Jane Eyre-Lowood
Kayla Heimbecher
Howe
ENGLIT 360
16 September 2014
Jane Eyre: Mrs. Reed and Her Children
The story Jane Eyre begins with Jane living at Gateshead with her aunt Mrs. Reed and her three cousins John, Eliza and Georgina. Jane gives great description of her characters and we get good impressions of all the characters and how Jane feels about them as well. Mrs. Reed is Jane’s aunt, by marriage. How Jane describes her she seems as a selfish and cold hearted. Though she promises her late husband, Mr. Reed that she would take care of Jane as her own. Instead, she treats her as an outsider and punishes Jane severely. Mrs. Reed hatred for Jane increases throughout the novel as she begins standing up for herself. Mrs. Reed plays the role as Jane’s antagonist, an antagonist is “a character, group of characters, or institution that represents the opposition against which the protagonist or protagonists must contend”. As Jane grows older, Mrs. Reed becomes an opportunity for Jane to show her Christian forgiveness which she learned through a classmate, Helen Burns.
John Reed, Mrs. Reed’s son and Jane’s cousin, is portrayed as a bully who is constantly pushing Jane around. Jane’s description of John, shows he is a plump and well-fed, this shows that he is a spoiled kid and is his mother’s pride and joy. John is always reminding Jane of her poverty “you have no business to take our books; you are a dependent mama says; you have no money, your father left you none, you ought to bed and not to live here with gentlemen’s children like us”. As an adult, John doesn’t change much except he is worse. He becomes an alcoholic and a gambler who uses his mother as a sponge and threatens his own life if she refuses to give him what he wants. Seems like Mrs. Reed doesn’t change when it comes to treating her son, she still turns a blind eye to all his mischief, even as an adult. The importance of the character John is that we see Jane grow through him, by standing up to him to
Howe
ENGLIT 360
16 September 2014
Jane Eyre: Mrs. Reed and Her Children
The story Jane Eyre begins with Jane living at Gateshead with her aunt Mrs. Reed and her three cousins John, Eliza and Georgina. Jane gives great description of her characters and we get good impressions of all the characters and how Jane feels about them as well. Mrs. Reed is Jane’s aunt, by marriage. How Jane describes her she seems as a selfish and cold hearted. Though she promises her late husband, Mr. Reed that she would take care of Jane as her own. Instead, she treats her as an outsider and punishes Jane severely. Mrs. Reed hatred for Jane increases throughout the novel as she begins standing up for herself. Mrs. Reed plays the role as Jane’s antagonist, an antagonist is “a character, group of characters, or institution that represents the opposition against which the protagonist or protagonists must contend”. As Jane grows older, Mrs. Reed becomes an opportunity for Jane to show her Christian forgiveness which she learned through a classmate, Helen Burns.
John Reed, Mrs. Reed’s son and Jane’s cousin, is portrayed as a bully who is constantly pushing Jane around. Jane’s description of John, shows he is a plump and well-fed, this shows that he is a spoiled kid and is his mother’s pride and joy. John is always reminding Jane of her poverty “you have no business to take our books; you are a dependent mama says; you have no money, your father left you none, you ought to bed and not to live here with gentlemen’s children like us”. As an adult, John doesn’t change much except he is worse. He becomes an alcoholic and a gambler who uses his mother as a sponge and threatens his own life if she refuses to give him what he wants. Seems like Mrs. Reed doesn’t change when it comes to treating her son, she still turns a blind eye to all his mischief, even as an adult. The importance of the character John is that we see Jane grow through him, by standing up to him to
Cited: "Antagonist." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 09 Apr. 2014. Web. 18 Sept. 2014. Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Halle: n.p., n.d. Print