Jaunty Bronte

Charlotte Bronte uses a variety of figurative language, irony and characterization to create tension in the group setting of chapter 7 of Jane Eyre. She uses these elements to develop Mr. Brocklehurst's character and introduce his view of society.
"the same black column which had frowned on me so ominously from the hearthrug of Gateshead." - Bronte uses this metaphor to create a vision of Mr. Brocklehurst for the audience; he is seen as an emotionless, inhumane "black column."
"...a judicious instructor would take the opportunity of referring to the sufferings of the primitive Christians; to the torments of martyrs; to the exhortations of our blessed Lord Himself, calling upon His disciples to take up their cross and follow Him; to His warnings that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God; to His divine consolations, "If ye suffer hunger or thirst for My sake, happy are ye." Oh, madam, when you put bread and cheese, instead of burnt porridge, into these children's mouths, you may indeed feed their vile bodies, but you little think how you starve their immortal souls!" - Bronte writes this speech for Mr. Brocklehurst to justify his treatment of the girls. She uses Christian allusions, some of which referring to the Bible, in order to establish Mr. Brocklehurst's minimalist views and, in turn, his disgust with society to crave anything more.
"Madam," he pursued, "I have a Master to serve whose kingdom is not of this world: my mission is to mortify in these girls the lusts of the flesh; to teach them to clothe themselves with shame-facedness and sobriety, not with braided hair and costly apparel; and each of the young persons before us has a string of hair twisted in plaits which vanity itself might have woven; these, I repeat, must be cut off; think of the time wasted, of--" - Bronte uses more Christian allusions as well as the personification of the trait of vanity to heighten Mr. Brocklehurst's extremity of opinion when it comes to society. He strives to create uniformity, equality, and plainness in the girls and justifies it with religion. Ironically, right after this speech about braided hair and costly apparel, three women walk in the room who are extremely elaborately dressed. However, Mr. Brocklehurst makes no comment on the women but rather snaps on Jane when she breaks a slate on accident. He then preaches to the girls that they must make Jane an outcast and make life hard for her because of what she has done and to teach her a lesson.

Not only is Bronte creating Mr. Brocklehurst's social commentary in this passage through what he says and how he treats the girls, but she also is providing her own social commentary. Bronte shows this exaggerated character of Mr. Brocklehurst to state her opinion on those who believe that the delicacies of the world are to be avoided. She implies that even the smallest of things can be regarded as a "worldly pleasure," and that such things really are harmless. She looks down upon people like Mr. Brocklehurst and shows this by presenting him as the villain and over-exaggerating his opinions to make the audience disagree with him and dislike him.