Research Task 2:

Question 1

I, along with Miss Abott, have been prompted by Mrs. Reed to go lock young Miss Eyre in the red room. I don’t believe that what she did deserves this kind of punishment, in fact, I’m not siding with Miss Abott and Mrs. Reed on this one, but I have to do as I am told. I could see the child getting more and more nervous as Miss Abott kept on mentally breaking her down, by saying some very uncalled things. As we put her in the room, I tried to calm her down and reason with her. I told Miss Abott that young Jane never did something like this before, but my cry clearly fell onto deaf ears. I think I should rather keep quiet. I tried talking to Jane again, I felt quite sorry for her and just wanted to help her. We left her in the red room for a few minutes until we heard a scream. We rushed to her and she was in shock. Clearly something was wrong, but after Mrs. Reed arrived, poor Jane had no chance of explaining. We had to lock her up again and leave her for even longer. From this day onwards I was always nice to Jane.

Question 2

Yes, I wholeheartedly agree. It is in the red room that Jane learns life the hard way and eventually has to accept the circumstances she’s going to grow up in. She had to make a choice. She could have given up and accepted her fate and lived an unhappy life consumed by depression. Typical of a stout character with a strong will, as she grew up, she fought for what she wanted and believed in.

Question 3

The red room plays a commanding role in Jane Eyre according to Sandra M. Gilbert. The red-room served as a “prison”, both mentally and physically. This was the first taste Jane had of the trapped and bound Victorian female which she was to be made into, and which she fought against so fiercely. The red room incidents played a role in her life throughout the novel in many different ways and it had an impact on her decisions and the way she handled certain situations in the novel.