The purpose of an opening chapter is to set the ground and scene for the many elements in the story to make their introduction. These include things like the characters, themes and other issues. The introduction of "Jane Eyre" has done this very well and in a manner that is subtle and not easy to discern. The sense we can get, implied explicitly or not from details chosen is by it’s very nature, something we feel, that cannot be seen until processed logically by our brain.

The novel Jane Eyre begins with the sentence " There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.", as if already engaged with the reader in conversation. It is this casual and relaxed beginning that begins to paint for us a semblance of the character that is Jane Eyre. By dispensing with formalities of introduction, the priority is placed on the personal side of human interaction rather than the purposeful and mildly hypocritical method of a polite one. It is as if she regards us to know of her emotional mind more dearly than any stressed importance on labels like her name and such. Thus we are immediately thrust into an intimate relationship with the author, who wishes to share her experience for our benefit. Depending on the character of the reader, this approach may or may not be too close for comfort. Perhaps the traditional stereotyped view that this is a feminist novel, seems to gives justification to my experience that females find the novel more appealing than do male readers. In any case, the first few paragraphs lure you gently into discovering who this voice is that speaks through the words of the novel.

Who is Jane actually? Essentially, we are led to believe that Jane is a nomad, homeless, destitute, alone, an orphan with no roots and little knowledge of her own beginnings. Even the first image that is presented is a gloomy winter landscape, where young Jane is lost in a colourless and undefined place. "We had been wandering … in the leafless shrubbery an hour". The voice that begins to speak to us as we begin the novel is only introduced a few paragraphs later as Jane. Here the revelation is not so positive, as the remark it makes on her character tells us that she is a "caviller or questioner". This is a poignant and accusatory remark that is one of those that defines the relationship she has with the other characters in the book that are just newly introduced. However, since we have had the benefit of a previous explanation of her perceived unfair treatment, we are willing to leave room for judgement later. If one will notice at this point, the intimacy Jane has with the reader, coupled with the use of a technique whereby she defers negative judgement upon her by others by explaining herself and her motivation has both it’s value and it’s question on reliability. Doubtless, we are able to understand Jane by seeing through her eyes, but it is she that chooses what she wants us to see in her own viewpoint that makes us question passion’s tendency in blinding the objective faculties.

The other characters that we are introduced to early on, is the Reed family. They, consisting of the mistress of the house, Mrs Reed, and her three children, John, Georgiana and Eliza Reed. It is obvious at first sight that Jane is uncomfortably separated from them, an isolation resulting from the domestic tyranny that has come from the family’s indifference for her. It is likely that a reason why she is neglected arises from her physical inferiority to the rest of the children. Unlike the Reed children, she is weaker and less physical, partly hinted at by her gladness of not needing to take a walk. Unlike Georgiana, who we later find out is fawned over by her mother and those around her, she is plain. Where she is inferior in these respects to the Reeds, she however makes up for it by having her own strengths. It is perhaps a combination of her isolation and the fact of needing to find "companions" that she has turned to literature and imagination. Subsequently, her intellect is more developed for her young age than the other children. Her indulgence in books as a form as escapism is shown in the immense pleasure she has in being in her window seat reading. She observes the weather outside, contrasts it with the weather within, and then with her "Bewick" book, her mind goes off in irretrievable tangents in search of dark places and lost marine phantoms. It is not obvious that there is symbolic value in the description of what Jane reads, until we notice these are all reflections of her situation around her, repressed in a the mind of a child, and "mysterious often to my undeveloped understanding and imperfect feelings, yet ever profoundly interesting". The symbolism of the "bleak shores", dark seas, foreign places, a "solitary churchyard", are all representations of Jane’s foreign but ever profound mind. The "black horned thing…surveying a distant crowd" is likely Jane herself as her own observer.

Already, from what has so far transpired, it is clear of the social implications that are implied in a Victorian society that stressed conformity and uniformity. This doubtless extended with respect with the treatment of children. Jane was expected to have a "a sociable and childlike disposition" and "a more attractive and sprightly manner". Such definitions of right and wrong were strictly adhered to regardless, and with no consideration at all for the situation at hand. This single minded attitude has its disadvantages. That of inflexibility and no means for true understanding. However, like all bad things, its polarity exists. In this case, we can only find it in Mrs Reed’s obstinate fulfillment of her promise to her dead husband, however badly done, to raise Jane.

