Chapter 6

Summary

The next day, Jane realizes that life at Lowood is harsh. The girls are not given enough food, and made to work at exacting standards. Miss Scatcherd continues to target Helen unfairly for reprimand, and even hits her with a bundle of twigs for an imagined fault. Jane makes friends with Helen, and asks her why she submits to her punishments so meekly. Helen is a selfless, pious girl, and advocates accepting injustice peacefully as part of life, and looking to God for justice. Jane, on the other hand cannot accept injustice, and believes that one should fight for their rights. Jane tells Helen about her miserable experience with the Reeds, but Helen advises forgiving them and moving on. Jane does not agree with passivity, but she respects and admires Helen’s quiet nobility.

Reaction

Yeah, the summary was very short, but that is because the chapter was mainly about Helen’s life viewpoint. While I think Helen is an amazingly brave and noble girl, I think more like Jane. I am all for fighting – for a good cause of course, and think that if you don’t fight for what you want, you won’t get it. Helen could easily be a tiresome saint of a character, but again she is saved by her conversations with Jane. She is at first humorously blunt when answering Jane’s insane amount of questions, and admits her realistic faults. My prediction in the last chapter about Helen is correct – she clearly is one of the ‘good guys.’

Chapter 5

Summary

In the morning, Jane gets ready to go to her new school, Lowood. She is too excited to eat, so Bessie bustles about, getting her ready. Jane tells Bessie that Mrs. Reed visited her at night again to coax her into being grateful to have lived with the Reeds, but Jane ignored her. Bessie and Jane embrace and bid farewell to each other, and Jane sets off in a coach for the fifty-mile journey. The ride is long, and it passes in a blur until Jane falls asleep. She is woken up when they reach the school, and a kind woman questions Jane and then sends her off with Miss Miller, an under-teacher. There is a meal served to the girls, who are dressed very plainly, but Jane is again too excited to eat anything. She then falls into her bed, exhausted, and sleeps.

The girls are woken up by a bell very early in the morning, and Jane notices the poverty and insufficiency of the school for the first time. Breakfast is nauseating – burnt porridge, and despite the girls’ hunger, they cannot eat much. Jane observes that the girls at Lowood look like Quakers, with their painfully plain attire, hair, and belongings. The woman who first talked to Jane, Miss Temple, is the superintendent and turns out to be awesome. She gives the whole school a meal of bread and cheese to make up for the disgusting breakfast. The girls then go out to the garden. Jane decides to talk to a girl named Helen Burns, who explains to Jane that Lowood is a charity school. Mrs. Reed only sent Jane to Lowood because it is so cheap. Helen is punished by a fussy teacher named Miss Scatcherd who seems to hate her for no reason. Jane admires how bravely Helen faces the humiliation of standing in front of the school in disgrace.

Reaction

This chapter transitions between the Reeds and Lowood, so more interesting chapters can be set up. Lowood is certainly better than the wretched Reed household is, because Jane at least gets to meet new people. Bessie was cool though, even though she eats bunnies. Speaking of eating, the food over at Lowood is terrible; their idea of a feast is bread and cheese. I predict that Miss Scatcherd will be pretty much the new Miss Abbot, and Miss Temple and Helen Burns will be the ‘good’ characters in Lowood. Am I right?

Chapter 4

Summary

While Jane is even more isolated than ever, she sadly does not get any hint about when she is to go to school. However, Jane is certain that Mrs. Reed will soon send her to school. Her cousins mostly leave her alone, but once John tries to “chastise” (24) her. That idiotic boy is soon sorry he tried to, because Jane flies at him again and attempts to break his nose. When he whines to his mommy, Mrs. Reed shuts him up and tells him that Jane is not fit to associate with the Reed children. Jane promptly retorts that they are not fit to associate with her. Of course, Mrs. Reed gets all riled up when she hears that, and corners Jane and dares her to be rude again. Since Jane has apparently decided to make me love her in this chapter, she takes her aunt up on the dare and tells her that Mr. Reed is watching her from heaven. Mrs. Reed shakes her and leaves in a huff. 

