Chapter seven

In this chapter Mr Brocklehurst finally makes his next appearance, and, after slating the teachers and pupils, notices Jane. He then tells the whole school she is a liar, based on what Mrs Reed has told him, and publicly humiliates her, by forcing her to stand on a stool for half an hour, in the middle of the room.



Themes



The most obvious theme in this chapter is isolation. Jane is again separated from the rest of her peers, being made to stand in the middle of the room, elevated above them all (slightly strange, as in their eyes they have the moral high ground). Mr Brocklehurst also states that she should be completely shunned, as she was back at Gatehead. Religion is another theme, but its a very twisted and warped idea of religion. Mr Brocklehurst claims that by denying the children decent food and drink, he is helping them to become better in body and soul. He also uses many bible verses to supposedly back up his points, but he takes them out of context, and twists them for his own means.



Characters



No real new characters in this chapter. Mr Brockhursts children are mentioned, but rather to demonstrate his hypocrisy and create a contrast, not as characters who will play a part in the actual novel



Motifs



Another (very slight) reference to red, where the girl with red curly hair is told her head must be shaved. The hair colour may be a coincidence, or it may show that red shows and/or causes trouble.



Narrative voice



Jane seems quite worried in this chapter, which helps the reader understand how nervous she was during this time, and rightly so! Towards the end of the chapter, when she sees Helen, she takes on a different tone, and sounds quite wise and ready for anything life may throw at her.



Words and phrases i liked



"such is the imperfect nature of man! Such spots are there on the disc of the clearest planet; and eyes like Miss Scatcherd's can only see those minute defects, and are blind to the full brightness of the orb". I love the imagery this conjures up, although it seems a very strange thing to come out of the mouth of a child as young as Jane.



Response



I really object to Mr Brocklehurst, as he is the kind of person that discourages people from becoming Christians, but i admire Jane for her attitude towards it. What i didn't understand was why Miss Temple doesn't seem to contest anything that Mr Brocklehurst says with conviction. She seemed to speak out about something, but then just accept it when Mr Brocklehurst disagreed and carried on as before.