1. Bronte sets the opening scene of the novel with,"cold winter wind... clouds so sombre.... rain so penetrating."

2. Winter is often associated with death, fallow, sorrow, struggle, hardship. The dark clouds remind me of the power of nature, and dark clouds are suggestive of a warning, omen, portent of something bad; the rain holds a sense of duality, adding to a feeling of gloom and sadness, and simultaneously a feeling of growth and promise, a fundamental blessing for life. Within moments, Jane shares the traumatic incident of absuse, but the fact that she's recalling with such aploom tells promises she grew up to be a strong, smart woman. 

3. Potential Thematic Issues? Coming of Age, Formative Years, Adversity, Survival and Hope; Alienation, Sublime Natural World, Fate versus Determinism

2. "seeing red" refers to intense anger, which Jane experiences right before being chucked into the red room. Red is also the color of blood and evil, suggesting future revenge and her current predicament.

3. Red suggests fire and destruction, which could mean that Jane's life is going to change quickly, which it does after she gets sent to school.

   Group: Olivia s, madeleina s, cate t, claire b

1. While Bessie and Sarah are having a conversation in the hall, Jane overhears them discussing "Three loud raps on the chamber door."

2. This detail is an intertextual reference to "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe, which came out two years before Jane Eyre. "The Raven" features themes of death and spirituality and focuses on a man hearing a raven outside his bedroom, tapping on his window, and when he speaks to the raven, all it says is "nevermore." The symbol of the repetitive sound itself indicates the old phrase about Death coming knocking, which further symbolizes the inevitability of death and the despair associated with mortality. Throughout the poem, we learn that the man is mourning the death of his lover Lenore, which adds to the themes of grief and despair that build throughout the poem. Bronte referencing this poem shows both Jane's literary aptitude and her internal despair, as the chapter describes how everything around her seems dark and dreary.

3. The potential thematic issues for this symbol are mourning a loss, despair, confronting issues, and the influence of environment- The Gothic Genre

2. Jane’s doll is symbolic of her childhood and youthful naivety. Though she is struggling through life and often quotes that she is “miserable”, her doll brings her comfort and happiness. In the context of the rest of chapter 4, the doll brings her love and shelter from the rest of her awful “family” members. 

3. Coming of age, curse of family, isolation, youth.

Lila Juenger, Mateo Jones, Alex Moses, Sullivan Banks-Gilmore

"Oh! I saw a light, and I thought a ghost would come."

What do ghosts symbolize? Look into this!

The ghost illustrates her inner fears even though she is seen as a wicked girl yelling at step brother.

Cate T, Olivia S, Claire B, Madelania S.

2. This is a common ocurrence in many fairy tales that helps paint the protagonist as mistreated and worthy of some kind of heroic-ness, either from the outside or from within.

3. Evil Stepmothers keep the children humble since they are told from the beginning that they are unloved, which will often create some type of genius or skill, so maybe Jane will discover her value soon. Think: Hansel and Gretel!

4. Olivia s, madeleina s, cate t, claire b

2. To Jane, I think curls represent a sort of class and belonging that she doesn’t have. Eliza and Georgiana are loved and well taken care of, so they are able to experience luxuries like curled hair and fancy party clothes, whereas Jane hides away at parties and spends her time cleaning. Though Jane may not necessarily care about materialistic things like hair and clothes, it still brings her a sense of difference and exclusion from her adoptive sisters. This can be connected to the idea of Cinderella, with her two fancy stepsisters and Cinderella herself feeling disconnected. Within the rest of the chapter, the idea of isolation and disconnect from her house members is continued.

3. Female roles, Cinderella themes, Beauty, Isolation, Youth.

Lila Juenger, Mateo Jones, Alex Moses, Sullivan Banks-Gilmore

1. Bronte’s characters in the Reed family use a particular insult that serves as a symbol: “Rat! Rat!” (14).

2. A rat is an animal–another insult frequently hurled at Jane–with a particularly sour reputation of being a dirty, disease-carrying, inferior pest. If someone has a rat problem, they are assumed to be poor or impoverished. John calling Jane a rat solidifies his disgust for her poverty and the nasty connotations he has with her.

