Because I disliked you too fixedly and thoroughly ever to lend a hand in lifting you to prosperity. I could not forget your conduct to me, Jane—the fury with which you once turned on me; the tone in which you declared you abhorred me the worst of anybody in the world
Chapter 21 · Mrs Reed
Context
On her deathbed, Mrs. Reed reveals that three years earlier Jane's uncle John Eyre wrote asking for her address, but Mrs. Reed refused to help Jane achieve prosperity because of her lingering hatred.
Analysis
The phrase 'too fixedly and thoroughly' intensifies Mrs. Reed's spite—it is not casual or passing but calcified and total. Her catalog of Jane's offenses—'the fury with which you once turned on me; the tone in which you declared'—uses parallel structure to accumulate grievances, but they are all linguistic: Jane's crime was speaking back. The hyperbole 'abhorred me the worst of anybody in the world' is actually Jane's childhood words quoted back to her, showing that Mrs. Reed has nursed this grudge for nearly a decade, treating a child's outburst as unforgivable injury.
Essay Tip
Use this to argue that Brontë critiques how power cannot tolerate dissent—Mrs. Reed's enduring rage is triggered not by any action but by Jane's verbal defiance, showing that the real crime of the powerless is refusing to stay silent.