Chapters 5-7

Summary:

Jane moves to Lowood and befriends Helen Burns who also endures unfair treatment. Jane quickly learns that life in Lowood is difficult. At first opportunity Mr Brocklehurst fufills his promise of publicly accusing Jane of deceitfulness. Jane is heartbroken and the girls are forbidden to speak to her.

Characters:

Upon Jane's arrival in Lowood, she meets Miss Temple, a kind woman who is in charge of Lowood. We are also introduced to Jane's teacher Miss Scatchard, a cruel and unfair woman who mistreats Jane's new friend Helen. Helen Burns, is a kind, christian girl who is disciplined in her studies and does comforts Jane in her humiliation. Mr Brocklehurst is further developed as a cruel man after subjecting Jane to unfair treatment. Unfair treatment seems to follow Jane wherever she may be. Her character remains pitiful and whiny however how can one blame her for complaining when she is put through so much. She remains feeble and weak and her insecurities are constantly on display.


Themes and motifs:

There is the theme of new beginnings. Jane has just left gateshead and is anticipating her new beginning in Lowood. These chapters are the transitional chapters that take Jane to her new home. Jane's misfortune and desperation is another theme. Even though she has left her oppressive home at Gateshead, her misfortune has followed her to Lowood where she is humiliated and desperate. There is the constant moral placement. The reader is always affected by the characters and their moral placements. For example Mr Brocklehurst and his hipocracy. Helen Burns' moral beliefs also place a large a affect on the story. Another recurring element is the way in which Bronte describes Jane's surroundings and the clinical imagery in the description of Lowood.