Jane Eyre

by Charlotte Bront
I. Writers gallery
1.Family background
Charlotte and Emily Bront were born in the small isolated illage o!
"aworth on the #ourkshire moors where they lied with their !ather$
who was the local icar$ their mother$ three sisters and a brother. In
1%&1$ when Charlotte and Emily were 'ust (e and three yers old
res)ectiely$ their mother died and all (e sisters were sent to lie in
an or)hanage. *ue tu the harsh conditions in the or)hanage two
sisters !ell ill and conse+uently their !ather brought them back to the
!amily home. ,he Bront children were aid readers o! -haks)eare$
.ilton$ -cott$ the Classcis and the Bible. ,hey showed an early gi!t !or
writing.
&./iterary career
In 1%01 Charlotte$ Emily and 2nne )ublished at their own e3)ense a
selection o! their )oems under the male )en o! Currer 4 Charlotte5 $
Ellis 4Emily5 and 2cton 42nne5 Bell. *es)ite almost non6e3istent )ublic
res)onse the sisters continued writing and the !ollowing year
Charlottes 7Jane Eyre8 was acce)ted !or )ublication and the res)onse
to this noel was )articularly enthusiastic.
Charlotte Bronte has been called the 9(rst historian o! the )riate
consciousness9 and the literary ancestor o! writers like Joyce and
:roust. ,he noel contains elements o! social criticism$ with a strong
sense o! morality at its core$ but is nonetheless a noel many consider
ahead o! its time gien the indiidualistic character o! Jane and the
noel9s e3)loration o! classism$ se3uality$ religion$ and )roto6!eminism.
It is described as an ;in<uential !eminist te3t; because o! its in6de)th
e3)loration o! the main !emale character9s !eelings.
II. Jane Eyre
Gheorghe Alexandra, Iaba Diana, Pantea Rebecca, Popa Adriana
In an age when women were denied access to education and e3cluded
!rom )olitical debate$ the )ublication o! Jane Eyre was like a breath o!
!resh air. "er (ery inde)endent tem)erament and !earless coniction
were characteristics that went against the traditional )ortrayal o!
women. Charlotte Bronte$ the most outgoing o! the Bronte sisters$ was
not )re)ared to acce)t a world where women were second6class
citi=ens.
Jane Eyre 4originally )ublished as Jane Eyre> 2n 2utobiogra)hy5 is a
noel by English writer Charlotte Bront?. It was )ublished on 11
@ctober 1%0A by -mith$ Elder B Co. o! /ondon$ England$ under the )en
name ;Currer Bell.; ,he (rst 2merican edition was released the
!ollowing year by "ar)er B Brothers o! Cew #ork. Writing !or
the :enguin edition$ -teie *aies describes it as an ;in<uential
!eminist te3t; because o! its in6de)th e3)loration o! the main !emale
character9s !eelings.
:rimarily o! the bildungsroman genre$ Jane Eyre !ollows the emotions
and e3)eriences o! its e)onymous character$ including her growth to
adulthood$ and her loe !or .r. Dochester$ the master o! ,horn(eld
.anor. In its internali=ation o! the action 6 the !ocus is on the gradual
un!olding o! Jane9s moral and s)iritual sensibility.
Jane tried to e3amine her inner soul and sel! with some emotional
aailability through Comunitarian Cristianity whose iew is that women
are e+ual to men in economic and )olitical rights and res)onsbility.
III. -ummary
Jane Eyre is a young girl$ or)haned as a babyE both her mother and
!ather die. Jane goes to lie with her cruel 2unt Deed$ who only takes
her in as the result o! a )romise to her husband on his deathbed. .rs.
Deed does not treat Jane so ery well$ and her son o!ten beats and
erbally abuses her. Jane grows u) !or many years ery unha))y6an
oerly mature$ sad and un6childlike child. Finally it is too much !or .rs.
Deed$ so Jane is sent to /owood Institution$ a charitable$ chea) and
strictly ke)t school. Jane attends this school !or oer eight years.
,here$she meets "elen Burns$ and .s. ,em)le$ a teacher who greatly
aFect Jane9s )ersonality and character$ es)ecially related to )ersonal
)hiloso)hy$ religion$ and treatment o! others.
Jane s)ends the last !ew years at /owood as a teacher.,hen$ she is
contacted by .rs. Fair!a3$ about a )osition o! goerness in .illcote.
Gheorghe Alexandra, Iaba Diana, Pantea Rebecca, Popa Adriana
Jane gets leae !rom /owood and 'ourneys to .illcote to take the
)osition. ,here she begins as goerness !or 2dGle Harens$ a young
French girl$ and ward o! the master o! ,horn(eld "all$ .r. Dochester.
Jane begins to s)end much time with DochesterE they grow a great
!riendshi) and aFection !or each other. Jane begins to reali=e she is
!alling in loe with .r. Dochester. *uring her time at the house$ she has
noticed the )resence o! a madwoman in the attic$ )resumably$ Irace
:oole. In the middle o! the night$ this woman tries to light Dochester9s
bed on (re. Jane wakes$ smells the smoke$ and saes him.
,he young lady goes home !or her aunt9s death !or seeral weeks. -he
returns to ,horn(eld "all$ to (nd .r. Dochester greatly missing
her.When Jane returns$ Dochester (nally tells her that he is in loe with
her.,hey decide to become engaged.@n the day o! the marriage
ceremony$ the rite is broken u) by the entrance o! .r. .ason and .r.
