Plain Jane

So after reading this portion of the novel, I really enjoying Jane Eyre. I found her to be an interesting character. Her identity and the way she is described fascinate me. It is quite obvious that Jane is a very strong and feisty female character, but she is often described as very plain and very simple, trying to blend in, almost in a wallflower-ish sort of way. And I can’t decide if that takes away from and contributes to her character. I mean she obviously has had a hard life – she was an orphan who lived with an aunt who didn’t want her and was either physically or verbally abused by her cousins. Living with those kinds of people you would learn to lay low and keep quiet, but she often acts out. One of my favorite Jane moments was when she lashed out at her aunt just before leaving, telling Aunt Reed how she really felt. I found myself cheering for her when she told her aunt “And if any one asks me how I liked you, and how you treated me, I will say the very thought of you makes me sick.” (30)

But back to her identity – she is plain, and even her name suggests it. “Plain Jane” Compared to her cousins who are described as beautiful, Jane sees herself as nothing out of the ordinary, maybe even slightly ugly. When she is at Thornfield she even tells the reader that she dresses in dark plain colored dresses, like black or grey because she had no article of attire that was not made with extreme simplicity, wishes that she had better looks and hopes that her pupil does not recoil from her with antipathy.  I think this could contribute to the idea that she is the “other.” She is not good looking like other characters are depicted in the novel and often finds herself in a place of exile or on the outside.  She looks for a place to fit in and call home, and almost seems to find some comfort and tranquility in Miss Temple, until Miss Temple leaves and Jane is searching for it once more.