​The Scapegoated Child

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Psychological Terminology:

 

Being 'scapegoated' in a family dynamic refers to "how one family member is chosen to carry the weight of the family's pain and anger." [1] Like the term implies, the actual facts behind the family's problems are irrelevant. No matter what or whom is actually to blame, the family has collectively decided to lay all the blame on one certain individual.

 

"The scapegoated individual in a family channels family tensions which provide a basis of solidarity for the family." [1] Having this collective agreement that everything that's wrong is the fault of another creates a kind of family unity. It's the same kind of unity that Hitler created among the Germans against the Jews during WWII. The same kind of unity during the early years of American history that white Americans had against the black Americans.

 

In a family dynamic a "child is usually selected as the scapegoat because of his/her dependence and relative powerlessness in relation to the parents." [1] A child is an easy target for this kind of abuse because they are helpless to fight back against the faulty logic and irrational justifications of their parents.

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​​​A good reference to better understand this phenomenon are in memoirs such as:

Call Me Tuesday and Call Me Cockroach by Leigh Byrne

A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer

Cry Silent Tears by Joe Peters

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In these memoirs all three children were scapegoated as a result of the mother's desire to abuse a certain one of their children. For both Pelzer and Peters, their mother abused them out of her hatred towards their biological father. In Byrne's retelling of a true story, Tuesday Storm was abused by her mother because she was a girl.

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​Literary Context:

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From the very outset of the novel we see young Jane Eyre being excluded from a typical family gathering. Since both of Jane Eyre's parents have died of typhus, young Jane resided with her aunt, Mrs. Reed, and her three cousins, Eliza, John, and Georgina Reed. In the third paragraph it says that:

...Eliza, John, and Georgiana were now clustered round their mamma... [As for Jane, Mrs. Reed] had dispensed from joining the group, saying, "...she really must exclude me from privileges intended only for contented, happy little children." (Bronte 11) [3]

So, based on this information, it would seem that Mrs. Reed's aversion to Jane Eyre could stem from Jane not being her biological child.

 

However, later on in Chapter 3, we learn that Jane Eyre's mother, who was part of the wealthy Reed family, disgraced the family by marrying a impoverished clergyman. Potentially, Mrs. Reed's aversion could stem from Jane Eyre being born to a lower class family, since Jane's mother lost her right to her inheritance the moment she married Jane's father. This theory carries more weight based on the various times Jane's dependency upon Mrs. Reed's generosity is used by those around her to modify or control Jane's behavior. For example, John Reed berates her into submission to his bulling by telling her:

you are a dependent, mamma says; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg, and not live here with gentleman's children like us, and eat the same meals we do, and wear clothes at our mamma's expense. (Bronte 15) [3]

According to these admissions, John Reed got these ideas about Jane being nothing but a leech on the family's resources from his mother. So, the fact that Jane's father was poor could potentially be the justification Mrs. Reed used to treat Jane with such animosity and disgust; the reason she encouraged her children to treat her with contempt. 

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Another theory is that Mrs. Reed was jealous of her husband's care and attention towards his sister (Jane Eyre's mother) while she was alive and towards Jane Eyre herself. On her death-bed, Mrs. Reed explained that her hatred towards Jane was because "I had a dislike to her mother, always; for she was my husband's only sister, and great favorite with him..." (Bronte 271). [3] According to Mrs. Reed, when Jane Eyre became an orphan, her husband treated his sister's child with more love and affection than to his own children, saying "Reed pitied it, and he used to nurse it as if it had been his own; more, indeed, than he ever noticed his own at that age" (Bronte 272). [3] 

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​Whatever the reason, Mrs. Reed fashioned a kind of unified front including herself, her children, and her servants against Jane Eyre. Not all are completely drawn in, such as Bessie, her nurse-maid, who treated Jane with kindness when unsupervised. However, others such as Mrs. Reed's son, John Reed, seemed to take pleasure in whatever agony he could cause her.

He bullied and punished me--not two or three times in a week, nor once or twice in the day, but continually; every nerve I had feared him, and every morsel of flesh on my bones shrunk when he came near... I had no appeal whatever against either his menaces or his inflictions; the servants did not like to offend their young master by taking my part against him, and Mrs. Reed was blind and deaf on the subject..." (Bronte 14) [3]

Having this level of continual fear on a daily basis would undoubtedly cause a great amount of stress on both her mind and body. According to the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, a "dysregulation of stress hormones leads to changes in mood, behavior, and immune response..." [2] This could explain why Jane Eyre acted violently against John Reed in this opening chapter, despite never having acted so before. Jane's stress had built up to a point where it over-powered her conditioned fear. Her anxiety from being berated and belittled all this time got the best of her naturally complacent nature, causing her to act in violent manner against her bully. Jane's anxiety, along with her young age, could also explain why she fainted while being in the red-room. Since she was being placed in a room where Mr. Reed had passed away, during the night hours, that alone was enough fuel for her imagination to go wild and her already high stress level to sky rocket.

