The Use of Settings in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

The Use of Settings in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

In this essay, I will be examining three different locations used in

Charlotte Brontë’s novel ‘Jane Eyre’ and discussing their uses towards

the story. The three settings I am to consider are the red-room at

Gateshead Hall, Lowood Institution where Jane attends school, and

Jane’s first sight at Thornfield Hall; the house in which she becomes

employed as a Governess.

The first setting I am going to discuss is the red-room at Gateshead

Hall. Gateshead is the house in which Jane lives as a child after both

her parents die. Jane is sent there to live with her Uncle and his

family. Her Uncle dies shortly after her arrival and so she is left

with her wicked Aunt Reed and her three cousins. Jane is sent to the

red-room as a punishment, following an incident where John throws a

book at her and she retaliates as he continues to physically bully

her. The room itself is described:

‘Square chamber, very seldom slept in’ and this room happens to be

‘one of the largest and stateliest chambers in the mansion’

The room is non-surprisingly dominated with the colour red. The

furniture is made from deep polished mahogany, the walls were a ‘soft

fawn colour with a blush of pink in it’ and the curtains draped around

the four-poster bed were red. We soon find out that this room was in

fact the room where Uncle Reed had died.

‘It was in this chamber he had breathed his last; here he lay in

state; hence his coffin was borne by the undertaker’s men; and, since

that day, a sense of dreary consecration had guarded it from frequent

intrusion’

Jane becomes extremely frightened by the whole sinister atmosphere of

the room, and worsens her state of mind with the thoughts ...

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...tory would be entirely different. They keep the

reader interested, not only in the story, but also in Jane. The reader

grows to love Jane as a strong and brave character and I enjoyed

seeing how she managed to cope with such difficult situations. I

thought it was interesting to find out that when Brontë first

published the book ‘Jane Eyre’, she was not permitted to publish under

her female name. She had to create a male name for herself. I think

it’s a shame that Brontë was not given credit as the true author, but

thankfully the system has changed now, although you may have noticed

that the policy has not been completely abolished. Joanne Rowling,

author of Harry Potter, had her name initialised to J.K Rowling, as

not to deter male readers from reading it. All in all, I really

enjoyed reading and analysing Charlotte Brontë’s infamous novel, ‘Jane

Eyre’.