Inded, Jane is very critical of Mrs. Reed and her children's morals. She speaks of John Reed in a harsh, sharp tone, "Wicked and cruel boy! You are like a murderer, you are like a slave-driver, youare like the Roman emperors." While this remark in warrented, as John had just throwna book at Jane and cut her head, she doesn't necessarily hold herself tothese same standards. After John attacks her again, she says "I don't very well know what I did with my hands," which infers that she probably did do something she didn't wish to tell or which might make her look bad before others.
Later, it is revealed that Jane had struck "a young gentleman, her benefactress' son." By this, it is shown that Jane doesn't hold herself accountable for her actions but rather regards herself as the victim. This is one of the reasons "Jane Eyre" can be viewed as a "coming of age" story. It starts at a time in her life in which she is quite immature and always the victim, a common belief ammong young girls. However, the reader can buy into this storyline because Jane is an orphan living with a distant aunt and being often mistreated.
By writing this novel in the first person, Charlotte Bronte was able to assert that Jane, on the surace, was underpriviledged and abused,but lessens the degree of her horrible living conditions. A clever way of doing this was when Mr. Lloyd asked her f she would want to go to her poorer relatives even if they treated her nice, but she declines because she can't imagine living in poverty.
