Mr Brocklehurst is the cruel and hypocritical master of Lowood Institution. He treats the girls cruelly, both physically and mentally in the name of God. Although he demands that the students must be self-denying and obscure, when his affluent and well-dressed wife and daughters visit the institution, his hypocrisy is evident, as well as the class divide and disparity in standards of living between Mr Brocklehurst and the orphans of Lowood. After the typhus epidemic, Brocklehurst’s severe and unregulated practices are brought to light and he is publicly discredited by the media. However, due to the fact that he is a wealthy and distinguished member of society, he is not completely stripped of his post or reprimanded and is still able to garner the job of treasurer at Lowood. Through Mr Brocklehurst, Brontë simultaneously highlights the toxic and opportunistic nature of those who claim to be spreading the word of God, as well as their immunity to consequence, as the backward society still finds these dishonest people integral to the community.
