How Bronte Creates Fear in Chapter 2 of Jane Eyre

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Fear is created by Bronte in chapter two as the room is remote in comparison to the rest of the house, and once inside, Jane is isolated from the rest of its inhabitants. She “resisted all the way” which shows us that Jane is scared of going into the bedroom; as she has previously stood up to her cousin, who we know hurts her physically, the fact that an otherwise brave girl is scared of and trying to avoid going into a room makes us think that it is something to be feared. Bronte also created fear in the chapter through the words of Miss Abbot, who says “something bad might be permitted to come down the chimney and fetch you away” telling a child this is bound to scare them and created fear in the child and in the audience. The mystery in which the room is presented also makes it seem frightening, it is not mentioned to have a purpose, and is only mentioned by a colour, “the red room”. Whilst red is the colour of passion and lust it is also the colour of a more sinister thing; blood. It was the colour of the curtains from earlier on in the novel that shielded Jane from the room when she read a book. At this moment we associate this colour with Jane’s isolation from the others and is a way to hide her from them. When Jane gets into the room, she is locked in; further shutting her away from the other inhabitants of the house and making her seem more distant and vulnerable as she is unable to get out of the room. The bed was “supported on massive pillars of mahogany” mahogany is a reddish-brown wood, and therefore matches the rest of the colour scheme in the room; everything is red or scarlet. The beds “massive” size would be imposing, and in comparison, makes Jane seem even smaller and weaker than she is. The blinds were “always drawn down” implying that the room was very dark, and were “half shrouded in festoons and falls of similar drapery” the word “shrouded”
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