In the Victorian era, people unfairly discriminated against others because of their lack of social status. This theme is highlighted in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. The protagonist, a poor orphan named Jane, is a victim of this prejudice. With the settings of Gateshead, Lowood and Thornfield, Brontë illustrates how someone in Jane's position could be treated poorly or differently simply because of poverty and lack of rank. When Jane was a young child, she stayed with her aunt and cousins ​​in Gateshead. where they view her both negatively and differently due to her lower level. Mrs. Reed, Jane's aunt, separates Jane from her cousins ​​because, as her aunt tells her, "she really must exclude [Jane] from the privileges meant only for contented and happy little children" (1). The only real reasoning for this separation is due to a difference between Jane and her cousins. This distinction is simply the difference in status. This also shows the belief that the rich have a much nicer character than the poor. Additionally, Jane's cousin John mistreats and abuses Jane. She reflects this: “He intimidated and punished me; not twice or three times a week, nor once or twice a day, but continually: every nerve I had feared from him, and every piece of flesh from my bones shrank when he came near. There were times when I was disconcerted by the terror he inspired, because I had no recourse against his threats or his inflictions... and Mrs. Reed was blind and deaf on the subject: she did not never seen him hit or heard me insulted. (4). Jane herself says that she did nothing to cause John's physical or verbal misbehavior other than having a lower reputation than John. Mrs. Reed lets this wrongdoing continue simply because Jane is poor and not middle of paper... Ingrams like governesses, and they have no qualms about showing this disdain and horrible treatment of those in that position. All of England in the Victorian era was narrow-minded towards those without rank or wealth. Jane Eyre demonstrates this state of mind in its surroundings of Gateshead, Lowood and Thornfield. Poverty and low status were a legitimate reason for inequity during this time in history. All the wealthy and high-ranking individuals thought it was right that those below them were treated as such, because as long as they had what they wanted, they didn't care about anyone else. However, this hierarchy is unfair because it is not a mistake for a child to be poorer than his or her relatives. It's not an orphan's fault that he has no parents, and a governess can't control the fact that she has to work for a living..