| “ | Take her to the red-room and lock her in there. | „ |
| ~ Mrs. Reed ordering Jane to be locked in the red room. |
Mrs. Reed, also known by her full name Sarah Reed (née Gibson), is the main antagonist of the classic novel Jane Eyre and the mother of John Reed, Eliza Reed, and Georgina Reed. She is the neglectful and borderline abusive aunt of the story's heroine Jane Eyre.
Biography[]
Mrs. Reed (nee Gibson) was the wife of the magistrate Mr. Reed. Together they had three children; Eliza, Georgina and John. However, they were also forced to look after their niece Jane after her parents (Mr. Reed's relatives) died. Mr. Reed soon died too, and his dying wish was that his wife look after Jane. Forced to let her live with her family, Mrs. Reed neglected Jane while showering her real children with attention, justifying her actions by claiming that Jane should be grateful for any care she received. She also did nothing to prevent her son John from abusing Jane.
At the start of the book, John attacks Jane for reading a book. As punishment for defending herself, Mrs. Reed orders the servants to lock Jane in the so-called "red room", where Mr. Reed died, and not let her out whatever they hear. When the servants release her after she screams in fear, Mrs. Reed berates them and tells them to lock her in again. In the morning, she lets Jane out and demands that her children do not associate with her.
An apothecary named Mr. Lloyd (who has been called to deal with Jane's illness, caused by shock from being locked in the red room) recommends that she be sent to school. Mrs. Reed decides to send her to Lowood School, run by the abusive Mr. Brocklehurst. She invites Brocklehurst to Gateshead House to meet Jane, and falsely tells him that Jane has a tendency to lie. Jane shouts at her for this and tells her that she will never call her aunt again. Soon after, Jane is sent to Lowood.
While Jane lives her life away from Gateshead, John is arrested and thrown into debtor's prison. Mrs. Reed pays his debts so he can be released, but he quickly squanders all the money she gives him until she cuts him off entirely. John kills himself as a result, which results in Mrs. Reed having an apoplectic fit. Jane comes to see her on her deathbed, where she admits that there is one action for which she feels some remorse: Jane's rich uncle wrote to her and told her that he was making Jane his heir, but she told him that Jane had died during a typhus outbreak at Lowood School. Despite the fact that this action wracks her final moments, she still blames Jane and tells her that she never would have been tempted to commit this evil action if not for her. Still hating Jane, Mrs. Reed ultimately dies off-page.
Trivia[]
- The way Mrs. Reed abused Jane bears similarity to Mr. Roach from Benjamin Bartholomew Piff series, but Mr. Roach is much worse than Mrs. Reed was.