Why did you choose the book?

I choose this book because I want to know the life of Jane Eyre. I want to know how she
surpassed the obstacles in her life. And I want to learn something from this book. Reading this
book allows us to travel without using our own feet. In life we need to discover something for
us to have knowledge in everything. It gives us wings to go to our imagination that gives us the
joy, happiness, wisdom and so much more from it. Reading this book enlightened me more and
I believe that this book can change my life. Why? Because reading this book I feel that I’m not
alone in this world full of struggles in life. Although we’re not at the situations but I have
learned something from it. This book will influence the readers the way the readers think. I
believe that this book can teach us moral lessons in life and gives us new perspectives in life.

Tell something about the author and the book.

Born 21 April 1816

Thornton, Yorkshire, England
Died 31 March 1855 (aged 38)
Haworth, Yorkshire, England
Resting place St Michael and All Angels' Church
Haworth, England
Pen name Lord Charles Albert Florian
Wellesley
Currer Bell
Occupation Novelist, poet, governess
Nationality British
Genre Fiction, poetry
Notable works Jane Eyre
Villette
Spouse Arthur Bell Nicholls

(m. 1854)
Parents Patrick Brontë
Maria Branwell
Relatives Brontë family
Charlotte Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who
survived into adulthood and whose novels became classics of English literature.

She enlisted in school at Roe Head in January 1831, aged 14 years. She left the year after to
teach her sisters, Emily and Anne, at home, returning in 1835 as a governess. In 1839, she
undertook the role of governess for the Sidgwick family, but left after a few months to return to
Haworth, where the sisters opened a school, but failed to attract pupils. Instead, they turned to
writing and they each first published in 1846 under the pseudonyms of Currer, Ellis, and Acton
Bell. Although her first novel, The Professor, was rejected by publishers, her second novel, Jane
Eyre, was published in 1847. The sisters admitted to their Bell pseudonyms in 1848, and by the
following year were celebrated in London literary circles.

Charlotte Brontë was the last to die of all her siblings. She became pregnant shortly after her
marriage in June 1854 but died on 31 March 1855, almost certainly from hyperemesis
gravidarum, a complication of pregnancy which causes excessive nausea and vomiting.

Charlotte Bront's novel Jane Eyre was published in 1847. The novel tells the life of Jane, an
apparently ordinary young woman who fights with life's challenges. Jane faces numerous
challenges in her life, including her cruel and violent Aunt Reed, the horrible conditions at
Lowood School, her feelings for Rochester, and Rochester's marriage to Bertha. Jane, on the
other hand, overcomes these challenges because to her determination, wit, and bravery. Jane was
married to Rochester and they have children at the end of the novel.

Jane Eyre contains characteristics that are reminiscent of Charlotte Bronte's real life. She and her
sisters attended a school with such a headmaster as strict as Mr Brocklehurst. Two of Charlotte's
sisters died of disease there, as did Helen Burns, Jane's only friend. Before turning to writing,
Charlotte Bronte worked as a governess for a time.

SUMMARY
Jane Eyre is a youthful vagrant being raised by Mrs. Reed, her barbarous, well off auntie. A
worker named Bessie gives Jane a portion of the couple of kindnesses she gets, recounting her
accounts and singing tunes to her. At some point, as discipline for battling with her tormenting
cousin John Reed, Jane's auntie detains Jane losing money room, the room where Jane's Uncle
Reed passed on. While secured, Jane, accepting that she sees her uncle's phantom, shouts and
swoons. She wakes to end up being taken care of by Bessie and the sympathetic pharmacist Mr.
Lloyd, who recommends to Mrs. Reed that Jane be sent away to school. To Jane's enjoyment,
Mrs. Reed agrees.
Once at the Lowood School, Jane observes that her life is a long way from untainted. The
school's dean is Mr. Brocklehurst, an unfeeling, deceptive, and oppressive man. Brocklehurst
lectures a principle of neediness and privation to his understudies while utilizing the school's
assets to give a rich and lavish way of life for his own family. At Lowood, Jane gets to know a
youngster named Helen Burns, whose solid, martyrlike demeanor toward the school's agonies is
both useful and disappointing to Jane. A huge typhus plague clears Lowood, and Helen passes on
of utilization. The plague additionally brings about the flight of Mr. Brocklehurst by standing out
to the insalubrious conditions at Lowood. After a gathering of more thoughtful men of their word
has Brocklehurst's spot, Jane's life improves drastically. She burns through eight additional years
at Lowood, six as an understudy and two as an educator.