Jane spends the holiday season watching her cousins have fun while she is excluded. However, she claims she would not mind if she just had some company in the nursery. Jane uses a doll as a companion and takes it to bed every night. She wishes Bessie would always be in one of her kind moods, but Bessie continues to scold her although she is gentle more often. Then Mr. Brocklehurst, the overseer of the boarding school Jane is to attend, visits. I absolutely refuse to blog this part, but I will say that Mr. Brocklehurst has earned a place on my fictional character hit list. He pretty much decides, after preaching the Bible at Jane and believing Mrs. Reed’s lies, that Jane is a wicked devil-child, and threatens to tell everyone at the school. After that horrible preachy man leaves, Jane again does something amazing. She tells Mrs. Reed that she hates her and John, calls her a wicked woman, and says she will never call Mrs. Reed ‘aunt’ again. She then proceeds to charm Bessie by being more bold than usual. She finds out that the reason Bessie scolded so much is that she was provoked by Jane’s habitual timidity. The two grow closer as Jane speaks her mind, and end the day with a hug. Bessie tells Jane that she will be sent to school the next morning. 

Reaction

Basically, I love this chapter except for Mr. Brocklehurst. I actually high-fived my book when Jane attacks John and sasses Mrs. Reed. You go, girl! Mr. Brocklehurst, as mentioned before and will be mentioned in the future, is incredibly repugnant. However, I love the banter between Bessie and Jane at the end. It is very natural and entertaining to read, and I hope to see more of that kind of dialogue in the rest of the novel. 

Chapter 3

Summary

Jane wakes up in the nursery, with Mr. Lloyd the apothecary and Bessie near her. She feels happy that someone not related to the Reeds is present and is disappointed when Mr. Lloyd leaves after giving Bessie some instructions and promising to come back the next day. Bessie is uncharacteristically kind and gentle and Jane just eats up the rare sympathy and kindness. Jane tells us that she was fine after the red-room episode, except her nerves were shaken. Present-day Jane cuts in to tell us that she still feels the shock, but she forgives Mrs. Reed. Meanwhile, little Jane is deeply saddened by her experience, and is unable to enjoy the rare treats offered to her by Bessie – a pretty plate, a storybook, unusual kindness, a pastry, and companionship. Then Mr. Lloyd comes back and questions Jane. He abruptly seems less kind and more mocking, but he recommends to Mrs. Reed that Jane go to school, which is what Jane wants so she can get away from the Reeds and be accomplished. Jane overhears Miss Abbot and Bessie talking about her – Abbot as usual is incredibly cruel in her description of Jane, and reveals that she loves Georgiana because she is pretty and dislikes Jane because she is “sly” and unattractive. Bessie on the other hand pities Jane, though she admits Georgiana is likeable because of her beauty. The womenfolk go to the kitchen to eat some delicious rabbit.

Reaction

While Mr. Lloyd is apparently a kind character, I dislike his mockery and scoffing, and he seems like a thoroughly disagreeable old coot. Bessie again seems a lot gentler as a contrast to Miss Abbot’s loathsome cruelty toward Jane. However, they both eat bunnies. That I cannot forgive. Anyway, I really like the dialogue in this chapter, but the Reed family is thoroughly exasperating and I hope that Jane gets to escape from there and go to school. 

Chapter 2

Summary

Jane fights Miss Abbot and Bessie as they carry her to the red-room and protests when they berate her for her ‘shameful’ conduct. When they get her to the room, they start to tie her up and only refrain when Jane suddenly subsides in a panic. Then they discuss her in unflattering terms to her face, reminding her that she is a charity case and owes the Reeds for their generosity. Jane tells us that everyone in the household constantly reminds her of her dependence. Bessie seems to like Jane a bit more than Miss Abbot does. The ever-charming Miss Abbot decides it would be appropriate to frighten Jane by talking of God striking her down and monsters coming to grab her before her and Bessie leave Jane alone in the room. 

