Charlotte Bronte's masterwork, "Jane Eyre," explores the progression of a young girl during the English Victorian era. We follow the main character and narrator, Jane through her troubled childhood and onto her search for freedom. Throughout the novel many factors play into restricting Jane from freedom, but with her strong integrity and sense of justice she finds the freedom she yearns for. Jane's personality ultimately takes her from an orphan hindered to an unbound and content woman.
Jane becomes an orphan a few years after her birth, because both her parents die suddenly from typhus. Jane's wealthy Uncle Reed takes her in, but passes away shortly after. Before he dies, Mr. Reed makes his wife promise to take care of Jane after he passes away. Mr. Reed's fondness towards Jane causes Mrs. Reed to resent Jane thereafter. Jane's aunt feels that Jane's arrival to her home caused her husband to divert his attention away from his own children. So, she treats Jane terribly after Mr. Reed passes away. Jane's cousins constantly tease her and call her a lowly orphan among other things. Although Mrs. Reed has forbidden Jane to play with her cousins, they often find the time to harass her. In one instance her bullying cousin John throws a book at Jane after teasing her. This leads to Jane erupting and attacking John. Mrs. Reed finds out about the scuffle and automatically blames Jane for the entire altercation. One of the housemaids even goes as far as telling Jane: "You are less than a servant, for you do nothing for your keep. There, sit down, and think over your wickedness, " (pg 32). At this instance, although still early on in the book the reader is easily able to see how low Jane's worth is in her own household. As a punishment for her actions, her aunt sends her to the "red-room ". This frightening room is similar to a dungeon, and is also the room in which Mr. Reed died. Jane is constantly bullied by her cousins and treated unfairly by her aunt Reed.