In the wake of instructing for a very long time, Jane longs for new encounters. She acknowledges
a tutor position at an estate called Thornfield, where she shows a vivacious French young lady
named Adèle. The recognized maid Mrs. Fairfax manages the domain. Jane's boss at Thornfield
is a dim, energetic man named Rochester, with whom Jane winds up falling subtly infatuated.
She saves Rochester from a fire one evening, which he guarantees was begun by an inebriated
worker named Grace Poole. But since Grace Poole keeps on working at Thornfield, Jane infers
that she has not been recounted the whole story. Jane sinks into discouragement when Rochester
gets back an excellent however horrible lady named Blanche Ingram. Jane anticipates that
Rochester should propose to Blanche. Yet, Rochester rather proposes to Jane, who acknowledges
disbelievingly.

The big day shows up, and as Jane and Mr. Rochester get ready to trade their promises, the voice
of Mr. Mason shouts out that Rochester as of now has a spouse. Artisan presents himself as the
sibling of that spouse—a lady named Bertha. Mr Mason affirms that Bertha, whom Rochester
wedded when he was a youngster in Jamaica, is as yet alive. Rochester doesn't deny Mason's
cases, yet he clarifies that Bertha has gone distraught. He returns the wedding party to
Thornfield, where they witness the crazy Bertha Mason rushing around down on the ground and
snarling like a creature. Rochester keeps Bertha concealed on the third story of Thornfield and
pays Grace Poole to monitor his better half. Bertha was the genuine reason for the baffling fire
prior in the story. Realizing that it is inconceivable for her to be with Rochester, Jane escapes
Thornfield.

Destitute and hungry, Jane is compelled to rest outside and ask for food. Finally, three kin who
live in an estate then again called Marsh End and Moor House take her in. Their names are Mary,
Diana, and St. John (articulated "Sinjin") Rivers, and Jane rapidly becomes companions with
them. St. John is a priest, and he gets Jane a line of work instructing at a foundation school in
Morton. He astounds her one day by announcing that her uncle, John Eyre, has passed on and left
her an enormous fortune: 20,000 pounds. At the point when Jane asks how he got this news, he
stuns her further by pronouncing that her uncle was likewise his uncle: Jane and the Riverses are
cousins. Jane promptly chooses to share her legacy similarly with her three freshly discovered
family members.
St. John chooses to make a trip to India as a minister, and he asks Jane to go with him—as his
significant other. Jane consents to go to India yet won't wed her cousin since she doesn't cherish
him. St. John compels her to rethink, and she almost yields. Nonetheless, she understands that
she can't leave always the man she genuinely adores when one night she hears Rochester's voice
bringing her name over the fields. Jane quickly hustles back to Thornfield and observes that it
has been caught fire by Bertha Mason, who lost her life in the fire related accident. Rochester
saved the workers however lost his visual perception and one of his hands. Jane heads out on to
Rochester's new home, Ferndean, where he resides with two workers named John and Mary.

At Ferndean, Rochester and Jane modify their relationship and before long wed. Toward the
finish of her story, Jane composes that she has been hitched for ten delighted years and that she
and Rochester partake in ideal fairness in their coexistence. She says that following two years of
visual impairment, Rochester recaptured sight in one eye and had the option to observe their first
child at his introduction to the world.

Why did you choose the approach?

I choose psychoanalytic theory because the novel focuses on Jane’s experiences and
psychological growth from youth to adulthood. It argues that literary texts, like dreams, express the
secret unconscious desires and anxieties of the author, that a literary work is a expression of the
author 's own instability. Jane herself, and, as she is the narrator, we are able to see her life
unfolding with the socio-economic influences, conscious thoughts, and unconscious desires
contributing to her character development.

