Jane Eyre

Charlotte Brontë

Introduction
Background
Discussion Starters
Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë
 Jane Eyre: Introduction

What do you do when everyone who loves you is

gone
and you’re all alone in the
world?
 Jane Eyre: Introduction

Jane Eyre is an orphan in 1800s England.

Her aunt has agreed to raise her but treats her
badly:
She allows Jane’s cousin to
bully her

and punishes Jane harshly,

yet she expects Jane to be

thankful.
 Jane Eyre: Introduction

When Jane tries to stand up for herself, her aunt

is furious.

She calls Jane an ungrateful

child

and sends her away to boarding school.

 Jane Eyre: Introduction

At Lowood the girls

sleep two to a bed,

get up before dawn,

bathe in ice-cold water,

get burnt porridge for breakfast,
and are taught to suffer in
silence.
 Jane Eyre: Introduction

Jane is caught between her desire to fight back

and her fear of being punished—or labeled “bad”

by the teachers and other girls.
 Jane Eyre: Introduction

Luckily, Jane meets two good friends—Miss Temple,

a kind teacher at the school, and Helen Burns,

an older student who teaches Jane the importance

of patience and forgiveness.
 Jane Eyre: Introduction

Will Jane survive Lowood’s harsh conditions?

Will she learn to combine her

strength of spirit with strong
principles?
 Jane Eyre: Background

The author Charlotte Brontë encountered her own

share of harsh conditions.

After their mother’s death,

Brontë and three of her
sisters were sent to the
Clergy Daughters’ School.
 Jane Eyre: Background

The school was similar to Jane Eyre’s Lowood:

The food was bad,

discipline was harsh,

and two of Charlotte’s

sisters died of tuberculosis
there.
 Jane Eyre: Background

Tuberculosis was a common killer during the

Victorian era.
 Jane Eyre: Background

Tuberculosis often destroys its victims’ lungs,

resulting in a bloody cough.

If untreated, sufferers may die of tuberculosis

because their lungs are so badly damaged.
 Jane Eyre: Background

Jane Eyre’s Lowood also suffers an outbreak of

typhus, a disease that

• is spread by fleas, ticks, and lice

• causes headaches, chills, rashes,

and fevers that last up to three
weeks
 Jane Eyre: Background

Both tuberculosis and typhus are diseases

associated with crowded, unsanitary conditions.

The threat of catching one of these diseases is a

major concern for the characters in Jane Eyre.
 Jane Eyre: Discussion Starters

Discuss (1)
• Name other stories, books, or movies that begin
with the bad treatment of an orphan.
• Why do you think this idea appears often in
fiction? What effect does this idea have on a
reader? Why is it powerful?
 Jane Eyre: Discussion Starters

Discuss (2)
Jane’s instincts tell her to fight against the unfair
treatment she receives.
Do you think this is the right choice, or should she
learn to forgive those who wronged her? Why or
why not?