3. A potential thematic issue that arises from the “rat” insult may be hierarchy in nature, socioeconomic hierarchy.

1. Jane describes a tart that Bessie brings her, which is "on a certain brightly painted china plate, whose bird of paradise, nestling in a wreath of convolvuli and rosebuds" that she says she had "often petitioned to be allowed to take in [her] hand in order to examine it... but had always hitherto been deemed unworthy of such a privilege." She describes it as a "circlet of delicate pastry," but says that "the plumage of the bird, the tints of the flowers, seemed strangely faded," and that she could not eat it.

2. This detail reminds of Hansel and Gretel and Alice in Wonderland. Hansel and Gretel also features characters who are drawn to a certain piece of delicious food (ie the gingerbread house), but unlike Hansel and Gretel, who begin eating it, Jane is unable to eat it because of her despair. In Alice in Wonderland, Alice eats a tart labeled "Eat Me" that shrinks her, and although Alice in Wonderland came out much later, the idea of food that changes a person is much older than Alice in Wonderland itself. Sweets, especially for children, symbolize a kind of temptation and a sense of childhood, as well as a sense of class, since only the wealthy could afford sweet food back in these times. The temptation of the sweet has been appealing to Jane in the past, as she says she wanted to eat it but had always been denied, but in the moment, she is so overwhelmed by despair that she cannot eat it now, and it looks like it's faded. She is rejecting the temptation and the expectations of her class to be gluttonous, despite her dislike of being poor, which shows the duality in her and how unsure she truly is about where she belongs.

3. Some potential thematic issues are gluttony, innocence, childhood, growing up, loss of hope or joy, and class structure.

1. “She had drawn a more marked line of separation than ever before between me and her own children; appointing me a small closet to sleep in by myself”

2. Small closets are used in literature to represent imprisonment, degradation, and the act of being banished from a familial society. A familiar example might be Harry Potter’s closet at the Dursley’s house. For Jane Eyre, this is a cramped, claustrophobic exile: a place without dignity or hope of human interaction. A closet is the smallest individual space that can be given to a person.

3. From this symbol arise the thematic issues of isolation, desolation, Individualism, Displacement, and Injustice, as she is exiled to a meager closet.  Lost and Alone (Hansel and Gretel)

Issues? Alienation; Maslow's Hierarchy on Needs

elena sunny clara adrian

1. “From this window were visible the porter’s lodge and the carriage-road” 

2.  Windows symbolize transition and longing, separation between two planes or a portal into a new world. In context, we can see how the window gives Jane a view of the world she is missing out on and bolsters her desire to leave. It’s a place of respite for her and a reminder that there is more for her out there beyond the suffering she endures at home. 

3. From this symbol arise the thematic issues of Desire to Escape, Isolation, Alienation, and Coming of Age.

This quote is showing how Jane is getting more attention than she has ever in the past,even though she has been locked in a red room after being rude to her step brother. She is recalling on her past life, maybe wishing she could have been held as a kid for comfort.

2. ?

3. Since Jane is an orphan, the slight bit of affection she gets in the room shows a glimpse of hope for Jane to become more than just an orphan to her family.

Cate T, Olivia S, Claire B, Madelania S.

1. The Reed family’s staff member Bessie is introduced as a sort of comforting, nurturing figure: “Did ever anyone see such a picture of passion!” (14). 

2. Bessie serves as a symbol of motherhood and compassion. In Jane’s life, she has no immediate family, and is treated like an outsider by the cousins and aunt she lives with; Jane does not know parental, familial love. She can not find the motherly figure she seeks in Mrs. Reed, so she turns to the other adult woman in her life, whose job is to be attentive (a maid).

3. A potential thematic issue that arises from Bessie serving as a parental figure could be seeking parental approval, searching for familial love, or looking for a way to cope with trauma.

2. The nursery that Jane is condemned to symbolizes her isolation in the Reed household. The children of the household spend most of their time in the drawing room and conversing with one another. Jane is often ordered to the silent hall of the nursery, where she cleans and talks to nobody. While this type of life makes Jane lonely and envious, she states “Though somewhat sad, I was not miserable.”

3. Isolation, silence, character destruction (punishment), self-reliance 

• When Mrs. Reed comes by to the red room, her presence is stated as a storm coming Jane's way.

• Her gown symbolizes her power and wealth; she owns the house and uses her force to inflict terror and oppress Jane.

Sunny, Adrian, Clara, Elena

1. "He [John Reed] gorged himself habitually at table, which made him bilious” (Bronte 9).

“You ought to beg, and not to live here with gentlemen’s children like us, and eat the same meals we do” (Bronte 10).