The clash that arises because of Jane’s tendency to answer back at elders, and having too much passion were frowned upon, because it implied a free and undisciplined character. Jane is isolated because of this and other reasons. The Reed children obviously are not because they behave properly, and also are accorded less strictness in judgement because of their social status. Likewise, if extended from this argument, had Jane been physically more attractive, physically stronger, and less passionate, it would have been easier for Mrs. Reed and the rest of the family to have accepted her as their own. Her differences being too great however, and with the unerasable and undeniable fact that she, like Master John says, is a dependant, have made her life as a child a difficult and lonely one to bear.

In order to see the separation more clearly, I use the euphemism of "uniqueness" in attributing the reasons for the things she does. There is a double-meaning implied in the usage, since "uniqueness" and "isolation" are essentially extreme degrees of each other. For instance, a reference is made to the way she sits in her window seat, "cross-legged like a Turk". Taken another way, the simile implies foreignness. In fact, one can almost feel that her foreignness is so piercing because she can find no recourse, hope or understanding among the people around her.

The action soon begins with the introduction of John Reed, Jane’s tormentor in search of someone to bully. His entrance is a rude and startling burst into Jane’s enjoyment of her book, much like his own character. The impending fear that Jane had felt before his intrusion has a sense of the supernatural, in Jane’s heightened awareness of the situation around her. Layer upon layer if his wickedness is unveiled as the pace of the prose quickens in anticipation. He lies, "tell mama she is run out into the rain", calls Jane a "bad animal", and then uses his physical strength to drag her out of her hiding place. John is an evil character, but from the way that Jane describes him, his evilness arises out of weakness. Several things point to this conclusion in Jane’s caricature of John, first, the description of his unpleasant physical aspects. Since we have already seen how one’s worth is implied by their appearance in Victorian society, we can see that Jane’s description is meant to be humorous and derogatory:

" John Reed was a schoolboy of fourteen years old; four years older than I, for I was ten: large and stout for his age, with a dingy and unwholesome skin; think lineaments in a spacious visage, heavy limbs and large extremities. He gorged himself habitually at table, which made him bilious, and gave him a dim and bleary eye and flabby cheeks."

It is obvious that John Reed is lazy, and a glutton who is interested in only the pleasure derivable from stimulants such as food and violent behavior. John Reed’s character weaknesses are also apparent in his inability to endure anything less than the creature comforts of home. His long holiday from school is a result from of this, all encouraged by doting Mrs Reed. John Reed’s attitudes have of course been shaped by his society, and his personal greed:

"You have no business to take my books; you are a dependant…you ought to beg, and not to live here with gentleness’ children like us, and eat the same meals we do, and wear clothes at our mama’s expense…I’ll teach you to rummage through my bookshelves: for they are mine; all the house belongs to me, or will do in a few years"

John’s function here could perhaps be explained in terms of the possibility that he is practicing to become the Master of the house. This more likely so for him as the family’s only male in a patriarchal society. His attitude to those below his class and those of the opposite sex is shown in the way he treats Jane. That Men had unquestionable authority in her society is a message that forcefully shoves for place to be heard. Bessie’s words, "What a fury to fly at Master John", is a stark reminder to Jane.

Aside from what this chapter is about, it is also how it is written that in my opinion, expresses the author’s intention and style. Jane is obviously an emotional person. Her style is akin to the wide angle lens of a camera moved purposely in close to capture the backdrop of details with the main character stark centre. The focus never strays far from the centre of the place where the entire story emanates from, Jane’s mind. It is this that that we are made to feel through the tone of trust. Diction likewise is also used to effect in the novel. Such terms as the use of the word "darlings" on the Reed children have a sarcastic under tone.

Pace in rendering the text is also well controlled, especially in the instances where the action is flowing. The prose suddenly becomes jumpy and more agitated with vignettes of moments; quick cuts to detail and economical dialogue. In the description of Jane’s abuse, we get a sense of this pace and also of the myriad of emotions, feelings and sensations that Jane is experiencing:

"He ran headlong at me, I felt him grasp my hair and my shoulder: he has closed with a desperate thing…I felt a drop or two of blood from my head trickle down my neck…"

It is after all this commotion that Jane is ordered by Mrs Reed to be taken to the red room.

The voice that speaks to us is looking back on the past. It is the voice of an adult Jane whose method reflects her character in the way a person speaks. In the way the plot is stable and then escalates in this chapter, we find in it the ingredients of restrained and inert passion, suppressed to a point that leads to violence. How fitting that the plot deliver the likeness the character of Jane herself.