Well might I dread – well might I dislike Mrs. Reed, for it was her nature to wound me cruelly…Now, uttered before a stranger, the accusation cut me to the heart. I dimly perceived that she was already obliterating hope from the new phase of existence which she destined me to enter; I felt, though I could not have expressed the feeling, that she was sowing aversion and unkindness along my future path.
– Charlotte Bronte
Jane Eyre, Chapter 4. Even as Jane is about to begin life afresh at Lowood School, there is no escaping Mrs. Reed’s abuse. It is set to follow her into the future, as Mrs. Reed attacks Jane’s character to Mr. Brocklehurst. Jane is “cut to the heart” by her hateful aunt’s vindictiveness.