Q: “I had left this woman in bitterness and hate, and I came back to her now with no other emotions than a sort of ruth, for her great suffering, and a strong yearning to forget and forgive all injuries – to be reconciled, and clasp hands in amity.” (314)
C: This entire interaction between Mrs. Reed and Jane make me sad for her. As you can see in the quote, Jane had grown so much and for her to even think about forgiving Mrs. Reed for everything she had put her through was very mature. It shows how much growth Jane has gone through mentally within herself. Since Jane was a child (which we see in the earlier chapters) she had had trouble with her feelings and lashing out and just overall dealing with how she was feeling in a mature manner and now it is clear that she has grown and yet her aunt is still acting like a child. When Mrs. Reed turns away from Jane coldly and Jane says she was still going to be there because she showed so much advancement in her mental state and I am proud of her for that because I do not know if I would have that strength. Then we see Mrs. Reed sort of changed and forgot she was talking to Jane and then started talking about Jane to her. She mentions how she was upset about the relationship between her husband and his sister. It almost seemed as if she was jealous of it. Also, when she brings up how her son is nothing like his father and she is glad for that, and how he is just like her shows just how either blind she is to her and her children’s nasty behavior or how she genuinely enjoys being cruel and raising her children that way.
Q: I know that on page 315 Mrs. Reed explains her “hatred” stemmed from Jane being a whiny baby when she was younger and crying and her husband taking care of him after his sister passed, however I’m thinking that her real hatred carried over from Mrs. Reed hating Jane’s mother and once she was gone, she needed another outlet. And it was clear that Mrs. Reed was jealous anyway and she was jealous of both Jane and her mother for how much her husband cared for them. Mrs. Reed is rotten inside and out.
