The red room in Chapter 2 of Jane Eyre
This useful resource helps students to navigate the opening chapters of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, particularly Chapter 2. The key focus is on the red room and what this symbolises for the character of Jane and for the reader.
The PowerPoint resource guides students through various concepts and interpretations, bringing in critical ideas to help them explore alternative meanings.
Students are then encouraged to analyse an extract, considering technique, language use and meaning.
There is also a creative task, helping students to think about the feelings and motivations of characters in the novel, particularly Jane.
Browse more resources in the Jane Eyre section.
A sample extract from the resource:
The symbolism of the red room
Symbolically, the red room could represent the challenges Jane faces in her journey to discover freedom, self identity and happiness.
The reader understands Jane’s lack of independence and her forced captivity for the first time in Chapter 2. However, even when Jane is allowed to leave the room, her isolation, financial dependence and lack of social contact are obvious.
In fact, the red room becomes more important throughout the text. Jane connects several moments of humiliation and distress with her red room experiences at touchpoints in the novel.
One example of this would be when she is made to feel distress at Lowood, as she thinks back to her emotions during her red room imprisonment. The room also makes an appearance in her thoughts during the time she wants to leave Thornfield after Rochester tries to make her his mistress.
Creative task
In pairs, one person takes on the character of Jane and another a long-lost friend of Jane’s from the past.
Role play a conversation where Jane discloses all her experiences in the red room to her friend, her feelings about her time in the room and how she managed to overcome it all.
