Written by: BennyBoyThexton
Throughout the first section of the novel, we are constantly reminded of the barriers in which Jane is suppressed by. Through this figurative element we can come to terms with the development of the character of Jane Eyre. Jane is an intelligent, honest, plain-featured young girl forced to contend with oppression, inequality, and hardship. Although she meets with a series of individuals who threaten her autonomy, Jane repeatedly succeeds at asserting herself and maintains her principles of justice, human dignity, and morality. She also values intellectual and emotional fulfilment. Her strong belief in gender and social equality challenges the Victorian prejudices against women and the poor. The development of Jane’s character is central to the novel. From the beginning, Jane possesses a sense of self-worth and dignity, a commitment to justice and principle, a trust in God, and a passionate disposition. Her integrity is continually tested over the course of the novel, and Jane must learn to balance the frequently conflicting aspects of herself as to find gratification. After Jane’s departure and emotional liberation from Gateshead, we are invited onto the next chapter of her life. She is introduced to the daily routines at Lowood, which are largely made up of religious aspects. It is in the next chapter where we are introduced to two figurehead characters in the path of Jane’s development, Helen Burns and Maria Temple. In lesson, Helen informs Jane of the circumstances of Lowood and that all the children are ‘charity children.’ One of the nastier teachers, Miss Scatcherd mistreats Helen; Jane is impressed with the tranquillity of Helen’s emotions as she willingly bears the punishment. This may be perhaps a stepping-stone for which Jane to build upon as one of her closet friends and her biggest influences bears the punishment, which Jane, coincidently has had problems with as we have seen in the previous chapters. Helen delivers to Jane, her Christian beliefs of forgiveness and endurance, ‘one must bear the sins of others, turn the other cheek, and love thy enemy.’ Jane is of course at odds with this, as standing up for herself frequently means fighting back. We have already witnessed several situations in which she availed herself of these tactics, particularly the fight with John Reed and the consequences was that she was locked in the Red Room, and also the lashing out at Mrs Reed were she feels a short-lived victory that soon turned to remorse. While Helen’s Christianity is not useful for Jane, neither is Jane’s attitude of self-defence; she must find and develop her own brand of spirituality. The apocalyptic literature Bronte uses foreshadows one of the main themes of the novel which is Jane’s search for a religion and the constant dictation from the teachings at Lowood and the preaching she receives from Helen, furthers her development not only as an established character, but also as a devoted Christian. Jane receives different models of Christianity throughout the novel, all of which she rejects either partly or completely before finding her own way. Brocklehurst’s Evangelicalism is full of hypocrisy, spouting off on he benefits of privation and humility while he indulges in a life of luxury and emotionally abuses the students at Lowood. Also at Lowood, Helen’s beliefs of absolute forgiveness and tolerance are to meek for Jane’s taste, and this aspect of Helen of constant absorbing of punishment causes her to eventually dying silently. Helen’s philosophy of Christian forgiveness is tested as Mr Brocklehurst unjustly punishes Jane. Though Jane does not fight back, she inwardly seethes and thinks, ‘I was no Helen Burn’s.’ Jane’s development of character in regards to her temper is shown here, as she remains calm on the inside, which is an improvement to her normal self-anger. Mr Brocklehurst’s Christianity shows more hypocritical flaws. Though he claims that ‘privation leads to purity,’ his relatives are dressed to the nines. He even wants to cut off one girl’s naturally curly hair, demonstrating his lust for absolute power over others. Jane has to develop a sense of independence, which is one of her major developments in the novel. Helen correctly states in chapter nine, that she need to be less reliant on others. The Main quest in Jane Eyre in Jane’s search for her kindred spirits, for a sense of belonging and love, but her search is constantly tempered by her need for independence. Jane begins the novel as an unloved orphan and overly relies on the love for others for happiness. But she gains self-esteem through the loving surrogate maternal figure of Miss Temple and her own success at Lowood. As Jane’s stay at Lowood progresses, we become more aware of the other important character, Maria Temple. ‘Miss Temple’ has a religious undertone in her name, which suggests a religious person, and we come to realise, is the only person who upholds the Christian faith out of the superior delegates at Lowood. She acts as Jane’s surrogate mother and this aspect underlines a main theme for Jane in her development of character in the novel. After receiving no parental love from Mrs Reed, she turns to Miss Temple for affection. As we have seen before, ice is a motif in Jane Eyre for cruel, negative, destruction, and here fire fans out as a symbol of goodness and creation. The fire in Miss Temple’s room warms the girls and so does her kindness, conversation, and treats (bread and cheese.) The role of surrogate mother adopted by Miss Temple is pivotal to Jane’s development as a character as she provides Jane with the love and care she needs and in the same sense reinstates her own self-esteem and confidence. After Helen dies in her deathbed from consumption, the book has a brief transitional period of eight years where Jane has developed and matures greatly from an angry child bent on self-survival into a mostly independent young woman seeking to serve others. Also, the mention of Mr Eyre’s arrival at Gateshead foreshadows latter events in which Jane will inherit riches of 20,000 pounds. Jane’s exit from Lowood ends the second stage of her life. We conclude this chapter in her life and give emphasis towards her development of her character and the way in which she has matured. She has had to face much distress and has had to come to terms with