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Bessie: Dear! Dear! What fury to fly at Master. John like this!
Mrs. Reed: Frightful child! Take her away in the red room and lock her in there!
Bessie: But, Mrs. Reed...
Mrs. Reed: Frightful child! Take her away in the red room and lock her in there!
Bessie: But, Mrs. Reed...
Mrs. Reed: The red room! Do as I say.
Bessie: Didn’t I say.
Jane: He threw the book at me.
Bessie: Come quickly. What shocking behaviour for a young girl!
Bessie: Didn’t I say.
Jane: He threw the book at me.
Bessie: Come quickly. What shocking behaviour for a young girl!
[Bessie brings Jane to the red room and leaves her there. Jane collapses to the floor and cries. She hears some noise and screams.]
Jane: Bessie! Let me out. Please, let me out. Help me, Bessie. [Mrs. Reed and Bessie appear out in the hall.]
Mrs. Reed: What is the horrible child up to now?
Bessie: Miss. Jane, are you alright?
Jane: Let me out. Please, Bessie.
Bessie: Are you hurt? What is the matter?
Jane: I heard something. Please unlock the door.
Mrs. Reed: Stop this screaming. I will not be taken in by your tricks, Jane. I shall let you out in the morning.
Mrs. Reed: What is the horrible child up to now?
Bessie: Miss. Jane, are you alright?
Jane: Let me out. Please, Bessie.
Bessie: Are you hurt? What is the matter?
Jane: I heard something. Please unlock the door.
Mrs. Reed: Stop this screaming. I will not be taken in by your tricks, Jane. I shall let you out in the morning.
[Jane is left in the room. When she wakes up, Bessie is sitting next to her. Jane is confused.]
Jane: Where...? Bessie...?
Bessie: It’s Bessie, Jane. You have been asleep ever so long. It’s nearly dinner time.
Jane: Am I ill? I feel so ill.
Bessie: Doctor has been and gone. He says, it’s fever.
Jane: Am I going to die?
Bessie: No, child. You will be alright within a week. You fell sick in the red room with crying, I suppose.
Bessie: Doctor has been and gone. He says, it’s fever.
Jane: Am I going to die?
Bessie: No, child. You will be alright within a week. You fell sick in the red room with crying, I suppose.
Jane: It was not crying, Bessie. I heard some noise. I saw something.
Bessie: Don’t upset yourself again. Now you need to rest.
Jane: It was Uncle Reed.
Bessie: Shhhhh... No more talking. Close your eyes. I will stay with you.
Jane: I shall never forget it. [Jane falls asleep]
Bessie: Poor child. I do believe it.
Bessie: Don’t upset yourself again. Now you need to rest.
Jane: It was Uncle Reed.
Bessie: Shhhhh... No more talking. Close your eyes. I will stay with you.
Jane: I shall never forget it. [Jane falls asleep]
Bessie: Poor child. I do believe it.
Explanation:
The inequality with which Jane is treated in the house is clear when she is scolded for a mistake that was committed by John. Although it was Jane who got hurt when John threw the book and attacked her, she had to face the criticism. The family favours John as he has a fortune and Jane does not have anyone to take up her side. Mrs. Reed, who already detests Jane, looks for an opportunity to punish her and gain pleasure out of it. She confirms that the trouble was caused by Jane, without even caring to ask for an explanation. Without waiting to hear Jane's side of the story, she orders her to be taken to the red room. The red room was Jane's uncle's old room. It was believed that his spirit still lingered around there. Mrs. Reed knew that Jane was visibly scared of the room, hence asks Bessie to lock her up in the room. Jane tries to give an explanation saying that it was John who started it all. But Bessie stops her and chides her for having a shocking behaviour. This is mostly because, during the Victorian era, women were not supposed to talk back and were expected to be soft spoken.
Jane is criticised even if the mistake is not on her part
When Jane is locked up, she is scared as she hears noises from the room. She starts crying and calls out to Bessie for help. When they come up, Jane makes an appeal to be freed from the room. Mrs. Reed is firm in her punishment and decides that Jane would only be let out in the morning. She thinks that Jane is performing tricks and lying to get herself out. Jane, who already had notions about the room, internalises the fear and gets a scary experience. She is left all alone in the room, where she cries herself to sleep.
In the morning, she wakes up to see Bessie beside her. She does not realise her surrounding for a moment. The fear and the constant crying had made her really sick that she loses track of the happenings. Bessie informs her that the doctor had treated her and left. Jane had been unconscious all the while. The experience nearly makes her think that she is dead. Jane is worried that there is not a person who believes that she heard noises from the room. She claims that she saw the spirit of uncle Reed. She nervously says that she would never forget the horrible experience. Bessie, who is helpless as she is a maid, can only mutter to herself that she believes her, indicating that it does not matter what she thinks.
Jane falls sick in the red room
Meaning of difficult words:
| S.No | Words | Meaning |
1 | Frightful | Scary |
2 | Horrible | Very bad |
3 | Criticism | Finding fault or Judging |
4 | Chide | Scold, to speak angrily |
5 | Appeal | To request |
6 | Notion | Something that runs in one's mind |
7 | Mutter | Speaking to oneself softly |
8 | Detest | Extreme hatred |
Reference:
State Council of Educational Research and Training (2019). Term-3 English Standard-7. Jane Eyre- Charlotte Bronte (pp. 136-154). Published by the Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation.
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