2. John Reed is described as gluttonous and greedy. Eating so much food is symbolic of his entitlement and arrogance, as he feels he deserves ownership and control over all that exists at Gateshead. Jane on the other hand, is only an orphan living under the same household as an act of benevolence by Mrs. Reed. In John Reed’s opinion, she is not worthy of the food that he eats. This symbol will carry over to the next stage of the “tapestry when she reaches Lowood school. The food they are served is disgusting and burnt, symbolic of their relative worth as orphans at a charity school.

3. Food and Meals connect to an overall theme of heirarchy and class inequality. Those who are deemed worthy and high class gorge themselves in food and luxury, whereas the less fortunate such as Jane are ostracized from the dinner table and served low quality food.

2. Mrs. Reed remains a strong symbol throughout the chapter. Mrs. Reed treats Jane with cruelty and a cold shoulder. Despite the horrible treatment she received, Jane often found herself craving her approval. “However strenuously I strove to please her, my efforts were still repulsed and repaid by such sentences as the above.” Jane goes back and forth in her mind between the immense hatred she feels for the woman, and the accidental urge to please her.

3. Power and corruption, Manipulation, Losing hope, Injustice

2. Jane is literally almost tied down for a small misbehavior, when compared to John's misconduct. Her superiors also threaten her with throwing her to the poorhouse as punishment.

3. liberation follows imprisonment, so maybe Jane will find newfound freedom at Lowood or afterward.

4. claire b, olivia s, madelenia s, cate t

1. “Take her away into the red-room, and lock her in there” (Bronte 11).

2. The color red is referenced more than once throughout the chapter. When she is struck by John Reed, she hits her head on the door and notices red blood drip down her neck. Then, she begins to fight back, but has no memory of her actions, which could be described as “seeing red.” Her consequence is her sentence to isolation in the red room. This could be significant throughout the rest of the novel as Jane experiences different forms of punishment. It may also have a biblical lens, as red can be associated with the devil, hell, and judgment.

3. This is all evidence of red being symbolic of punishment: John punishes her with abuse, she punishes him by fighting back, and then Mrs. Reed punishes her with isolation.

This is Mrs. Reed yelling at Jane for screaming after she thought she saw Mr. Reed's ghost.

2. As Jane is in the red room she believes she sees Mr. Reed's ghost with her. Mr. Reed seems to be coming back for revenge to punish his wife for treating Jane so horribly, and not raising her like her own child. I believe this is Jane's way of taking her revenge on her aunt in the form of Mr. Reed's voice.

3. Change of power, Rebellion, and Self-reliance.

Claire B, Cate T, Olivia S, Madeleina S

The morning of Jane’s departure from Gateshead was a raw, dark and chilled one. The moon had since set, providing no light for Jane’s walk to the carriage. As her journey progresses, the farther she gets from Gateshead, the more daunting and bitter the day becomes. The darkness symbolizes fear and uncertainty. Jane is only ten years old and she’s all alone on a long and frigid journey. The rain, wind, and darkness fills the air and represents Jane's fear of the unknown.

Isolation, coming of age

John Dietz, Cal Geisler, Tessa Davern

2. Jane chooses to read a book about birds which, considering the bleak mid-winter weather and her unfulfilling life, represents her longing for escape. By reading she is quite literally escaping her reality and she is no doubt jealous of the birds who get to fly, much as she'd like to migrate away from the Reed family. By reading her bird book by the window she is quite a bird in a cage

3. thematic issues could be freedom, escapism

2. This detail is symbolic of a church grim, which is a black dog that protects holy areas from evil spirits. Usually their presence indicates oncoming death or despair. In Jane Eyre, the dog is mentioned when Bessie is discussing how worried she is about Jane's condition. The mentioning of the black dog symbolizes some possible foreshadowing that Jane is about to (or already is) experiencing some great forces of evil.

3. The thematic issues this might address are impending doom, bad luck and bad omens.

2. Carriages are often associated with cinderella. The carriage represents class and chivalry, as it is what Cinderella rides to the ball to convince everyone she is royalty. In the context of the book, Jane is a poor individual who does not often get to ride in carriages. She is offended by the accusation that she is crying over something so vain as a fancy carriage ride. This effectively represents her as a character who is not materialistic and wants to connect to the world in a more genuine way.

3. the thematic issue being discussed is the dangers of vanity and materialism.

