“Theme of Education in Charlotte Bronte's ‘Jane Eyre’”

Set in the nineteenth century, Jane Eyre describes a woman’s continuous journey through life in search of acceptance and inner peace. Each of the physical journeys made by the main character, Jane Eyre, have a significant effect on her emotions and cause her to grow and change into the woman she ultimately becomes. Her experiences at Lowood School, Thornfield Hall, Moor house, and Ferndean ingeniously correspond with each stage of Jane’s inner quest and development from an immature child to an intelligent and sophisticated woman
Ten-year-old Jane, orphaned by the death of her parents and uncle, led a discontented life under the care of her aunt, Mrs. Reed. Due to the harsh treatment she was subject to by both her aunt and cousins, Jane had severe outbursts of retaliation, which resulted in her departure from Gateshead and enrollment at Lowood School.
As she leaves for her school, Jane is a passionate and rebellious child and one who is extremely sensitive to injustice. This rebellious nature of hers however is greatly corrected at Lowood, a charity institution for orphan girls where they were taught to be “hardy, patient and self denying”. However one must ask that when Jane leaves for Lowood, has her character already been formed or if she is in the process of becoming that specific definite person who Jane Eyre turns out as. This will help one understand whether Lowood formed or reformed her or to find out if she remained the same.
Jane Eyre, neglected and unjustly treated, for the first ten years of her life, yearns for love and affection. It is the one trait that defines her throughout her life. This want for acceptance and love is what drives Jane to do everything that she does. She yearns to leave Gateshead, even with all its physical comforts and luxuries simply because she does not get any love from its inhabitants. Lowood on the other hand, with all its physical hardships and rigorous routine, seems to her a far better place than Gateshead. As she says,