Poor Jane describes the coldness and eeriness of the room, which is where Mr. Reed died. She reflects on the unjustness of her punishment and life: Eliza Reed is respected despite her selfishness; Georgiana is adored for her beauty despite her rotten attitude, and the wimpy bully John is loved by his doting mom. Jane has a bout of justified self-pity, wondering why life is so miserable. Jane thinks that if she were more attractive and amiable, the Reeds would treat her better. She begins to think about Mr. Reed, and how he liked her when he was alive, and the possibility of a ghost coming to avenge Mrs. Reed ignoring Mr. Reed’s last wish –to treat Jane as a daughter. She sees a strange light and becomes so scared that she screams and rattles the locked door handle. Bessie and Miss Abbot come over, and while Bessie lets Jane take her hand, Miss Abbot is disgusted with Jane and thinks that she screamed for attention. Mrs. Reed comes in and voices her disgust as well, ignoring Jane’s pleas to be let out, and extending her confinement by an hour. The panic-stricken girl faints when the women leave.

Reaction

Jane’s sense of being wronged comes out strongly in this chapter, and it is hard not to agree with her. Miss Abbot is another detestable character, and her lack of empathy is astounding. Bessie seems to have softened; she could be a potential ally for Jane despite her harshness. It must be terrible for poor Jane to be berated for fighting back against such unfairness, especially since I think I would be more violent than Jane is. Jane’s childish fear of Mr. Reed’s ghost is understandable, and provides yet another opportunity for the adults in the house to show their ridiculous lack of compassion. She again just escapes being a cliché abused-orphan character by her delightfully vindictive hope for Mrs. Reed to be punished by a ghost. As a reader, I hope that Mr. Reed’s ghost will appear and punch his whole family in the face for me in an epic slow motion scene. Is that asking too much?

Chapter 1

Summary

The story opens with young Jane, 10 years old, and sadly neglected by her aunt and cousins, who have adopted her after her parents’ death. Mrs. Reed seems to go out of her way to make Jane feel unwanted and inferior. Because of her aunt’s neglect, Jane is looked after primarily by a servant named Bessie, who scolds her a lot. One evening, Jane is sent away from the family gathering due to her supposed naughtiness. Left to amuse herself, Jane hides behind a curtain in the corner and reads Bewick’s History of British Birds with great interest and contentment. Then, her 14-year-old cousin John Reed comes along, to torment Jane just for kicks. He proceeds to terrify her and then actually hits the little girl. Instead of meekly accepting the blows, which seems to be what John expects, Jane calls him cruel, comparing him to the Roman emperors. John reacts in rage, rushing at Jane, who fights him fiercely until he calls his mom for help like the spoiled brat he is. The servants, Bessie and Miss Abbot, blame Jane for the fight and Mrs. Reed orders them to lock up Jane in the “red-room” (Brontë 6). The women drag a hysterical Jane away.

Reaction

This is a short chapter, but it certainly packs some punch. Based on the novel so far, Jane could file for child abuse in modern times and win the case. However, since she unfortunately lives in the Victorian era, she is forced to endure incessant bullying from the detestable John Reed and hatred from Mrs. Reed. It is shocking that an adult would treat a child as harshly Mrs. Reed does, and she reminds me of Cinderella’s wicked stepmother. In fact, little orphan Jane’s whole situation sounds very Cinderella-like. However, Jane’s personality saves the story from banality. Jane does not act sweet, self-sacrificing, and forgiving, like Cinderella. Instead, she flies at John Reed like a tiny tiger when he abuses her, and calls her tormentor names. This seed of spirit, considering we are talking about the Victorian era here, makes her an offbeat heroine, and an interesting character. I like little Jane’s feistiness.