 

Further, this kind of injustice and abuse from her guardian and fellow children naturally caused young Jane to feel depressed. She knew she was not accepted by those around her, but she could not find any determinable reason why she wasn't. "Why was I always suffering, always brow-beaten, always accused, forever condemned? Why could I never please? Why was it useless to try to win anyone's favor?" (Bronte 20). [3] Despite all that she did to try and please everyone, and despite all of the wrongs that her cousins committed, she was still found to be the one at fault. That's why she contemplated thoughts as dark as suicide, saying that if she couldn't find a way to "escape from insupportable oppression" then it might be better to decide on "never eating or drinking more, and letting myself die" (Bronte 21). [3]

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According to the article by Family Relations, "scapegoated people often focus upon a particular characteristic of their body as the cause for their sense of alienation." [1] In Jane's case, she probably reasoned that she was not accepted because she was not pretty enough. There are many comments made about Jane's appearance throughout the novel, of her being both 'small' and 'plain' looking. In fact, her 'physical inferiority' is mentioned as soon as the second paragraph. This may be because she really is quite small and plain. However, given it's frequency, it might also mean that the character is hyper-sensitive about how she looks. If she believes that her 'plain' looks were the cause for being treated as separate by her family and servants, then it would follow that it would be the same no matter who she met. This could explain why Jane Eyre, upon becoming a young adult, used her looks as a way to prove that Mr. Rochester could never be attracted to her by painting an image of herself next to the imagined Blanche Ingram.

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Another reason why Jane tried so hard to convince herself that Mr. Rochester could never be attracted to her is because she might have been emotionally repressed. If she was, it would explain why she preferred being in isolation. If you're constantly trying to bottle up your emotions, so that no one can see your vulnerabilities, it's a lot of work to be in the presence of other people. It would also explain why she looked at her future and never wished for anything beyond a 'new servitude' (Bronte 102). [3] Good things are hard to accept, especially things based on emotion, such as love, when you are emotionally repressed. She didn't believe things like 'liberty, excitement, and enjoyment' existed in her future (Bronte 102). [3] In addition, Mr. Rochester seemed to have come to the same conclusion about her when he says:

...you are not naturally austere, any more than I am naturally vicious. The Lowood constraint still clings to you somewhat; controlling your features, muffling your voice, and restricting your limbs; and you fear in the presence of man... to smile too gayly, speak too freely, or move too quickly... I see, at intervals, of a curious bird through the close-set bars of the cage; a vivid, restless, resolute captive is there... (Bronte 166) [3]

​Many actress' have misunderstood this aspect of Jane Eyre's character, and have played her in a very robotic manner. However, being emotionally repressed is not the same as being without emotions. It's simply the denial of certain emotions, which can cause them to eventually boil over. In Jane's case, she bowls over several times in conversations with Mr. Rochester. This misunderstanding can lead to a movie adaptation that is lacking in tension. Simply compare the two clips below showing Mr. Rochester proposing to Miss Jane:

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 Grief

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Literary Context:

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While at Lowood Institution, Jane built a strong, intense friendship with an older girl at the school named Helen Burns. They openly discussed with each other the big questions about the morality, what happens after death, and the purpose of religion. Helen impressed upon Jane to "love your enemies; bless them that curse you; do good to them that hate you and despitefully use you" (Bronte 70). [3]  This is how Helen treated the teachers at Lowood who openly criticize, criminalize, and physically beat her. In doing so there is no question as to who's in the wrong, and no blemish made on the Helen's conduct, which is why Helen maintained that that this was morally correct. Young Jane openly argued against such logic, wanting instead to live by an 'eye for and eye,' seeing nothing wrong in defending oneself against tyranny (Bronte 69, 70). [3]

 

During their conversation, Helen explained to Jane that the reason her guardian, Mrs. Reed "has been unkind to you, no doubt; because, you see, she dislikes your cast of character, as Miss Scatcherd does mine" (Bronte 70). [3] Abuse is a heavy burden to bear, especially for a child, so it would make sense that Helen would try and justify her teacher's conduct. Just like Jane reasoned that her separation was caused by her not being pretty enough, Helen reasoned that her abuse was caused by her not being a good enough student. The impression that Helen made on Jane was great, especially since Helen had passed away while they were both at such a young age.

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So, it is not surprising that, as Jane grows older, she appears to agree with Helen that loving one's enemies is the correct way to honor her morality, her religion, and, in this case, the memory of a dear friend. This explains her calm and good-natured attitude upon hearing the news that Aunt Reed is dying and wishes to see her before her death. Jane takes no time to decide to travel to see her Aunt Reed and offer her forgiveness, which she assumes is the reason why she had been summoned. In addition, according to Scapegoating in Families, scapegoated people often show loyalty towards their abusive guardian, and often have a feeling of indebtedness towards them as well. [1]

 

The combination of these factors could explain why Jane is resolved to treat her aunt with kindness, doing things for her that servants neglect and continued to offer to her forgiveness to her aunt free and clear (Bronte 278, 281). [3] Unfortunately, Jane also seemed to become persuaded by Helen's justification of Mrs. Reed's abuse when she says that "Yes, Mrs. Reed, to you I owe some fearful pangs of mental suffering. But I ought to forgive you... you thought you were only uprooting my bad propensities" (Bronte 26,27). [3] Despite this quote being placed in chapter 3, these are the reflections of Jane when she is a young adult, and not as a young child. Understanding the influences that Jane had over the course of her life gives a better understanding of this comment when it was being told though the method of a flashback.

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