Briggs. "ere they reeal that Dochester has been )reiously married.
,he madwoman in his attic$ is Bertha .ason$ his (rst wi!e. ,he
marriage doesn9t go throughE Jane sees Bertha$ !eels numb$ sad$ and
reali=es she cannot marry Dochester.
Jane <ees ,horn(eld$ and arries at Whitcross. -he is near death
almost !or three days$ until she comes u)on a house$ whose members
take her in and care !or her. -he stays there !or many days and tells
them her story. -he deelo)s a great !riendshi) with *iana$ .ary and
-t. John Diers$ who is a )astor$ and are inhabitants o! the house.
Within good time$ -t. John (nds Jane work as the teacher o! a illage6
school.-oon she (nds through -t. John that she has been le!t a !ortune
o! twenty6thousand )ounds by her uncle in .adeira$ who had died. -he
also (nds out that -t. John$ .ary and *iana are her cousinsE her uncle
is also their uncle with whom their !ather had once had a terrible
+uarrel. Jane immediately diides her !ortune e+ually between the !our
o! them.-he goes to lie at .oor "ouse with her cousins. 2t this time$
she hears a sudden s)ectre o! Dochester9s oice calling her !rom the
near garden. -he takes it as a sign$ and the ne3t day leaes !rom
Whitcross in a coach to see what has ha))ened to Dochester.
-he arries in .illcote a!ter a day and a hal!. -he (nds out and sees
that ,horn(eld "all is a ruinE it burned down last !all !rom a (re Bertha
.ason started. *uring the (re$ Bertha killed hersel! !rom 'um)ing !rom
the battlementsE Dochester was blinded and lost one o! his arms !rom
!alling timber$ when hel)ing serants out o! the house. "e turned to
de)ression and utter isolation a!ter her disa))earance. Cow he lies
with two serants$ John and .ary$ at Ferndean .anor$ thirty miles
away. Jane 'ourneys there that night$ sees Dochester and makes hersel!
known to him. "e almost does not beliee it is her$ but (nally is
coninced$ and blesses the /ord !or returning Jane to him. "e is utterly
Gheorghe Alexandra, Iaba Diana, Pantea Rebecca, Popa Adriana
ha))y$ and so is she$ and des)ite his blindness and being a cri))le$ she
acce)ts his hand in marriage. ,hey marry three days later..ary and
*iana marry and see her on a regular basis. -t. John goes oF to India.
Jane gies birth to one baby boy o! Dochester9s. ,he noel ends with
Jane telling us that she has been married to Dochester !or ten yearsE
she is ha))ier than she could eer be$ because they loe each other so
much$ they are each other9s better hal! and neer tire o! each other.
,hey are )er!ectly suited !or each other$ and Jane is ha))y s)ending
her li!e loing and hel)ing Dochester$ being his 9)ro)9.
IH. ,hemes
Feminism
,he main theme o! Charlottes noels is the need !or women to be
inde)endent. Jane Eyre is a new ty)e o! woman in the English noel.
-he re<ects a change o! attitude which gradually deelo)ed into the
(ght !or womens rights.
In Hictorian times$ women were not encouraged to search !or sel!6
!ul(lment or inde)endence. ,hey were thought to be submissie to
their !athers or husbands and to dedicate themseles to their
household duties. 2ccording to Hictorian conentions$ Jane Eyre$ a
woman and an or)han$ should hae )assiely acce)ted her !ate.
Instead she rebels against her destiny and deelo)s into a sel!6
con(dent$ strong6willed and intensely )assionate woman.
2s a young woman and o! relatiely low social standing$ Jane
encounters men during her 'ourney$ o! good$ bad$ and morally
debatable character. "oweer$ many o! them$ no matter their ultimate
intentions$ attem)t to establish some !orm o! )ower and control oer
Jane. @ne e3am)le can be seen in .r. Dochester. 2s a sel!6assured and
established man$ and her em)loyer$ .r. Dochester naturally assumes
the )osition o! the master in their relationshi)$ des)ide his loe !or
Jane. "e sometimes demands Jane$ tries to mani)ulate and assess her
!eelings towards him$ through e3cessie gi!ts and lu3uries that only he
would hae been able to )roide. Een a!ter Jane agrees to marry .r.
Dochester$ the !eminist elements o! her )ersonality still show through.
-he is uncom!ortable with the showering o! laish gi!ts$ as she knows
that they will make her in debt to .r. Dochester$ and thus tries to resist
Gheorghe Alexandra, Iaba Diana, Pantea Rebecca, Popa Adriana
them. Furthermore$ Jane asserts that een a!ter she is married to .r.
Dochester$ she will continue to be 2dGle9s goerness and earn her
kee). In the end$ she only marries .r. Dochester once she is sure that
their marriage is one between e+uals.
7Women are su))osed to be ery calm generally> but women !eel 'ust
as men !eelE they need e3ercise !or their !aculties$ and a (eld !or their
eForts as much as their brothers doE 4J5 It is thoughtless to condemn
them$ or laugh at them$ i! they seek to do more or learn more than
custom has )ronounced necessary !or their se3.8 4Cha)ter KII5
Gheorghe Alexandra, Iaba Diana, Pantea Rebecca, Popa Adriana