Jane views herself as a burden and unconnected member of a family she's not a part of. The use of the word alien feels supernatural and the ultimate disconnect from others. She has sympathy for Mrs. Reed despite the way she treats her. It suggests an image of the family that depicts the Reeds on one side of a bridge and Jane on the complete opposite. She understands that Mrs. Reed wouldn't want to care for her because without her Uncle, they have no direct relation.

elena clara sunny adrian

• The stool symbolizes her feeling of restraint and outcast within Gateshead Hall.

"...; and when I dared moved, I got up and went to see. Alas! yes; no jail was ever more secure."

• Jane goes to see if she's locked in or not and states how she 'dared to move' - conveying the way she is trapped and doesn't have confidence to leave the stool she was put in. She even compared the red room/stool as her 'jail'.

Clara, Sunny, Adrian, Elena

"I had to cross before the looking glass...All looked colder and darker in that visionary hollow than in reality..." (Bronte 16)

Mirrors are often symbolic of deeper psychological meanings and self-reflection. The mirror is mentioned multiple times throughout the chapter, but rather than reflect Jane's face, Jane sees the ghost of Mr. Reed. This perhaps shows her disconnection from self and those she lives with, wishing that Mr. Reed was still alive to be kind to her. The fact that the mirror looked "colder and darker" shows that although she is in a beautiful room and convinces herself she's alright, she is battling something deeper. I would say that this brings up the issues of self-image and sadness.

2. Red's association with heat hits me hard here, because of scarlet fever... Typhus... the Bronte children all had scarlet fever at one point.. Lowood children will, too. Victorian England was so vulnerable to diseases like these.. even the wealthy.

3. Issues: The Body; Public Health; Disease; Social Class; Human Vulnerability; Death

1. “The cold winter wind had brought with it clouds so sombre, and a rain so penetrating that further outdoor exercise was now out of the question” (Bronte 5)

2. Rain is often symbolic of sadness, isolation, and seclusion. Within the first lines of the novel rain is mentioned as Bronte sets the scene of a gloomy day. This makes the mood of the book immediately somber and dreary. This can be seen to symbolize Janes despair and her bleak depression situation at Gateshead hall

3. The “penetrating rain” speaks to the thematic issue of isolation and solitariness

1. “Every nerve I had feared him, and every morsel of flesh on my every nerve I had feared him, and every morsel of flesh on my bones shrank when he came near” (Bronte 7)

2. John Reed is constantly abusing and chastising Jane during her time at Gateshead Hall. He comes to symbolize Jane’s constant state of fear and terror she lives in. Later in the chapter she describes herself as being habitually obedient to John. This shows the effect his suffocating abuse has on her and how it has forced her to become silenced

3. John Reeds abusive manner connects to the thematic theme of individuals fear, weakness and manipulation

1b- Bessie is introduced to readers as a caring, attentive character whom Jane trusts. “I was taken from Bessie’s neck, to which I hung to with kisses.”

2- Bessie is a symbol of motherhood and love. Jane is treated as an outcast by her aunt and cousins that she lives with. She has never known her immediate family and simply has never felt the companionship and compassion of a parental figure. She seeks out Bessie, the maid, who acts attentive and caring towards Jane.

3-The thematic issues for this symbol is companionship as salvation, and coping with buried trauma

1- “When I again unclosed my eyes, a loud bell was ringing; the girls were up and dressing; day had not yet begun to dawn, and a rushlight or two burnt in the room.”

2- This suggests the tight schedule of the boarding school and the overall environment that appears to be very structured. For Jane this will be an abrupt change as she moves from a life of little structure to a very organized and strict daily routine. The way the loud bell is incorporated gives it a very jarring feeling as the story shifts from this almost dreamlike journey and hazy experience to the present where Jane is forced to accept her new reality. The bell is also a signifier of the passage of time which is something Bronte seems pretty committed to keeping track of in this novel.

3- freedom versus control, community versus solitude, education

1b- “I remember but little of the journey; I only know that the day seemed to me of a preternatural length, and that we appeared to travel over hundreds of miles of road.”

The long journey is described as a blur of passing time and scenery. She is aware that she has traveled a long way but can only recall specific details from the journey. She remembers being lifted out of the coach to have supper, and she remembers being there for a long time. This blurry journey is a symbol of leaving one's old life behind to start a new chapter in their lives. 

