Discuss the representations of the various
Throughout the novel, there are female harassers who are either positive or negative role models to Jane. Due to the novel being about Cane’s personal development, the portrayals of the role models are such as to highlight how they influence Cane’s personal growth, thus they leave Cane’s narrative permanently once their role is fulfilled. Cane’s first female role model comes in the form of Mrs. Reed, her mother figure after the death of Cane’s own parents and her caretaker Mr. Reed.
However, Mrs. Reed is a strongly negative role model for the young Jane; she prefers her win children over Jane, and allows them to abuse her – she ‘never saw Logon Reed] strike or heard him abuse Jane], though he did both now and then in her very presence. ‘ Furthermore, Mrs. Reed seems to care for her own reputation more than other things; she ‘looked frightened… Twisting her face as if she would cry when faced with the prospect of Jane exposing that Mrs. Reed treated her with ‘miserable cruelty. The character of Mrs. Reed allows Jane to grow – she tastes the vengeance against those who mistreated her, UT realizes that giving her ‘furious feelings uncontrolled play’ leads to ‘the pang of remorse’, starting her on the path to controlling her passions. The next female role model who aids Jane in her personal journey, especially in compassion and mastering her emotions, is Miss Temple; she is Cane’s first positive role model, teaching her to mask her emotions so that, by the time she leaves Elwood, she is able to present herself as ‘a disciplined and subdued character’.
Miss Temple is serene and ladylike, having repressed her own passions; whilst Jane feels ‘unavailing and impotent anger’ when Helen Burns is punished, but Miss Temple does not outwardly react to Mr. Broncobuster’s tirade as she has mastered her emotions – her face ‘appeared to be assuming the coldness and fixity of [marble]’. In contrast to Miss Temple’s constant calmness, Cane’s fiery nature does not allow her to completely control her emotions.
