Chapters 1-3 Summary and Analysis
Chapter 1:
The novel opens at Gateshead Hall, the stately home of Mrs. Reed and her three children: Eliza, John, and Georgiana. While the three siblings and their mother sit comfortably by the fire, ten-year-old Jane Eyre, the protagonist and narrator of the story, is made to sit at a distance. Jane is the poor, orphaned niece of Mrs. Reed’s late husband, and—as her relations and the servants frequently remind her—it is only Mrs. Reed’s charity that saves Jane from the poorhouse. Banished from the company of her aunt and cousins, Jane grabs a book, Bewick’s History of British Birds, and retreats to an adjoining room to read. She is interrupted, however, by the entrance of her fourteen-year-old cousin, John Reed, who berates her for reading “his” books and cruelly reminds her of her lowly status in the household. He proceeds to hit her before throwing the book at her head, causing her to bleed. Unable to stand his abuse any longer, Jane yells at John and they begin to fight. Mrs. Reed walks in on their scuffle and, blaming Jane, orders the maids to lock her up in the red-room.
Chapter 2:
Mrs. Reed’s maids, Bessie and Miss Abbot, force a struggling Jane into the red-room, chastising her for striking John and upsetting Mrs. Reed. After threatening to tie Jane to a chair, the maids leave the room, locking the door behind them. Jane describes the red-room, revealing that most of the household avoids it after her uncle, Mr. Reed, died in it several years ago. Jane spies her reflection in a mirror and is startled by her frail, ghostly appearance. Feeling sorry for herself, Jane begins to reflect upon the injustices that have been done to her by Mrs. Reed and her cousins. Jane reveals that after her parents died, Mr. Reed took her in and beseeched Mrs. Reed to raise Jane as her own after his death. She imagines that Mr. Reed—who she has always believed would have shown her kindness—might be stirred from the grave by the unjust behavior of his wife and children. Suddenly fearful that Mr. Reed’s ghost might appear to comfort her, Jane cries out, causing the maids to come back. Believing that she is only trying to avoid punishment, the maids and Mrs. Reed tell her that she...
(The entire section is 1070 words.)
