Chapter 1
This chapter mainly shows how Jane Eyre sees her life (depressing and solitary) and shows peoples attitudes towards her. Her cousin John throws a book at her, and she is condemned to the red room.
Themes
Isolation. Frequently Jane is told she must be "kept at a distance", and all the images she picks out from the book are solitary ones.
Characters
This chapter introduces the characters from Jane's early life
- Jane Eyre, the main character and the narrator, a solitary and quiet child who feels isolated from everyone
- Mrs Reed, Jane's benefactress, who obviously prefers her children to Jane, and if frequently mean to her. For example, when her son John throws a book at Jane, Jane is punished for fighting back.
- John Reed, Jane's cousin, and son of Mrs Reed. Described as "not quick either of vision or conception", so is definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed. Treats Jane as a servant, and is a cruel bully.
- Eliza and Georgiana are mentioned briefly, there are Mrs Reeds two daughters
- Bessie is also introduced, but is currently portrayed as quite a mean character
Red - There are many mentions of red in this chapter, including the red (scarlet) moreen, and the red room, where Jane is taken as a punishment. Red can represent a lot of things, anger, pain, hate or suffering.
Places
This chapter is set in the Reed Residence, although the only description about the place describes the grounds, with "leafless shrubbery"s and"ceaseless rain sweeping wildly away before a loud and lamentable blast". No description is offered of the inside.
Narrative voice
As always, Jane is the narrator, and from this you get a strong feeling of her mood. The first sentence of the chapter, indeed the whole book, is negative, and so are many others that follow it. This makes you feel more sympathy for Jane, because of her miserable childhood in a place nobody wants her.
No comments:
Post a Comment