[00:00.54] Chapter 7, Disgrace.
[00:03.71] It was a long, harsh winter.
[00:06.89] We were made to spend an hour of each day outside and walk two miles to church and back every Sunday, often in a bitterly cold wind.
[00:16.37] We had neither gloves nor boots, but only thin shoes that let in the snow, and our fingers and toes grew sore.
[00:23.92] The bigger girls huddled round the schoolroom fire.
[00:27.84] So we younger ones stayed cold.
[00:30.74] They took food from us too, and there was little enough to begin with.
[00:37.75] One afternoon, during an arithmetic lesson, all the girls and teachers suddenly stood up.
[00:44.90] I did too, and looked up to see Mr. Brocklehurst.
[00:50.31] I had dreaded his coming.
[00:53.99] He had believed everything Mrs. Reed had said about me, and how would I bear it if he informed Miss Temple of my bad character?
[01:05.52] I bent my head over my slate and hoped he would not see me.
[01:10.52] For the moment, he only spoke gruffly to Miss Temple.
[01:17.09] I am not pleased with the accounts, I heard him say.
[01:23.42] Twice this term the girls have had an extra meal of bread and cheese, why was that?
[01:32.56] Their breakfast was too burnt to eat, she replied.
[01:37.43] They should not go hungry all day.
[01:42.62] They must not be pampered, madam.
[01:48.16] They are here to learn patience and self-denial, and so must learn to live with disappointments.
[01:57.73] If you feed their bodies too well, you will starve their souls.
[02:04.99] Miss Temple had turned very white.
[02:08.91] Her lips were pressed tightly together.
[02:14.62] Mr. Brocklehurst turned and, with his hands behind his back, surveyed the class.
[02:25.04] There is a girl here with curly hair, he exclaimed.
[02:33.10] Her hair curls naturally, said Miss Temple.
[02:38.66] Nature?
[02:41.54] We have nothing to do with nature.
[02:46.18] Do we want these girls to be vain?
[02:50.55] All of these girls must have their hair cut short.
[02:57.69] I will send a barber tomorrow.
[03:02.74] At this point, his wife and daughters arrived.
[03:08.78] I did not think he was worried about any of them becoming vain, for they all wore silk gowns and furs and had their hair curled.
[03:19.89] Still hoping to be unnoticed, I kept my head down, but the slate slipped treacherously from my hand and fell with a terrible smash on the floor.
[03:32.08] A careless girl, said Mr. Brocklehurst, and added, the new girl.
[03:39.89] I must speak to you concerning her.
[03:43.73] Come forward, child.
[03:48.95] Too terrified to move, I was dragged to the front of the class by two older girls.
[03:57.33] On Mr. Brocklehurst's orders, they hoisted me onto a high stool.
[04:06.33] Do you see this girl? he said.
[04:09.84] Of course they did, the whole school was gazing up at me.
[04:14.86] She is young and has the face of childhood, but already she is a servant of evil, and I must warn you against her.
[04:25.30] Teachers, watch her and punish her.
[04:30.90] This girl, he went on, is a liar.
[04:41.55] She even lied to the generous lady who brought her up.
[04:48.63] With these words and a swish of silk gowns, the Brocklehurst left.
[04:55.69] Mr. Brocklehurst turned at the door.
[05:00.05] She must stay there for half an hour, he announced, and nobody must speak to her all day.
[05:11.66] I have no words to tell you of the shame I felt, standing on high before the whole school and near to tears.
[05:21.18] Just as I thought I would break down, Helen Burns came past.
[05:27.21] She lifted her eyes, and there was a smile of true kindness and understanding that gave me courage.