SUMMARY
Jane Eyre is a young orphan being raised by Mrs. Reed, her cruel, wealthy aunt. A
servant named Bessie provides Jane with some of the few kindnesses she receives,
telling her stories and singing songs to her. One day, as punishment for fighting with
her bullying cousin John Reed, Jane’s aunt imprisons Jane in the red-room, the
room in which Jane’s Uncle Reed died. While locked in, Jane, believing that she
sees her uncle’s ghost, screams and faints. She wakes to find herself in the care of
Bessie and the kindly apothecary Mr. Lloyd, who suggests to Mrs. Reed that Jane
be sent away to school. To Jane’s delight, Mrs. Reed concurs.

Once at the Lowood School, Jane finds that her life is far from idyllic. The school’s
headmaster is Mr. Brocklehurst, a cruel, hypocritical, and abusive man. Brocklehurst
preaches a doctrine of poverty and privation to his students while using the school’s
funds to provide a wealthy and opulent lifestyle for his own family. At Lowood, Jane
befriends a young girl named Helen Burns, whose strong, martyrlike attitude toward
the school’s miseries is both helpful and displeasing to Jane. A massive typhus
epidemic sweeps Lowood, and Helen dies of consumption. The epidemic also
results in the departure of Mr. Brocklehurst by attracting attention to the insalubrious
conditions at Lowood. After a group of more sympathetic gentlemen takes
Brocklehurst’s place, Jane’s life improves dramatically. She spends eight more
years at Lowood, six as a student and two as a teacher.

After teaching for two years, Jane yearns for new experiences. She accepts a
governess position at a manor called Thornfield, where she teaches a lively French
girl named Adèle. The distinguished housekeeper Mrs. Fairfax presides over the
estate. Jane’s employer at Thornfield is a dark, impassioned man named Rochester,
with whom Jane finds herself falling secretly in love. She saves Rochester from a
fire one night, which he claims was started by a drunken servant named Grace
Poole. But because Grace Poole continues to work at Thornfield, Jane concludes
that she has not been told the entire story. Jane sinks into despondency when
Rochester brings home a beautiful but vicious woman named Blanche Ingram. Jane
expects Rochester to propose to Blanche. But Rochester instead proposes to Jane,
who accepts almost disbelievingly.

The wedding day arrives, and as Jane and Mr. Rochester prepare to exchange their
vows, the voice of Mr. Mason cries out that Rochester already has a wife. Mason
introduces himself as the brother of that wife—a woman named Bertha. Mr. Mason
testifies that Bertha, whom Rochester married when he was a young man in
Jamaica, is still alive. Rochester does not deny Mason’s claims, but he explains that
Bertha has gone mad. He takes the wedding party back to Thornfield, where they
witness the insane Bertha Mason scurrying around on all fours and growling like an
animal. Rochester keeps Bertha hidden on the third story of Thornfield and pays
Grace Poole to keep his wife under control. Bertha was the real cause of the
mysterious fire earlier in the story. Knowing that it is impossible for her to be with
Rochester, Jane flees Thornfield.

Penniless and hungry, Jane is forced to sleep outdoors and beg for food. At last,
three siblings who live in a manor alternatively called Marsh End and Moor House
take her in. Their names are Mary, Diana, and St. John (pronounced “Sinjin”) Rivers,
and Jane quickly becomes friends with them. St. John is a clergyman, and he finds
Jane a job teaching at a charity school in Morton. He surprises her one day by
declaring that her uncle, John Eyre, has died and left her a large fortune: 20,000
pounds. When Jane asks how he received this news, he shocks her further by
declaring that her uncle was also his uncle: Jane and the Riverses are cousins. Jane
immediately decides to share her inheritance equally with her three newfound
relatives.