her own development at her academic life at Lowood such as the death of her friend, her search for a religion and her warming to her surrogate mother Miss Temple. Mr Rochester is introduced to us in a vulnerable position and under the care of Jane. Mr Rochester, the owner of Thornfield, cloaks himself in mystery and refuses to reveal himself to Jane. We already catch a glimpse of his mannerisms and his attitude towards to Jane and his feelings towards her. The mystery concerning Rochester deepens as the novel progresses, and this constitutes the major dramatic thrust of the novel. Gothic novels usually have a romantic component that revolves around passionate, unrequited love; Rochester’s dark, brooding, nature and secretive past makes him an ideal candidate for such a love. Part of Jane’s struggle with Rochester will be assertion of her independence and equality. As we can already see, Rochester only begrudgingly admits Jane’s positive attributes, criticising her even when praising her watercolours. Nevertheless, he seems to regard her as his intellectual equal. As the first section comes to a close Rochester warms to Jane and reveals some of his past and how he was ‘passionately devoted’ to Adele’s mother (Adele being the young French child whom Jane is tutoring.) These revelations and his honesty make him more attractive to her and she is worried that Rochester will leave Thornfield soon. Jane’s development is significant here, as, other than John Reed and Mr Brocklehurst, has had no real contact with a male on a compassionate level. When Rochester’s curtain catches fire from a fallen candle we are again shown the connection with fire, as it brings Jane and Rochester closer together. Jane is given a power as Rochester is, again, in a vulnerable position. Rochester still tries to avoid the state of affairs concerning Grace and tries to sweep the episode under the rug. Rochester’s reluctance to leave after the episode shows us his wounded heart after the situation with Adele’s mother. He is yearning for a constant love based on more than a physical attraction, and Jane seems to provide that. We learn much from Rochester’s change of affection towards Jane. At the first introduction he is reluctant for any help and any communication with Jane for example when he questioned Jane about Rochester when in fact, he was the real Rochester. As they continue to get to know each other we are shown how Rochester sees Jane as his intellectual equal. The element of fire emphasises brings the two closer together and Jane’s poetic ending to the section, mentioning the ‘hills of Beulah’ which is the Hebrew term for marriage. Jane adds her affection to the recipe along with Rochester’s even though he remains adamant to show his soft side. At Thornfield, Jane learns much of her own satisfactions and the restrictions of her gender. Bronte uses the hierarchy of the time in which she wrote the novel to emphasise the barriers of gender. For example, at the beginning of the imprisonment of Jane in the Red Room and Berthas’ imprisonment in the attic at Thornfield is revealed. The connection implies that Jane’s imprisonment is symbolic of her lower social class, while Bertha’s imprisonment is symbolic of Victorian marriage, all women, if they marry under unequal circumstances as Bertha did, will end up going crazy and confined by their husbands in some manner. While it is difficult to separate Jane’s economic and gender obstacles, it seems clear that her being a woman prevents her from venturing out into the World as some of the male characters do e.g., Mr Rochester. Indeed, her desire for worldly experience inronizes her last name, as ‘Eyre’ is derived from the French word meaning ‘to travel.’ We are shown how she is feeling imprisoned at Thornfield after her first few weeks and we are shown her development as a character and her need for independence. ‘I could not help it; relentless was in my nature; it agitated me to pain sometimes…….. If they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex.’ This passage appears in chapter 12, in the midst of Jane’s description of her first few weeks at Thornfield. The diction highlights Jane’s feelings of imprisonment (she paces the corridors like a creature caged), and her longings for freedom and equality. Jane’s words are also relevant to Bronte’s own experience as a writer, and to the general condition of Victorian women. The images of relentless and pacing, of feeling ‘stagnation’ and ‘too rigid a restraint,’ are examples of the novels central theme of imprisonment and how Jane thrives for independence. In instances of physical imprisonment Jane must also escape the fetters of misguided religion (represented by Brocklehurst), and of passion without principle (represented by Rochester.) The passage suggests that Bronte’s writing may have been her means of coping with such rage. Jane describes her retreat into her own mind, to find freedom in her imagination. While Bronte’s greatest triumphs were the result of such self-retreat, her heroine’s achievement is the balance she strikes between her need for autonomy and her desire to be an active member of society. Jane’s development from early childhood to her blossoming womanhood is emphasised through many separate aspects and themes of the novel. This includes Jane’s search for a religion. Jane frequently looks for God in her own way throughout the novel, particularly after she learns of Rochester’s previous marriage (further on in the novel.) She has learned from Helen’s forgiveness without being a pushover, and returns to Rochester when she feels she is ready to accept him again. The spiritual culmination of the book is her and Rochester’s mystical experience that brings them together through a spirituality of profound love. Jane has also learnt and nurtured her need for independence and the way she is imprisoned in the first section adds to this desire. The long passage in chapter 12 emphasises her feelings and the eight years at Lowood and the imprisonment in The Red Room also show this. The constant situation of being poor in a wealthy environment gives justification to this emotion also. The development is the transitional period is the biggest development of Jane’s character, going from a fiery child who is confused, outspoken and ostracised to being a composed, mature young woman.