Jane was a discord in Gateshead Hall; she was a nobody there; she had nothing in common with Mrs. Reed or her children, or her chosen vassalage. Since they did love Jane, Jane could not love them. They were not bound to regard with affection a thing opposed to them in temperament ;in capacity; in propensities; a useless thing. A thing which was incapable of serving their interest or adding to their pleasure. Jane knew that if she had been a a brilliant, handsome, careless, and sanguine child, then Mrs. Reed and her children would have endured her presence more complacently.
Page 15Changing the point of view from first to third person has greatly effected this passage. It is no longer the window into Jane's emotions that it once was. It has lost the strength and intensity that it had in the fist person. Simply with the use of the word "I" in any passage, the emotion is drastically emphasized and adapted to the reader. A third person novel is still effective in conveying emotion, but when a first person passage is changed to third, the true power of the first person is clearly seen.
Jane is not telling us her emotions, but rather they are being dictated to us by an omniscient narrator. Although this seems to be the same thing, it lacks the personally interaction between Jane and the reader. The true contempt for the Reeds that she is feeling is not the same when it is described by a voice other than her own. Individuals are best at describing what occurs in their own minds through their words and actions. This is the purpose of a first person novel. The author assumes the role of a character, which makes the story seem more realistic. A third person view of Jane's story can be misleading, and make her seem more at fault. When reading in the first person we are inclined to take Jane's side in all disagreements. This is bias, but it is still a positive thing because it is the author's intention to make us sympathize with Jane.