St. John decides to travel to India as a missionary, and he urges Jane to accompany
him—as his wife. Jane agrees to go to India but refuses to marry her cousin
because she does not love him. St. John pressures her to reconsider, and she
nearly gives in. However, she realizes that she cannot abandon forever the man she
truly loves when one night she hears Rochester’s voice calling her name over the
moors. Jane immediately hurries back to Thornfield and finds that it has been
burned to the ground by Bertha Mason, who lost her life in the fire. Rochester saved
the servants but lost his eyesight and one of his hands. Jane travels on to
Rochester’s new residence, Ferndean, where he lives with two servants named
John and Mary.

At Ferndean, Rochester and Jane rebuild their relationship and soon marry. At the
end of her story, Jane writes that she has been married for ten blissful years and
that she and Rochester enjoy perfect equality in their life together. She says that
after two years of blindness, Rochester regained sight in one eye and was able to
behold their first son at his birth.
Full Title Jane Eyre

Author Charlotte Brontë (originally published under the male pseudonym Currer Bell)

Type Of Work Novel

Genre

A hybrid of three genres: the Gothic novel (utilizes the mysterious, the supernatural, the horrific,
the romantic); the romance novel (emphasizes love and passion, represents the notion of lovers
destined for each other); and the Bildungsroman (narrates the story of a character’s internal
development as he or she undergoes a succession of encounters with the external world)

Language English

Time And Place Written 1847, London

Date Of First Publication 1847

Publisher Smith, Elder, and Co., Cornhill

Indepth Facts:

Narrator Jane Eyre

Climax

The novel’s climax comes after Jane receives her second marriage proposal of the novel—this
time from St. John Rivers, who asks Jane to accompany him to India as his wife and fellow
missionary. Jane considers the proposal, even though she knows that marrying St. John would
mean the death of her emotional life. She is on the verge of accepting when she hears
Rochester’s voice supernaturally calling her name from across the heath and knows that she must
return to him. She can retain her dignity in doing so because she has proven to herself that she is
not a slave to passion.

Protagonist Jane Eyre

Antagonist

Jane meets with a series of forces that threaten her liberty, integrity, and happiness. Characters
embodying these forces are: Aunt Reed, Mr. Brocklehurst, Bertha Mason, Mr. Rochester (in that
he urges Jane to ignore her conscience and surrender to passion), and St. John Rivers (in his
urging of the opposite extreme). The three men also represent the notion of an oppressive
patriarchy. Blanche Ingram, who initially stands in the way of Jane’s relations with Rochester,
also embodies the notion of a rigid class system—another force keeping Jane from fulfilling her
hopes.

Setting (Time) Early decades of the nineteenth century.

Setting (Place)

The novel is structured around five separate locations, all supposedly in northern England: the
Reed family’s home at Gateshead, the wretched Lowood School, Rochester’s manor house
Thornfield, the Rivers family’s home at Moor House, and Rochester’s rural retreat at Ferndean.

Point Of View

All of the events are told from Jane’s point of view. Sometimes she narrates the events as she
experienced them at the time, while at other times she focuses on her retrospective understanding
of the events.

Falling Action

After Jane hears Rochester’s call to her from across the heath, she returns to Thornfield and finds
it burned to the ground. She learns that Bertha Mason set the fire and died in the flames;
Rochester is now living at his home in Ferndean. Jane goes to him there, rebuilds her relationship
with the somewhat humbled Rochester, and marries him. She claims to enjoy perfect equality in
her marriage.
Tense

Past-tense; Jane Eyre tells her story ten years after the last event in the novel, her arrival at
Ferndean.

Foreshadowing

The novel’s main instances of foreshadowing focus on Jane’s eventual inheritance (Chapter 33)
from her uncle John Eyre. In Chapter 3, Jane tells Mr. Lloyd that her aunt has told her of some
“poor, low relations called Eyre,” but she knows nothing more about them. Jane first receives
hints of her uncle’s existence in Chapter 10 when Bessie visits her at Lowood and mentions that
her father’s brother appeared at Gateshead seven years ago, looking for Jane. He did not have the
time to come to Lowood, she explains, and he subsequently went away to Madeira (a Portuguese
island west of Morocco) in search of wealth. Foreshadowing again enters into the novel in
Chapter 21, when, returning to Gateshead to see her dying Aunt Reed for the last time, Jane
learns that her uncle had written to her aunt three years earlier, reporting that he had been
successful in Madeira and expressing his desire to adopt Jane and make her his heir; her aunt had
deliberately ignored the letter out of spite. Another powerful instance of foreshadowing is the
chestnut tree under which Rochester proposes to Jane. Before they leave, Jane mentions that it
“writhed and groaned,” and that night, it splits in two, forecasting complications for Jane and
Rochester’s relationship (Chapter 23).

