Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre is, at this time in the book, described more or less as like one of a lower species than that of a human being. Her “family” is described as rich, snobby, well off humans, while poor Jane is seen by them to be of some sort of an ‘animal’. In this first chapter, a lot if unfolded about the characters. We find out who Jane is, who Mr. and Mrs. Reed are, who Bessie is, and who John, Eliza, and Georgiana are. We are told that Mr. Reed promises to take care of Jane if anything was to happen to her parents, but soon Mr. Reed falls ill and asks his wife, Mrs. Reed to promise that she will care for Jane after he passes on as one of her own, but that is apparently taken lightly and thus Jane is treated as lower than garbage. We are also told that Jane’s parents died long ago. To me, in a way, the beginning part of the book reminds me a lot of a Cinderella story. There is the evil step-mother, the evil three step-sisters, and then there is the ‘Cinderella’. But in this case, it’s an evil Aunt, three evil cousins, and her, the ‘Cinderella’ cousin. I feel this really sets a mood for the book and really allows the reader to use their own imagination and let their mind wander to draw up how this story feels and looks like in their own mind, while using that ‘Cinderella’ effect builds up our subconscious knowing of the circumstantial situation of Jane’s life.
When Mr. Lloyd visits Jane, a lot of different thoughts and emotions run through her mind. She feels a sense of security with him around. But when Mr. Lloyd speaks of school, she thinks of her current schooling conditions, and how much she thirsts for more knowledge but is deprived of it. Mr. Lloyd mentioned that Jane would probably be happier going to school, and said with Jane’s best interest at heart. After Mr. Lloyd left, and she sat pondering on the thought of her being able to fulfill her desiring thirst for knowledge, her mind wandered across how quiet and how peaceful it was around her; Mrs. Reed was out with her family, and then she thought. Her thought led her to an overwhelming amount of delight as she realized she’d be free of the Reeds’ puppetry life. But Jane soon realized that school wasn’t all that she had hoped it to be, it was worse. It definitely had not been of the expectations that she had set in her mind of Lowood to be. It was a rude awakening. ([i] pg. 16 quote) Unfortunately, at the same time, Jane already started dreading school because of the lies Mrs. Reed had told Mr. Brocklehurst which she believed, in the long run, that Mrs. Reed was surely without a doubt, setting Jane up for failure at Lowood. ([ii] Quote) ‘But with time, change is to arise out of every situation.’ And turned out that not every experience she encountered weren’t all bad; meeting Mrs. Temple, in the long run, had a really positive effect on Jane’s future and her life, and meeting Helen, her first friend of her age brought her to Jane accepting Christ.
Throughout Jane’s life, Jane has constantly been treated and thoughtless of what she really was, and underestimated her. Mrs. Reed had the casualty of the experience with John from underestimating Jane’s personality, and so did Helen. It seemed though also that Jane had a desire to please those and strive for attention to be noticed or get love. And it seemed that Jane not being appreciated and recognized led to her new nature. Jane was at a revengeful state of mind and had a passionate aggressive spirit about it to for all the mistreatment she endured and always bottled that ‘inner voice’ from getting out. But it was Jane’s inner voice that kept her strong, continuously questioning, confident and courageous. Helen being older than Jane had a little more time to discover the world and all of it’s ‘bugs’ out that life had. So when Jane came along, Helen noticed that same spunk and fire that was once in her. Jane saw that Helen was very humble and that how having Christ in her life taught her the humble life she could have. Their friendship was really centered on God now. And it was Helens example of Christ-like humility that drew Jane to admire and look up to Helen as a role model and desire to follow a life of Christ, for it was that important lesson that Helen taught Jane of “turning the other cheek and do good to them that hate you” that became the firm foundation that Jane’s new life could build upon and prosper wonders from it.
Bessie, an old time friend from her child hood, came to visit Jane before Jane left to open the next chapter of her life. Bessie‘s always been a straight out honestly blunt person with the truth. When she saw Jane for the first time in years, she had formed an opinion that Jane desired to hear. Bessie mentioned that Jane hadn’t been the most appealing child growing up, but now she had without a doubt been transformed into a lovely lady. But the look that Jane saw on Bessie’s face to her implied that Bessie was a little disappointed with her. Over all though, Bessie does say that Jane seems to be a lot clever. She also is very impressed with her accomplishments in schooling; learning to play the piano, how to draw, and her ability to speak French fluently. Bessie always knew that Jane would rise above her cousins’ skills and achievements. But it seems though that Jane is pleased with all of Bessie’s observational critiques because she knows that Bessie means well and would tell her what’s what straight up. Jane’s at the age of eighteen where at that age of eighteen, one wishes to please the world and all they strive for is to please others and receive approval of others. ([iii] Quote) “…and they have not an exterior likely to second that that desire brings anything but gratification…” Beauty is very important to Jane because all her life, Jane’s been viewed as the ‘Ugly Duckling’, but now that Jane has grown up and physically grown more attractive, she seems to be taking more of an interest in her looks.
In the Introduction to the book Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë said this: “To you I am neither man nor woman. I come before you as an author only. It is the sole standard by which you have a right to judge me – the sole ground on which I accept your judgment”. To me, it’s telling me, but at the same time, not telling me if these events in her book are events that happened to her or really what connection they have to her life. We do know that Charlotte was left to face the death of her family and loved ones, which is depicted descriptively in her book full of emotions which left you with a sense of the author probably having experienced that due to the amount of perplexing details. She is also a teacher which is to be true in her real life too. Charlotte also judged herself as small and plain and quarter-like, and not pretty at all. Mr. Rochester says to her that she isn’t pretty any more than he is handsome, who is a fictional character and is the voice of her consciousness of a long and intricately thought up book of high ambition. But as this story is written, it’s the more and more that we read on that the more and more we realize that it is history not story.

[i] Pg. 16 “It had gotten to the point where she thought she’d find peace and contentment with them’ the Reeds ‘gone, but no calm could soothe her…”
[ii] I’m not really sure if that really IS as quote by someone but rather it be credited than not.
[iii] Quote from book on page 94 or 95