Read the excerpt from Jane Eyre and answer the question. A snug small room; a round table by a cheerful fire; an arm-chair high-backed and old-fashioned, wherein sat
the neatest imaginable little elderly lady, in widow's cap, black silk gown, and snowy muslin apron; exactly
like what I had fancied Mrs. Fairfax, only less stately and milder looking. She was occupied in knitting; a large
cat sat demurely at her feet. ... A more reassuring introduction for a new governess could scarcely be
conceived; there was no grandeur to overwhelm, no stateliness to embarrass; and then, as I entered, the old
lady got up and promptly and kindly came forward to meet me.
"How do you do, my dear? I am afraid you have had a tedious ride; John drives so slowly: you must be cold,
come to the fire."
The scene described in this excerpt presents an ideal of
industrial progress
Romantic pastoral life
Victorian domesticity
middle class comfort