Tone

Jane Eyre’s tone is both Gothic and romantic, often conjuring an atmosphere of mystery,
secrecy, or even horror. Despite these Gothic elements, Jane’s personality is friendly and the
tone is also affectionate and confessional. Her unflagging spirit and opinionated nature further
infuse the book with high energy and add a philosophical and political flavor.

Themes

Love versus autonomy; religion; social class; gender relations

Motifs

Fire and ice; substitute mothers

Symbols

Bertha Mason; the red-room

Character List
Jane Eyre The orphaned protagonist of the story. When the novel begins, she is an
isolated, powerless ten-year-old living with an aunt and cousins who dislike her. As
the novel progresses, she grows in strength. She distinguishes herself at Lowood
School because of her hard work and strong intellectual abilities. As a governess at
Thornfield, she learns of the pleasures and pains of love through her relationship
with Edward Rochester. After being deceived by him, she goes to Marsh End, where
she regains her spiritual focus and discovers her own strength when she rejects St.
John River's marriage proposal. By novel's end she has become a powerful,
independent woman, blissfully married to the man she loves, Rochester.

Edward Fairfax Rochester Jane's lover; a dark, passionate, brooding man. A

traditional romantic hero, Rochester has lived a troubled wife. Married to an insane
Creole woman, Bertha Mason, Rochester sought solace for several years in the
arms of mistresses. Finally, he seeks to purify his life and wants Jane Eyre, the
innocent governess he has hired to teach his foster daughter, Adèle Varens, to
become his wife. The wedding falls through when she learns of the existence of his
wife. As penance for his transgressions, he is punished by the loss of an eye and a
hand when Bertha sets fire to Thornfield. He finally gains happiness at the novel's
end when he is reunited with Jane.

Sarah Reed Jane's unpleasant aunt, who raises her until she is ten years old.
Despite Jane's attempts at reconciliation before her aunt's death, her aunt refuses to
relent. She dies unloved by her children and unrepentant of her mistreatment of
Jane.

John Reed Jane's nasty and spoiled cousin, responsible for Jane's banishment to
the red-room. Addicted to drinking and gambling, John supposedly commits suicide
at the age of twenty-three when his mother is no longer willing or able to pay his
debts.

Eliza Reed Another one of Jane's spoiled cousins, Eliza is insanely jealous of the
beauty of her sister, Georgiana. She nastily breaks up Georgiana's elopement with
Lord Edwin Vere, and then becomes a devout Christian. But her brand of
Christianity is devoid of all compassion or humanity; she shows no sympathy for her
dying mother and vows to break off all contact with Georgiana after their mother's
death. Usefulness is her mantra. She enters a convent in Lisle, France, eventually
becoming the Mother Superior and leaving her money to the church.

Georgiana Reed Eliza's and John's sister, Georgiana is the beauty of the family.
She's also shallow and self-centered, interested primarily in her own pleasure. She
accuses her sister, Eliza, of sabotaging her plans to marry Lord Edwin Vere. Like
Eliza, she shows no emotion following their mother's death. Eventually, Georgiana
marries a wealthy, but worn-out society man.

Bessie Lee The maid at Gateshead who sometimes consoles Jane by telling her
entertaining stories and singing her songs. Bessie visits Jane at Lowood, impressed
by Jane's intellectual attainments and ladylike behavior. Bessie marries the
coachman, Robert Leaven, and has three children.
Mr. Lloyd The kind apothecary who suggests that Jane be sent to school following
her horrifying experience in the red-room. His letter to Miss Temple clears Jane of
the accusations Mrs. Reed has made against her.

