even acknowledges her isolation from the family. We see a glimpse of her feisty nature when she attempts to overpower Jack, yet we can see her intelligence when she realises she has gone to far and accepts her punishment (sitting herself on the stool)