Wuthering Heights & Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë & Emily Brontë
Contents
Jane Eyre — CHAPTER VII
Overview
Jane’s first months at Lowood are marked by cold, hunger, and rigid routine. Mr. Brocklehurst’s visit exposes institutional hypocrisy: he condemns minor “luxuries,” orders girls’ hair cut, and publicly denounces Jane as a liar based on Mrs. Reed’s slander. Miss Temple’s quiet defiance and Helen Burns’s steady compassion help Jane endure the humiliation.
Summary
Jane’s first quarter at Lowood stretches bleakly: deep winter confines the girls to the grounds, their thin clothes and scant food leave them cold, hungry, and prey to older pupils who seize rations. Sundays worsen the hardship with a long, freezing trek to Brocklebridge Church and meager meals, though Miss Temple tries to buoy spirits.
Daily life offers little relief: fires are monopolized by older girls, catechism and scripture recitations drag on, and exhaustion fells the younger pupils. Miss Miller’s weary readings and Miss Scatcherd’s rigid discipline persist in an atmosphere of privation and severity.
After weeks, Mr. Brocklehurst returns. He instructs Miss Temple to enforce stricter economies—limiting needles, tuckers, and forbidding extra food—rebuking her for giving bread and cheese after burnt porridge, arguing bodily deprivation improves souls. He then targets “worldly” appearances, ordering Julia Severn’s naturally curly hair—and “top-knots” of the first class—cut off.
The hypocrisy deepens when Mrs. and the Misses Brocklehurst enter in fashionable finery. Meanwhile, Jane tries to avoid notice but drops her slate. Seizing the moment, Mr. Brocklehurst places Jane on a stool, declares her a liar per her “benefactress” (Mrs. Reed), and commands teachers and pupils to shun and watch her, then departs, ordering her silent and isolated.
Humiliated yet rallying her composure, Jane draws strength from Miss Temple’s whispered reassurance that the breakage was accidental and from Helen Burns’s calm, courageous smile as she passes. Helen, herself under petty punishments, nevertheless imparts quiet fortitude, enabling Jane to withstand the public disgrace.
Who Appears
- Jane EyreNew pupil at Lowood; endures winter hardship and public humiliation when labeled a liar by Brocklehurst.
- Mr. BrocklehurstPatron of Lowood; condemns ‘luxury,’ orders hair cut, and shames Jane publicly as a liar.
- Miss TempleCompassionate superintendent; defends feeding the girls after burnt porridge and quietly supports Jane.
- Helen BurnsJane’s friend; exemplifies courage and patience, whose reassuring smile helps Jane endure disgrace.
- Miss ScatcherdHarsh teacher; punishes Helen for minor faults and exemplifies rigid, fault-finding discipline.
- Miss MillerTired teacher who reads long Sunday sermons to the exhausted pupils.
- Miss SmithTeacher overseeing linen and dormitories; receives Brocklehurst’s directives on repairs and order.
- Julia SevernStudent singled out for naturally curly hair; targeted for mandatory cutting.
- Mrs. BrocklehurstFashionably dressed visitor; illustrates hypocrisy during Brocklehurst’s lecture on plainness.
- Misses BrocklehurstStylish daughters; their finery contrasts Brocklehurst’s austerity demands.