 Jane in the Red Room Now that you have been introduced to Jane, please respond to any or all of the questions below. You need to use textual evidence (quotes) from both Bronte's novel and from the chapters selected from Foster's book. After you have posted your Primary Blog Entry, please take some time to read ALL of your colleague's entries and then compose a thoughtful response (your Secondary Blog Entry) to TWO selected Primary Entries.
1. If you had to infer (guess) based on these chapters what type of woman society thought of as acceptable, what type of woman would that be?. 2. Reread the descriptions of fire in this segment. This is an important image that becomes more important as the novel progresses. What do you think it might mean? 3. What type of relationships does Jane have with her cousins? Her aunt? The servants at Gateshead? (not just the biological relationship, but also the emotional relationship). 4. What’s with the red room? What was your reaction to this section? Part One Expectations (respond to the prompt above): 200-250 words, 2 quotes from the short story, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the assigned "pen name" given to you in class Part Two Expectations (read everyone's first responses, select two that interest you, and respond to their ideas): 100-150 words EACH, minimal errors in grammar and usage, thoughtful and thorough writing. Please use the assigned "pen name" given to you in class.
2
3/15/2014 06:25:00 am
The red room was a place of evil, pure evil. It is a location that deserves to be torched, with those deserving a torching locked within to burn alive. I speak of Aunt “Female Dog” Reed and her three children – one of whom may be a bastard child (I’m using that word right, look it up if you don’t believe me) – those who showed Jane nothing but cruelty by locking her within, despite how Jane “Cried out , while suffocating with distress, ‘Have mercy! Have mercy, Aunt Reed!’” (Bronte 36). I suppose by this initial statement you can see my reaction as a whole to the red room episode. This sort of political asylum, to attempt to put a spin on it based on those two chapters we read from the other book, seems to be a sort of statement by Bronte on society. When someone does something society sees as what they should NOT do, they are locked away rather than listened to. Someone tries to speak out against an unjust government, they get locked away. Someone makes a major social faux pas; they get shunned and are locked away without being in a literal jail cell. After Jane talked back at Bastard John (I feel that name suits him better, deal with it), calling him “a murderer – you are like a slave-driver” (Bronte 5), this social faux pas in which she insulted a man was “rewarded” with a trip to the red room. Bronte wanted to flaunt the irony here, where she was in the room her uncle (the ONE person in the house who openly liked her) died. Any hope of kindness is gone for those who oppose society, she was saying. Unless someone steps in, they have no hope.
6
3/16/2014 05:37:20 am
Based on these chapters I would infer that an acceptable woman would be seen as straight haired, modestly dressed, mild mannered, and self denying. "You are aware that my plan in bringing up these girls is, not to accustom then to habits of luxury and indulgence, but to render them hardy, patient, self-denying." This was Mr. Brocklehurst's response to the reasoning behind giving girls lunch after the breakfast was burnt and made inedible. By this logic one can infer that girls are not meant to have the best, or even the decent, but that they are supposed to make due with what they have. "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 desire the hair to be arranged closely, modestly, plainly." The author is not just speaking about hair here, but of the expected demeanor of women in society. Women are not supposed to make waves, and are supposed to be in the background. If this belief were taken into practice the world would be at a loss.
2
3/16/2014 09:56:17 am
I agree with your ideas as they are conveyed here. Women were not meant to be a source of attention; the only ones who should pay attention to them were their husbands. After all, how else would they know whether the women are doing the right thing or not? Your quotes support this idea nicely, but I do have a minor issue. I think it would have helped for you to elaborate a bit more on your last line (about how the world would be at a loss), namely why that situation would be true. I can understand if you were trying to remain inside the 250-word limit (that isn’t made of iron, by the way) and I can logically guess the answer, but a statement that vague is just asking for elaboration. Otherwise quite well done.
5
3/19/2014 09:39:43 am
I feel that the issue with the naturally curly-haired girl just exemplifies the kind of man Brocklehurst is. It is completely ridiculous to suggest that Julia Severn was born with curly, red hair in order to sin and break the rules of Lowood. The whole situation is actually a bit funny because of Brocklehurst’s reaction. He and his ideals are completely ridiculous on their own.
viente y dos
3/30/2014 12:37:00 pm
true>>>YASSS!!!! I agree whole heartedly with what this analysts states about the acceptable women. women were self denying and and gold diggers so to speak based off of blanche ingram. women were to scared to disobey and not go against what they are told. this is why Jane represenst a new era of woman that is trying to remove the shackles and liberate the women of the society.
