Summary
Summary and analysis chapter 1 of Charlotte Bronte's 'Jane Eyre'
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Chapter 1 summary and analysis, Jane Eyrecold, wet On November afternoon, the novel opens at Gateshead, home of Jane Eyre's
relatives, the Reeds. Jane and the Reed children, Elixa, John, and Georgiana, sit in the
drawing room. Jane's aunt is angry with her for purposely exluding her, so Jane sits alone in a
window seat, reading Berwick's history of British birds. (symbol: wanting to be free, flying
away)
As she quietly reads, her cousin John torments her, reminding her of her precarious position
within the household. As the orphaned niece of Mrs. Reed, she should not be allowed to live
with gentlemen's children. John throws a book at Jane, and she calls him a "murderer" and a
"slave-driver". The two children fight, and Jane is blamed for the quarrel. As punishment, she
is banished to the red room. (connotations to the devil, hell, blood, disturbing images)
analysis
The opening chapter sets up two primary themes, which are class conflict and gender
inequality. Jane is a poor orphan living with her upper-class relatives, feeling alienated as this
social class indifference sets her apart from them. The family does nothing to make her feel
comfortable.
Her class difference translates into a physical difference, and Jane believes she is physically
inferior to the Reed children.
Jane's argument with John also highlights gender conflicts within the text. Not only is Jane at
a disadvantage because of her class status, but her position as a female leaves her vulnerable
to the rules of a patriarchal society.
John describes Jane as "unwholesome and thick."
in juxtaposition with Jane's thin, modest appearance John Reed is a picture of excess;
gluttony (greed or excess eating) feeds his violent emotions, such as his constant bullying and
punishing of Jane.
One of Jane’s goals throughout the book will be to create an individual place for herself, free
of the tyrannies of her aunt’s class superiority and her cousin’s gender dominance.
By fighting back when John and his mother torment her, Jane refuses the passivity that was
expected for a woman in her class position.
"Clouds so sombre" is a pathetic fallacy to reflect Jane's feelings; the weather is very cold and
forbidding, which reflects the coldness of Jane's world. Bronte juxtaposes the outside scene
with a warm and friendly scene, which Jane excludes.
"heart saddened"
fireside and with her darlings about her
The view from the window reflects Jane's own misery and is obscured by mist, and this could
metaphorically suggest she cannot see beyond her own happiness and that her future is
obscured; however, just as the mist outside will lift, her future will emerge more clearly.
Bronte has opened the story just as Jane's life is about to change, so up until this point Jane
has been unhappy, but there has been no dramatic focus to interest readers. So Jane's
ambiguous social standing sets up the majority of the novel's internal and external tension.
Jane's struggle against male oppression begins with John Reed, whom we also see in this
chapter.
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