The Effects of Social Class on Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre first experiences the negative effects of class structure when she is at Gateshead Hall and is horribly mistreated by John Reed. He informs Jane Eyre that she is a dependent; an orphan with no money - and because of this, drills into her mind that she is worthless and he is superior to her. "Now, I'll teach you to rummage my book-shelves: for they are mine; all the house belongs to me, or will do in a few years" (10). The way John uses the word teach is sarcastic. "Teach" normally has a connotation of kindly explaining and educating, but the way it is presented in this sentence is to convey the exact opposite; to evoke fear in Jane Eyre. The sentence also contains many first person words, such as "I'll", "my", "mine" and "me." This repetition helps to show the power and authority John expresses over Jane Eyre. At the start of his lecture, John clearly tells Jane Eyre that she is low in social class - he uses her low social class as justification that his cruel authority over her is acceptable.

When Jane Eyre leaves Gateshead Hall, she hopes for a fresh start at Lowood School, but is faced with quite the opposite when she meets Mr.Brocklehurst, a cruel, deceitful man who is hypocritical and corrupt. Oppression is a big theme in Jane Eyre and is tied to class structure in a sense that characters would try to bring Jane Eyre down, due to her class structure, so they could feel superior and more powerful to her. Both John Reed and Mr.Brocklehurst use Jane Eyre's low social class as a starting point to overpower her.

[ "This I learned from her benefactress; from the pious and charitable lady who adopted her in her orphan state, reared her as her own daughter, and whose kindness, whose generosity the unhappy girl repaid by an ingratitude so bad, so dreadful, that at last her excellent patroness was obligefd to separate her from her own young ones..."] (67).

When referring to Mrs. Reed, Mr. Brocklehurst uses words like "benefactress", "pious", "charitable", "kindness" and "generosity", all of which have very positive connotations and make Mrs. Reed look like the "good guy", simply due to her higher social class. However, when Mr. Brocklehurst talks about Jane Eyre, he uses negative words such as "ingraditute", "unhappy", "bad" and "dreadful". He is assuming that because Jane Eyre is of a lower social class, she can be stereotyped as "the bad guy".

Prior to Jane Eyre's arrival at Thornfield Hall, she has only had others put her down due to her low social class. During the dinner party with Mr. Rochester's high-class friends, Jane Eyre gets a dose of reality and she realizes that class structure is holding her back by preventing her from getting the things she wants in life. "That a greater fool than Jane Eyre had never breathes the breath of life: that a more fantastic idiot had never surfeited herself on sweet lies, and swallowed poison as if it were nectar" (162). Jane Eyre makes this remark after she discusses Blanche Ingram with Mrs. Fairfax and realizes that Miss Ingram is everything that she is not: wealthy and beautiful. By referring to herself in third person, Jane Eyre is expressing self pity. She uses words such as "fool", "idiot" and "lies" to convey that she was just kidding herself when she thought she loved Mr. Rochester. " 'You,' I said, 'a favourite with Mr. Rochester? You gifted with the power of pleasing him? You of importance to him in any way?" (163). Here, the word "you" is used repeatedly and italicize each time. By putting emphasis on this word, Jane Eyre is mocking herself for thinking that she was ever worthy of Mr. Rochester. Also, by acting like an outsider peering into her situation, Jane Eyre is very harsh and critical on herself.

After Jane Eyre flees Thornfield Hall penniless and hungry, she knocks on a door and is faced with Hannah the housekeeper. When Jane Eyre fled, she took nothing with her in an attempt to strip herself of evil and was hoping for a new beginning. To her dismay, Hannah regarded Jane Eyre in the same way she had been regarded her entire life - as a worthless, lowly, orphan. "Distrust, the very feeling I dreaded, appeared in Hannah's face. "I'll give you a piece of bread," she said, after a pause; "but we can't take in a vagrant to lodge. It isn't likely""(340). Hannah literally views Jane Eyre as a piece of filth on her doorstep. The phrase "the very feeling I dreaded" suggests that Jane Eyre has felt this emotion before and does not enjoy being viewed as dishonest. "Here the honest but inflexible servant clapped the door and bolted it within. This was the climax" (341). At this point in the novel, Jane Eyre is sick and tired of being judged and oppressed due to her social standing. Referring to this moment as "the climax" informs the reader that Jane Eyre will overcome this problem shortly.