Neunzehn
3/16/2014 09:39:50 am
At this time, society thought that an acceptable women was obedient and pious. She must conform. Any small misstep is unacceptable: "This girl, who might be one of God's own lambs, is a little cast-away; not a member of the true floc, but evidently an interloper and an alien," says Mr. Brocklehurst due to Jane's small mistake of breaking a tablet and to her past as explained by Mrs. Reed (Brontë 71). As a young woman, Jane is scared into doing as she's told by Christianity's threats of otherwise going to hell. The girls in the school are made to be all alike, plain and religious. Half-dead from being starved and frozen, they must be converted to a suffering ideal of loyal, selfless Christians. They must also be "perfect" in having many talents--Jane was expected to draw, paint, speak French, and play the piano well.
2, Responding to Smart-aleck 19
3/16/2014 10:00:55 am
I agree with the idea that this suggests women needed to be obedient and conform, but I would almost argue piety. Given this takes place in the 1800s, it would be safe to argue that religion doesn’t have as much meaning. True, some are still pious at this time, but religion’s grip isn’t as strong as it was a couple centuries prior. Ignoring that possible misstep (since that might just be more amongst the educated and less amongst the people who would tend to go to places like Lowood), your post is otherwise quite good. I agree with your opinion of Reed and Brocklehurst – on an unrelated note I still find myself wanting to execute a threat I once heard in a video game and throw both of them into the sun. That simply means they are like you said: cruel antagonists. I’d almost throw in communism too since they’re using religion as a tool to force down someone who could almost be working-class, but that might be stretching it.
16
3/16/2014 11:39:40 am
Jane obviously doesn’t have the most ideal relationship with her cousins or aunt. Her cousins are mean, rude, and treat her as if she’s is absolutely nothing. They abuse her mentally and physically, which has a massive toll on her in various ways. Her Aunt treats her the same way, and always sides with her own children even if they’re in the wrong. Right in the first scene, Jane is thoughtfully into her book when her cousin snatches that opportunity away from her and starts to bully her. It was incredibly immature of a fourteen year old, (seems to be very spoiled too) would bully a ten year old girl and even throw a book at her head, making her get physically hurt. Her aunt even abuses her when her brother clearly stated that she wanted her to treat her as her own. Jane bravely bring this up to her and still gets negative feedback. “My Uncle Reed is in heaven, and can see all you do and think; and so can papa and mamma; they know how you shook me up all day long, and how you wish me dead.” (Bronte 25) It’s horrible to think that a girl this young has to go think about something like that.
10
3/16/2014 01:51:55 pm
I agree, Jane has a lot to deal with while living at Gateshead. She is kind of on her own with no one really in her corner apart from Bessie. She is treated like a burden and seems to be unwanted by her Aunt. “Hold her arms, Miss Abbot; she’s like a mad cat.” Jane has been nothing but polite and she keeps to herself. Therefore, I don’t understand their unusual aversion towards her. I want to emphasize how young Jane is while she a very sweet girl that causes absolutely no trouble. She isn’t rude and she speaks the truth. She’s a very smart girl for her age and seems to be more mature than her own aunt it.
13
3/16/2014 04:17:46 pm
It is very clear that Jane and her cousins and aunt do not get along. John reed gender role is developing. By hitting and tormenting Jane it enables him to feel like he is more powerful than her. John says “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 beg”. This quote shows how authoritative John thinks he is because of the way he tells her what to do. Also he says “ought to beg” being in an family you are likely to learn what is mine is yours and share. But because of Jane’s social status John can be more nastier to her cousin Jane.
21
3/16/2014 01:31:32 pm
It’s clear from the gecko that Jane does not have a sustainable and well-nourished relationship with her cousins, her aunt, and the servants at Gateshead. Jane’s cousins, one in particular being John Reed, are conniving little tyrants. Her aunt acts as if she doesn’t notice how horrible her own kids treat Jane, and the servants contribute to the lack of respect towards Jane because they fear their very own masters. They all treat her as if she was a waste of space, like a homeless man on a corner, rather than the real human being that she is. These people not only verbally and mentally abuse, but they also physically abuse her. An example would be the incident taken place with John Reed, “the volume was flung, it hit me, and I fell, striking my head against the door and cutting it,” (Bronte 5). All of the abuse that Jane puts up with really takes a toll on her in a more emotional manner. You can really see how effected she is when she explains on page 4, “every nerve I had feared him, and every morsel of flesh on my bones shrunk when he came near. There were moments when I was bewildered by the terror he inspired.” It’s really saddening to know that a 10 year old can feel so physically ill just in the presence of a 14 year old little boy. All in all, Jane is treated unfairly by these people and it’s rather ironic that she gets dehumanized from servants as well.
