I have to say that after reading Pride and Prejudice, Ive started to like and understand english writing a lot more. As I said on my last blog post, I love classics. They are my favorite genre and I've decided to keep on reading them. This time I choose to read a slightly different book, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Jane is an unladylike and brave little girl who lives with her aunt, Mrs. Reed at Gateshead Hall. Her parents died when she was very young and her uncle took her with him. Her uncle died, and asked his wife to raise and care for Jane as her own daughter. But Mrs. Reed and her children are very cruel towards Jane. One day, as she was reading, her cousin John started teasing her and hit her head with a book, in attempt to defend herself, she started hitting her older cousin. Mrs. Reed saw her and locked her in a room. But this was a special room of the house, this is were her uncle died. She started recalling how cruel her aunt was towards her and how different her life would be with her uncle alive. Suddenly she spotted a white figure coming out of the chimney. She was so scared that she started screaming and had a fit. The next day she was feeling better and doctors went to see her. Bessie, one of the maids that worked at Gateshead, was really kind towards Jane and kept her company. One day she was summoned to her aunt. Mrs. Reed was talking to a man called Mr. Brocklehurst which owned a school for girls called Lowood. Jane had never gone to school before. While the conversation went on, Mrs. Reed started spinning stories around. She called Jane unpatient, misbehaved and ungratified by her "wonderful" care. She also acted as kind and loving, though Jane knew the truth. When Mr. Brocklehurst left, Jane started reminding her aunt how cruel she was with her and how she hated her and her children. How hypocrite she was around people and that she will never come back to visit her. She felt victorious at the moment and proud of herself, never had she felt such a wonderful feeling.
The next day, a carriage came for her and she was taken to Lowood. The journey was very long, it seemed as if Lowood was very far away into the countryside since she saw more hills and less homes and people. She finally got there and was received by a woman named Miss Temple and another named Miss Miller. Her first day was spent in solitude, Lowood was unknown to her. The food they got wasn't very good and it was distributed in very small portions. She was usually hungry and tired, but at least it was better than Gateshead. One day as they were doing some outdoor activities, Jane spotted a girl sitting by herself reading a book. She approached to her and started asking her questions. Her name was Helen Burns and she was a little older than Jane. Soon Jane and Helen became really good friends, they helped each other and Jane saw Helen as an older sister. The typhus fever came to Lowood one day and it struck many. Dead bodies were often seen and buried silently too, many were dying and returning home. Helen got the fever too. Jane stopped seeing her for a while and tried to make more friends, but she realized that none was like Helen Burns. One night, Jane slipped out of her room silently after hearing the doctors say that Helen wasn't going to live much longer. She silently went to Miss Temple's room and found Helen there. They both talked for a while and they fell asleep together. The next day Jane woke up, and sadly, Helen was dead. Her body was silently buried after that and Jane felt alone all over again. She started to feel that her life was useless and insignificant. She started to feel the unfair aspects in life.
I was just thinking that.....
"I am glad you are no relation of mine. I will never call you aunt again as long as I live. I will never come to visit you when I am grown up; and if any one asks me how I liked you, and how you treated me, I will say the very thought of you makes me sick, and that you treated me with miserable cruelty. . . . You think I have no feelings, and that I can do without one bit of love or kindness; but I cannot live so: and you have no pity. I shall remember how you thrust me back . . . into the red-room. . . . And that punishment you made me suffer because your wicked boy struck me—knocked me down for nothing. I will tell anybody who asks me questions this exact tale. ’Ere I had finished this reply, my soul began to expand, to exult, with the strangest sense of freedom, of triumph, I ever felt. It seemed as if an invisible bond had burst, and that I had struggled out into unhoped-for liberty. . . ." ( Bronte, 39-40)After Mr. Brocklehurst from Lowood School left, Jane and her aunt were left alone. But Jane felt she needed to speak up. This quote is showing us one of Jane's main and most important characteristics, bravery. She was brave enough to speak up for herself after her aunt called her names and told lies. She stood up for herself even though she knew how cruel her aunt could get to be and that she could end up being punished. Jane acts as an example for al of us in this part, she is giving the right example by not remaining silent when something doesn't feel right. This is what all of us should do when we are being mistreated, but sadly, the world has become a world in which people live in fear. I can personally connect to Jane in this aspect, because I also think that we should never remain silent. I think that we shouldn't bear disrespectful attitudes from others, we should make people respect us, through words and speaking but never through violence and hatred.
"But I feel this, Helen; I must dislike those who, whatever I do to please them, persist in disliking me; I must resist those who punish me unjustly. It is as natural as that I should love those who show me affection, or submit to punishment when I feel it is deserved." ( Bronte, 58)
This quote also shows us how Jane thinks about people in general. She is talking to Helen about how we shouldn't tolerate people who dislike us for no reason and we should love people who love us back. I personally feel empathy towards Jane right now because she has lived an unfair and terrible life. But I also think that since Jane hasn't been treated fairly and kindly all along her life, she automatically starts disliking everyone without noticing. And this can lead to hatred. Jane doesn't understand yet, that we shouldn't let the unhappy people, affect our feelings. Helen brings this subject up when she later questions her on her way of remembering the negative and bad experiences with so much detail, instead of letting them go and fade away. In my opinion, this is a good advice because I know by experience that it does help remove burden that we unconsciously carry in our soul that isn't seen but felt.
To conclude......
So far I am really enjoying this book and I really look forward to keep on reading it. What I like most about it is the way in which it is written. It is written from Jane's perspective , which causes us to feel more and to get engaged with the book. I have to say that when I realized that Helen died, I cried. I was so connected with the book that I didn't realize that I wasn't actually it. For a moment I felt in Jane's shoes and realized how unfair it felt. Alone she was all over again, just when she found a great friend. My prediction for the next chapters is that Jane will remain at Lowood and she will probably find a new friend or companion. I also am thinking that further on, she will find her lost family members, apart from Mrs. Reed. I highly recommend this book to all of you because it is an inspiring story with messages like inner strength, perseverance and bravery. Never had I read a book written from the characters perspective that's so impacting and appealing. Jane has so far been a great example for me and should be for many.
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