Mr. Brocklehurst The stingy, mean-hearted manager of Lowood. He hypocritically

feeds the girls at the school starvation-level rations, while his wife and daughters live
luxuriously. The minister of Brocklebridge Church, he represents a negative brand of
Christianity, one that lacks all compassion or kindness.

Helen Burns Jane's spiritual and intellectual friend at Lowood. Although she is

unfairly punished by Miss Scatcherd at Lowood, Helen maintains her poise, partially
through her loving friendship with Miss Temple. From Helen, Jane learns tolerance
and peace, but Jane can't accept Helen's rejection of the material world. Helen's
impressive intellectual attainments inspire Jane to work hard at school. Dying in
Jane's arms, Helen looks forward to peace in heaven and eventual reunion with
Jane.

Maria Temple The warm-hearted superintendent at Lowood who generously offers

the girls bread and cheese when their breakfasts are inedible. An impressive
scholar, a model of ladylike behavior and a compassionate person, Miss Temple is a
positive role model for Jane. She cares for Jane and Helen, offering them seedcake
in her room and providing Helen with a warm, private bed when she is dying.

Miss Miller Teacher for the youngest students at Lowood who greets Jane on her
first night at the school.

Miss Scatcherd The history and grammar teacher at Lowood. She constantly

humiliates and punishes Helen Burns.

Miss Smith A red-cheeked teacher at Lowood who is in charge of sewing

instruction.

Madame Pierrot The likeable French teacher at Lowood who comes from Lisle,
France.

Miss Gryce Jane's roommate and fellow teacher at Lowood.

Mrs. Alice Fairfax The housekeeper at Thornfield; Jane first thinks she is

Thornfield's owner. She warmly welcomes Jane to Thornfield, providing a contrast to
Jane's cold treatment at Gateshead, the Reed's house. Mrs. Fairfax doesn't approve
of Jane and Rochester's marriage because of the differences in their ages and
social classes. When she leaves Thornfield after Jane's mysterious disappearance,
Rochester offers her a generous pension.
Blanche Ingram The beautiful and haughty society woman Rochester pretends to
love. Her comments about the insipidness of governesses show the lack of respect
that most governesses faced in the wealthy Victorian families where they worked. As
a fortune-hunter, more interested in Rochester's money than his personality,
Blanche is depicted as an unappealingly materialist model of femininity.

Adèle Varens Jane's pupil at Thornfield, whose foreignness, like her mother's,

reveals many of Jane's Anglocentric prejudices. Adèle initially shows unpleasantly
French (in Jane's opinion) characteristics such as sensuality, materialism, and
egocentrism. But a firm British education erases all of these negative characteristics,
and by the end of the novel Adèle has become a docile, pleasant companion for
Jane.

Céline Varens Once Rochester's mistress, this Parisian opera singer used

Rochester for his money, although she actually despised him. Rochester discovers
her true feelings when he overhears a conversation between her and one of her
other lovers. He immediately breaks off relations with her. She eventually runs away
to Italy with a musician, abandoning her daughter, Adèle, whom she claims is
Rochester's child. Her hypocrisy, sensuality, and materialism make her another
negative mode of femininity.

Bertha Antoinetta Mason Rochester Rochester's wife, the crazy woman in the

attic. A Creole woman from Spanish Town, Jamaica, Bertha was betrothed to
Rochester by the arrangement of their fathers, who planned to consolidate their
wealth. This beautiful and majestic woman disintegrates into debauchery,
coarseness, and, eventually, madness soon after their wedding. Bertha's mother
was also mad and the novel suggests that Bertha's problems are a maternal
inheritance. Following the deaths of his brother and father, Rochester returns to
England with Bertha, locking her up in the third story of Thornfield, with Grace Poole
as her keeper. She occasionally escapes her imprisonment, perpetrating violence
whenever she gets loose. Eventually, she sets fire to Thornfield. Bertha is another
example of unsavory foreignness in the novel.