Isolation, starting a new chapter,

2- There is clear symbolism here with the specific number of horses that Bronte chooses to detail. The four horses seem to point to the four horsemen of the apocalypse which brings out a feeling of dread and fear. Jane is being brought somewhere that now has a spooky and dark feeling around it. This symbolism of evil and death makes the journey ahead seem much more ominous. Charlotte Bronte was influenced by her reading of the bible and christianity, this is clearly an example of that.

3- fear of the unknown, facing fear, danger

1 - “The coach drew up; there it was at the gates with its four horses and its top laden with passengers.”

2- The coach symbolizes a sort of dreamlike state that Jane will soon enter. The journey as told by Jane is a collection of details and images, much like a dream. She goes into it excited and nervous about the journey, and leaves with little recollection of the journey as a whole. This symbolizes the change in her life that is taking place, the coach seduces her and brings her into a new chapter of life.

3- Seduction, change in perception.

2. Include a sprinkle of direct quotation to prove this symbol is in the text 3. Explain: Why is this concrete detail symbolic? Why is it suggestive? Or, What connotations, intertextual, meanings, universal associations, feelings, etc. does it have? How does the narrative context add to its meaning? 4. What is/are a potential thematic ISSUE/s that arises from the symbol?

5. Include your name/pd

FRIENDLY REMINDERS: Did you include your name? Did you number the post tasks for ease of reader? If you have time, did you add an image?

This detail makes a connection to Cinderella, who got in a carriage on her way to the ball where she met her future husband. Although Cinderella's carriage was made from a pumpkin and Jane's is more similar to a car, the idea of someone traveling to a new place where they eventually meet their future partner maintains itself, and the reference allows for foreshadowing of what awaits Jane at Thornfield. The carriage symbolizes a journey, a change, or a transition, and the specific imagery of a dimly lit car pulled by one horse creates an ominous sense to the scene, fitting for the mysteries that await Jane at Thornfield.

Thematic Issues: Change, growth, development, maturity, growing up, the future, class and wealth

"Having invited Helen and me to approach the table, and placed before each of us a cup of tea with one delicious but thin morsel of toast, she got up, unlocked a drawer, and taking from it a parcel wrapped in paper, disclosed presently to our eyes a good-sized seed-cake."

Meals are often a symbol of love and security. They represent the forming of bonds and relationships. This meal of seed cake and tea gives Jane and Helen some sense of positivity in the harsh environment they were thrown into. Seeds also represent small moments and memories, so the seeds in the cake could represent the memories Jane has and the ones she'll gain during her time at Lowood.

Madeleina Shear, Tessa Davern

2- This suggests the harsh discipline of Lockwood and the strict standards present there. The stool is a very humiliating way of punishing a child as it puts them on display in front of their peers in a way that makes the punished feel inferior. It adds to the humiliation of Jane breaking the slate on a deeper level as she is forced to stand alone on the stool.

3- Psychological effects of punishment, humiliation tactics as discipline, fear of failure, isolation... alienation.

John and Cal

This symbol shows how the students at Lowood have to put up with rough living conditions along with abuse from some teachers. The water pitchers were frozen over and Helen wasn't able to wash her hands. When she got yelled at, Jane said "Why, does she not explain that she could neither clean her nails nor wash her face, as the water has frozen".

Miss Temple is a symbol explored in chapter six, as well as throughout the novel all the way through chapter 10. She treats Jane very well, recognizing her faults but not chastising her for them, and celebrating her achievements. She is starkly different from her previous guardian, Mrs. Reed, and this juxtaposition shows the freedom and "rebirth" that Jane experiences after moving to Lowood.

The greater theme that Miss Temple contributes to is nurture and motherhood. After losing Bessie, Jane turns to Miss Temple for comfort, and quickly idolizes her, the way a daughter would a mother.

In Jane Eyre, disease and typhus represent devastation as well as new life and promise. While many of the students die and there are huge tragic losses to Lowood, attention is drawn to the school and living continues to get better as a result. Disease is the metaphorical and physical disaster that blows through the school and portrays its all consuming manner, but it is also the portrayal of new life and promise for the school.

Lila Juenger

1.) During Janes punishment in chapter seven, Helen gives her the strength to face adversity which is what first gives hope. Helen establishes herself as a symbol of friendship and hope.

2.)"I mastered the rising hysteria, lifted up my head, and took a firm stand on the stool."

3.) Helens presence during Janes punishment gives Jane hope and strength to endure. Officially establishing a connection used to progress the story.

