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.