Richard (Dick) Mason Bertha's brother, a weak-willed man. During his visit to

Thornfield, he is bitten and stabbed by Bertha when he goes up to her room alone.
When he learns of Jane's upcoming wedding to Rochester, he arrives to thwart
Rochester's bigamous intentions.

Grace Poole Bertha's keeper at Thornfield who has a predilection for gin. Her
alcohol-induced lapses allow Bertha to escape from the third floor and perpetrate
various crimes in the house, including the eventual fire that destroys Thornfield and
maims Rochester. Grace is initially accused of perpetrating all of Bertha's sins in the
household.
Mother Bunches Rochester's alias when he's disguised as a gypsy fortuneteller
during a house party at Thornfield.

Hannah The Rivers' elderly housekeeper who initially denies Jane access to Moor
House. Jane chastises Hannah for her class prejudices, but she and Jane later
become friends.

St. John (pronounced sin'jin) Rivers Jane's cousin, St. John is a cold, despotic,

excessively zealous. Unhappy with his humble position as the minister at Morton, St.
John wants to become a missionary in order to meet his ambitions for power and
glory. St. John tries to force Jane to marry him and move to India. Jane resists him,
and he spends the rest of his life furthering British colonialism by forcing Christian
values on the natives.

Diana and Mary Rivers St. John's sisters and Jane's cousins, Diana and Mary are
exemplars of accomplished, benevolent, and intellectual women. Working as
governesses, they show the ways intelligent, well-bred women are degraded by their
positions in wealthy families. Diana's support of Jane following St. John's marriage
proposal helps Jane maintain her independence when faced with his despotism.

Rosamond Oliver The beautiful and flirtatious daughter of a wealthy man in Morton,

Rosamond finances the girls' school in Morton. Although she seems to love St.
John, she has become engaged to the wealthy Mr. Granby before St. John leaves
for India. While St. John is physically attracted to her, he realizes that Rosamond
would never be a good wife for him, because of her light-hearted, almost shallow,
personality.

Mr. Oliver Rosamond's father and the only wealthy man in Morton. While the Rivers
are an ancient and esteemed family, the Olivers have "new money." He approves of
St. John's talents, finding him a suitable husband for his daughter, but thinks
missionary work is a waste of St. John's intellect.

Mr. Briggs John Eyre's attorney, Briggs prevents Jane's bigamous marriage to

Rochester and searches for her following her uncle's death so she can claim her
inheritance.

John Eyre Jane's and the Rivers' uncle, John Eyre makes a fortune as a wine
merchant in Madeira. Although he plans to adopt Jane, he dies before they ever
meet, but leaves his entire fortune — 20,000 pounds — to her. He quarreled with
Mr. Rivers, and therefore, didn't leave his money to the Rivers children.

Alice Wood Hired by Rosamond Oliver, Alice is an orphan who serves as Jane's

assistant at Morton.
The elderly servants who care for Rochester at Ferndean after Thornfield is
destroyed by the fire.

KEY PLOT DETAILS

1. The novel begins with Jane living at her aunt's, Mrs Reed. Mrs Reed and her
children are very cruel towards Jane and one night Mrs Reed locks Jane into the
'Red Room', a supposedly haunted room in the family home.
2. Mrs Reed sends Jane to Lowood School where the headmaster, Mr Brocklehurst,
is also cruel towards Jane. Conditions are very poor at the school and Jane's best
friend, Helen Burns, dies of consumption. Jane later becomes a teacher at
Lowood.
3. Jane applies for a governess position at Thornfield Hall and gets the post. She
becomes governess for Adele. Jane begins to fall in love with her employer, Mr
Rochester.
4. A fire breaks out at Thornfield, nearly killing Rochester as he sleeps. Jane saves
him. Rochester claims it was Grace Poole - a servant - who started the fire,
however Jane doesn't think it was.
5. Jane is shocked when Rochester confesses his love and desire to marry her. She
thought he wanted to marry Blanche Ingram. On the day of their wedding, a man
turns up at the church to declare that Rochester cannot marry as he is already
married. Rochester reveals all about his marriage, claiming his wife Bertha, is mad
and he still wants to be with Jane.
6. Jane cannot be with Rochester when he is still married so she runs away,
becoming homeless and then sick. The Rivers family take her in and nurse her
back to health.
7. Jane inherits her uncle's wealth and estate. She finds out that the family that took
her in are actually her cousins. St John Rivers asks Jane to join him in his
missionary work abroad and be his wife. She nearly accepts but when she hears
Rochester calling her in a dream, she decides she cannot marry someone she
doesn't love.
8. Jane returns to Thornfield. When she arrives, she discovers it has burnt down and
Rochester is now living at Ferndean, his usual retreat, and is blind. Jane rushes to
him and they marry. The novel concludes with Jane and Rochester married with
children. Rochester also regains his sight in one eye.
Jane Eyre is a bildungsroman. It is a novel about personal suffering and having the courage,
determination and wit to overcome these barriers.