Heavy rain suggests a change in Jane's life and emotional well-being. Jane has just sent off the letter that will change her surroundings. She hopes to be advertised in a newspaper as a governess. This is a turning point signified by the rain pouring down.

Thematic Issues: Quest of Discovery, rebirth

Textual Evidence?

Jane finds her first friendship in Helen, a fellow Lowood student. Helen validates Jane's humiliation and supposed indignance towards her professors. Jane comforts Helen while she's ill and the two form a bond that is new to Jane. Although Helen's untimely demise shortens their friendship, it is still monumental in Jane's story, who has made no friends her own age or really any at all.

In chapter six, Jane is baffled by Helens conformative behavior. Ms. Scatchered keeps getting upset with Helen, one time for having dirty nails, but Helen doesn’t revolt instead she recognizes that she has faults. Jane is used to seeing her authoritative figures in a negative light, but Helen brings a new perspective. Helen is a symbol of optimism, but more specifically faith. Despite being in a disagreeable environment, you can keep an optimistic outlook, because there is hope to get out of Lowood. Helen maintains hope through her faith. She refers to the Bible when talking about her authoritative figures saying “love your enemies; bless them that curse you; do good to them that hate you and despitefully use you.” 

The thematic issue is finding faith in difficult situations. Helen uses her religion as a mechanism to survive Lowood. The bible gives her hope and keeps her optimism. Faith is a tool for many people to get through hard times. 

Bella G.

Also? Textual evidence?

The death of Helen most closely reflect the continued illness and eventual death of both of Charlotte's sisters from tuberculosis, but also rings with remnants of the passing of Charlottes mother when she was very young. These deaths and the continues progression of her sisters' illness is reflected in the passion of Helen, and the solitude Jane feels afterward.

Mr. Brockelhurst symbolized the harsh expectations at Lowood. He is the one who implements all the rules and provides the school with little materials to be sustained. He also represents Janes's life before coming to Lowood. He brings her past to the present, which Jane was trying to forget, and was hopeful for a fresh start.

Katarina Klein, Edward Bomba, Zane Joly, Alex Jones

Fire has served repeatedly as a symbol for hope amidst the darkness (literal and metaphorical).

Here fire is used as a way to highlight hope, the hope of Jane Eyre not being completely alone. She might be without her parents, coziness, and food, but here she has a temporary friend. This is why while she was in the dark corner crying (wanting to die), Helen, illuminated by the fire light comes in with food and companionship.

2. He wants the students to get rid of their curls, natural or not, but his daughters or nieces wear, "wore a false front of French curls" (chapter 7). These visitors also arrived in a carriage while also making his students return, "by an exposed and hilly road, where the bitter winter wind, blowing over a range of snowy summits to the north, almost flayed the skin from our faces." (Chapter 7).

3. This is an example of Charlotte Bronte's dislike of religion and may forshadow Jane's reaction to future issues with religion.

4. A thematic issue is morality vs independence

Henry Holmes, Joey Guerrero

When Jane drops the slate in front of Mr. Brocklehurst, it symbolizes the fragility of her new life and how her ties to Gateshead have been resurrected, with the slate being a literal representation of her new life of schooling and education. This shows how a new life can easily be broken and how Jane is literally hiding from Mr. Broklehurst behind her new life, the slate. Also, it connects to how she perceives her image being shattered in front of her peers. In this way, the slate is also a symbol of vanity and Jane's desire to be perceived well by students and teachers at Lowood -- a feeling that likely stems from the lack of love she experienced growing up at Gateshead.

Sofia Rios, Hazel Reddy, Owen Lucente, Link Pruner: Period 4

“Naturally! Yes, but we are not to conform to nature; I wish these girls to be the children of Grace: and why that abundance? I have again and again intimated that I desire the hair to be arranged closely, modestly, plainly. Miss Temple, that girl’s hair must be cut off entirely; I will send a barber to-morrow: and I see others who have far too much of the excrescence—that tall girl, tell her to turn round. Tell all the first form to rise up and direct their faces to the wall.”

Hair something that gets brought up often in Jane Eyre. Especially at this point of the novel, hair, hair, hair. While many ladies of higher class, both young and old, have curly styled hair. Even the daughters of Mr. Brocklehurst. Yet all the girls, of lower class being exposed to this religious authority must be proper and plain. To want to style your hair, is to want too much. Hair at t his point can serve as an indicator of who a woman or girl is.

-Sunny Greenblum