From Burden to Governess: Examination of Lowood Institution in Jane Eyre

***This essay was written on September 20, 2018 for Ms/ Seuk's British Literature class

From a neglected, detested burden to an educated governess loved by a respected, wealthy man, the titular protagonist from Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre shows great development and growth as she becomes older. Lowood Institution, a boarding school for girls who “have lost either one or both parents” (50), is where Jane is at during ages 10 to 18. Subsequently, it is also the place where Jane shows the most drastic development. Entering as a scared and weak orphan who nobody cared for and exiting as a curious, intellectual teacher who strives to gain liberty, Jane transitions from a child to a young adult in Lowood.

            Miss Temple, one of the teachers at Lowood Institution, helps Jane blossom. For Jane, Miss Temple is the first person that showed unconditional kindness and love. Miss Temple’s kind and loving nature can be seen in various parts of volume 1. Miss Temple willingly “ordered that a lunch of bread and cheese shall be served to all” (48) when the breakfast was inedible, putting herself at risk. The children all have high opinions of her, with Helen describing her as “very good and very clever: … above the rest” (51).

Before meeting Miss Temple, Jane was used to “John Reed’s violent tyrannies, … his sisters’ proud indifference, … his mother’s aversion, … the servants’ partiality” (14). In contrast, “’Miss Temple is full of goodness’” (56). Interestingly, the contrast can be seen in the way Jane is called. Miss Temple calls Jane by her name or by the loving ‘my child’. In Gateshead Hall, Jane is barely called her name, rather being called as an insult like “little toad” (26) and “troublesome, careless child” (30) or by the distant and cold ‘child’. It can be observed the respect and love Miss Temple has for Jane, which is clearly lacking in Gateshead Hall.

Miss Temple is able to impact Jane’s development by acting as a role model and mother figure

“[Jane] had imbibed from her something of her nature and much of her habits: more harmonious thoughts, what seemed better regulated feelings had become the inmates of [her] mind” (84).

 Jane strives to become more like her, changing her nature to become more like Miss Temple. She later even becomes a teacher like her. Miss Temple is the reason Jane chose to stay in Lowood, only “[desiring] for liberty” (85) outside of Lowood after Miss Temple left. Miss Temple is the character that had the most positive influence on Jane in the novel.

            Unfortunately, not all the people Jane encountered in Lowood Institution were as pleasant as Miss Temple. Some, like Mr. Brocklehurst, did more harm than good to Jane. Mr. Brocklehurst is a character that tried to restrain Jane’s free, exploring nature. Lowood Institution, following his rules, has “plain fare, simple attire, unsophisticated accommodations, hardy and active habits” (34). He takes pleasure in “how quiet and plain all the girls at Lowood look with their hair combed behind their ears, and their long pinafores, and … little holland pockets outside their frocks” (34). Mr. Brocklehurst “[wishes] these girls to be the children of Grace and …. the hair to be arranged closely, modestly, plainly” (64). He has a strict idea of what is good and bad, creating restraining rules based on his idea. His rules ignore the liberty of the children, intended to turn all of them into the same, plain and modest character, which Jane is certainly not.

            Mr. Brocklehurst “is treasurer and manager of the establishment” (50), meaning he is responsible for buying what the girls need. However, he is extremely cheap when doing so, with “the quantity and quality of the children’s food; the brackish, fetid water used in its preparation; the pupils’ wretched clothing and accommodations” surprising people when discovered. Mr. Brocklehurst’s stinginess is what makes life at Lowood miserable, with icy conditions and inadequate meals. As the girls have to live in insufficient conditions, many grew ill and died of disease. While Jane was one of the few that were unaffected by illness, the life of Helen, Jane’s best and first friend was taken. Mr. Brocklehurst is responsible for the hardships Jane had to endure in Lowood.

            Contrary to Miss Temple, Mr. Brocklehurst inflicted pain on her. After only listening to the words of Mrs. Reed, Mr. Brocklehurst publicly shamed and shunned Jane. He told the other children and teachers to “be on [their] guard against her, … shun her example …, avoid her company, exclude her from [their] sports and shut her out from [their] converse” (66). This greatly affected Jane, making her feel “crushed and trodden on”, making her believe that she could never “rise more” (68). Jane “cannot bear to be solitary and hated” (69). For the first time in her life, she has started to gain respect and affection from others and Mr. Brocklehurst ruined all of her progress in an instant. This had a big toll on her self-esteem, which shows its influence in later parts of the novel.

Miss Temple was the one that healed the wounds caused by Mr. Brocklehurst. She is different from all the other adults Jane had the misfortune of encountering in her childhood. While adults like Mr. Brocklehurst and the teachers of Lowood Institution chose to believe the words of other adults, thinking Jane “has the tendency to deceit” (33), Miss Temple chose to listen to what Jane had to say. When Jane was falsely accused, Miss Temple allowed Jane to “defend [herself] to [her] as well as [she] can” (71). Jane thought “everybody else will now think [her] wicked” because until Miss Temple, nobody believed her and tried to listen to her side of the story. Miss Temple was the first adult that stopped to listen to and trust what Jane had to say.

            The ages that Jane spent in Lowood Institution are when people develop their self-identity. Although people like Mr. Brocklehurst had negative effects on Jane, by meeting Miss Temple Jane was able to grow into the person Mr. Rochester later falls in love with. The identity formed at Jane’s time in Lowood prevails throughout the whole novel, with her low self-esteem and passion for teaching, thus making Lowood an essential part of her growth.