10
3/16/2014 01:32:20 pm
13
3/16/2014 04:01:55 pm
The relationship with her aunt and cousins are truly are disgusting. It is even scarier to believe that children are being exposed to this. John torments her just because of Jane’s class. What is even worse is that they are cousins. This could be very bewildering for a little girl like Jane. The feeling of being judge and unloved could have an effect on her . In this situation this gender roles could be developed from a negative situation. Jane now has to be subservient to her cousin reed just so he would have mercy on her and leave her alone. As for John by tormenting her cousin he could feel more masculine and more powerful.
20
3/16/2014 02:44:13 pm
I would think that during this time era, the only acceptable female was one who was obedient and didn't have a sense of who she was. She obeyed rules and lived under peoples shoes, "This girl, who might be one of God's own lambs, is a little cast-away; not a member of the true floc, but evidently an interloper and an alien," Jane is put into a role that she doesn't want to portray. The school girls having no sense of their own personality, they all had certain expectations, and had to exceed to succeed, "You are aware that my plan in bringing up these girls is, not to accustom then to habits of luxury and indulgence, but to render them hardy, patient, self-denying.".
13
3/16/2014 03:12:20 pm
Based on the chapters we had red I would assume that the type of women that we acceptable to marry would have to be women whose families have high class and status. Marrying for love wasn’t was shunned in this period of time. Women had to marry a man of high class that way both of their families name would be very prestigious. When John Reed was tantalizing Jane he says “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 beg, and not to live here with gentlemen's children like us”. We all know the background of Jane’s parents. As you can see not even Jane’s own cousin would accept her just because she is in a lower social class than he is. It’s a shame that girls and boys were taught by this by society John a higher class than Jane was tormenting her only because he saw his mother doing the same thing. If you have children especially girls being expose to this the next generation f adults will do the same thing and not even know why. Most importantly girls like Jane wouldn’t survive that kind of society.
17
3/16/2014 04:55:33 pm
I think the red room can be viewed as a symbol of what Jane Eyre must overcome in her struggles to find happiness and freedom from those who treated her badly. It is in this room where Jane Eyre suffers a panic attack after seeing a ghost. Locked in the red room Jane believed that her uncle’s ghost appeared out of nowhere, “it was in this chamber he breathed his last.” This moment of intense tension makes her perceive only the negative feelings of a slave who is being punished and isolated from the rest of the family, and has no possibility of being free.
17
3/16/2014 05:20:59 pm
It was really sad that Jane lost her parents and her uncle and was left with her mean aunt. She didn’t deserve this kind of life, she deserved to be treated like a human being and also she was only ten. You are right when you said that her cousins treated her in such a way that she just couldn’t take it anymore, they were just so cruel to her. Bessie, the servant, was the one who treated Jane Eyre like a normal kid or showed any kind of affection.
5
3/17/2014 09:39:11 am
Based on the first ten chapters of Jane Eyre, an acceptable woman in that society was attractive, modest, quiet, and stayed out of the way. According to Miss Abbot, if Jane was pretty, like Georgiana “with her long curls and her blue eyes”, (Brontë 23) she would be able to feel sympathy for her. Mr. Brocklehurst’s idea of an acceptable young girl of a lower class is “quiet and plain” with “hair combed behind [her] ears,” (Brontë 33). Mrs. Reed likewise desires Jane to “be brought up in a manner suiting her prospects, to be made useful, to be kept humble,” (Brontë 33). If a girl was not of a high social standing, she could be severely punished for the most trivial mistake. It seems that no matter what Jane does, someone finds fault with her and accuses her of being evil or wicked. Jane, therefore, is not the ideal woman, although she tries to be.
im feeling 22!!
3/30/2014 12:32:52 pm
the type of woman that society would accept based on what I have read through the eyes of Charlotte Bronte, is a woman who has acceptance of being inferior to men rather than being an equal. the woman would obey the man's word no matter what he says and will not indulge in argument with her spouse. instead of marrying a wife, men during this time, married an assistant or a dog so to say inwhcih they will be obiedent and listen to what the master,Husband,'s orders. the red room is where jane was locked up when being didobeideint to her aunt. this room is wear her uncle died and in which was sorta haunted by the death of her uncle. this room represents the shackles of which women were held down too during this time.
9
4/1/2014 03:17:54 pm
If I had to infer based on these chapters what type of woman society thought was acceptable, I would have to say that society expects these women to be groomed to perfection and to have as little freedom as possible when it comes to decision making. These ladies are to follow in the footsteps of their husbands and to support them no matter the circumstances and consequences. These women are only allowed to marry for financial gain and not for love. Those who do get married solely because they are in love are frowned upon since it’s viewed as a taboo. Jane’s mother married the man she loved and was shunned because of that. Perhaps because of jealously. Comments are closed.
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