Extra Ordinary

“My pupil was a lively child, who had been spoilt and indulged, and therefore was sometimes wayward; but as she was committed entirely to my care, and no injudicious interference from any quarter ever thwarted my plans for her improvement, she soon forgot her little freaks, and became obedient and teachable. She had no great talents, no marker traits of character, no peculiar development of feeling or taste which raised her one inch above the ordinary level of childhood; but neither had she any deficiency or vice which sunk her below it.”


In this passage, Jane and Adele’s relationship is beginning to strengthen. Jane is finding her place as a governess, and Adele is becoming a better student. However, that is really all she is becoming: a better student, and nothing else. Because Jane came from an oppressive educational background, what she thinks is helpful is actually turning Adele into someone with no visible character traits--just a better student


The passage begins with Jane claiming that “she was committed entirely to my care, and no injudicious interference from any quarter ever thwarted my plans for her improvement”. Today, this raises a few eyebrows: what is Jane doing that would be thwarted if anyone had the chance? Remember what happened when the general public caught on to what Mr. Brocklehurst was doing to his students; the school was immediately reformed, with him taken out of his leadership position. If Jane learned everything she knows about teaching from Lowood, who is to say that some of her methods are unjust? Of course, she does not have bad intentions, and neither did those who taught her, but it is worth considering that they are still doing harmful things in the classroom.


Next, Jane claims that, under her tutelage, Adele “soon forgot her little freaks, and became obedient and teachable.” Getting a student to pay attention and do their work is, of course, important, but what sort of freaks are we talking about? Would they have made Adele an artist, or a performer, or something else that requires creativity and nonconformity? They may have, or they may have led to bad ends, as they did for her mother, but in any case, they are now gone. Any potential that Adele had to be something more than a nun, wife, teacher, or governess is now gone, and it was forsaken in the effort to make her learn.


Finally, there is the final sentence, claiming that there is nothing special about Adele. What sort of praise is this? This is hard to imagine for a generation of students who were constantly told that everything they did was special and amazing, in a world where being unique is (more or less) encouraged. In Jane’s world, though, she prides Adele on being average--no more, no less. How much can a young girl succeed, if she is nothing more than average?


Of course, Jane Eyre is not deliberately oppressing Adele Varens. She is merely repeating what she has learned throughout her life, with the luxuries of a warm house and plenty of food. She may even be projecting her own plainness onto her pupil. Still, what she is doing is certainly not beneficial for Adele, either. It can only be speculated how this treatment will affect her as an adult of Jane’s age.