There are many points in the book where the reader can feel sympathy for Jane Eyre; these include when she is locked in the Red Room, when Helen Burns dies at Lowood, and when she and Mr. Rochester are first married. The situation where Jane is locked in the Red Room occurs because she reacted against John Reed hitting her and the fact that she is punished for doing so. The simple fact that she is locked in the Red Room can already accumulate sympathy in the reader because she is apparently being punished unfairly while her cousin John has already attacked her and managed to escape any punishment. However, in the events leading up to the lock in the room, the reader was unable to feel sympathy for Jane Eyre as she in a sense brought upon herself the punishment for attacking Mr. Reed in the first place. If she hadn't reacted she wouldn't have been locked in the room. Most readers, however, probably feel sympathy for her since she was acting more in self-defense. She was also talked down to as they dragged her into the room itself while saying things like "she's like a crazy cat" and seemingly not allowing her to give any explanation for her actions, and only listening to what John even had to say. They make sure she knows her place by telling her that "you have an obligation to Mrs. Reed" and that she is "less than a servant." These are not kind words, and the reader will likely feel sympathetic because she is treated like a worthless object. The room she is sent is also a dark and unpleasant place with memories of the late Mr. Reed. For a child of Jane's young age it would apparently be very distressing and, with the added experience of seeing a "ghost" of some kind, it would be a terrible experience. Even if the reader didn't feel sympathy for Jane before this incident, she would definitely feel it now, as she finds herself in a distressing situation alone. When Jane first asks someone for help, it seems like people are also coming to help her as Bessie and Abbot come to answer the door and ask her what's wrong and what made her ask for help..