Themes

Love, Family, and Independence

As an orphan at Gateshead, Jane is oppressed and dependent. For Jane
to discover herself, she must break out of these restrictive conditions and
find love and independence. Jane must have the freedom to think and feel,
and she seeks out other independent-minded people as the loving family
she craves. Jane, Helen Burns, and Ms. Temple enjoy a deep mutual
respect, and form emotional bonds that anticipate the actual family Jane
finds in Mary and Diana Rivers. Yet Jane also has a natural instinct toward
submission. When she leaves Lowood to find new experiences, she
describes herself as seeking a "new servitude." In her relationship with
men, she has the inclination toward making first Rochester and then St.
John her "master."

Over the course of the novel, Jane strives to find a balance between
service and mastery. Jane blends her freedom with her commitments to
love, virtue, and self-respect. At the end, Jane is both guide and servant to
Rochester. She finds and creates her own family, and their love grows out
of the mutual respect of free minds.
GENDER ROLES

In 19th-century England, gender roles strongly influenced people's behavior

and identities, and women endured condescending attitudes about a
woman's place, intelligence, and voice. Jane has an uphill battle to become
independent and recognized for her personal qualities. She faces off with a
series of men who do not respect women as their equals. Mr.
Brocklehurst, Rochester, and St. John all attempt to command or master
women. Brontë uses marriage in the novel to portray the struggle for power
between the sexes. Even though Bertha Mason is insane, she is a
provocative symbol of how married women can be repressed and
controlled. Jane fends off marriage proposals that would squash her
identity, and strives for equality in her relationships. For its depiction of
Jane's struggle for gender equality, Jane Eyre was considered a radical
book in its day.

RELIGION

Religion and spirituality are key factors in how characters develop in the
novel. Jane matures partly because she learns to follow Christian lessons
and resist temptation. Helen Burns introduces Jane to the New Testament,
which becomes a moral guidepost for Jane throughout her life. As Jane
develops her relationship with God, Mr. Rochester must also reform his
pride, learn to pray, and become humble. Brontë depicts different forms of
religion: Helen trusts in salvation; Eliza Reed becomes a French Catholic
nun; and St. John preaches a gloomy Calvinist faith. The novel attempts to
steer a middle course. In Jane, Brontë sketches a virtuous faith that does
not consume her individual personality. Jane is self-respecting and
religious, but also exercises her freedom to love and feel.

The Spiritual and the Supernatural

Brontë uses many themes of Gothic novels to add drama and suspense
to Jane Eyre. But the novel isn't just a ghost story because Brontë also
reveals the reasons behind supernatural events. For instance, Mr.
Reed's ghost in the red-room is a figment of Jane's stressed-out mind,
while Bertha is the "demon" in Thornfield. In Jane Eyre, the effects of the
supernatural matter more than the causes. The supernatural allows Brontë
to explore her characters' psyches, especially Jane's inner fears. The
climactic supernatural moment in the novel occurs
when Jane and Rochester have a telepathic connection. In the text, Jane
makes it clear that the connection was not supernatural to her. Instead, she
considers that moment a mysterious spiritual connection. Brontë makes
their telepathy part of her conceptions of love and religion.