Charlotte Brontë was a 19th century English novelist best known for her novel Jane Eyre. She lost her mother at a young age and two of her sisters died from an illness contracted at their harsh boarding school. Brontë published Jane Eyre in 1847 under the gender-neutral pseudonym "Currer Bell" since women faced dismissal as writers at the time. Jane Eyre combines elements of a Gothic novel, romance, and Bildungsroman story about a woman's journey to independence. It was an immediate success and brought Brontë recognition in London literary circles. After losing all of her siblings, Brontë married a clergyman but died at the age of 38 after the birth of her first child

2. ABOUT THE
AUTHOR

3. Full Name: Charlotte Brontë
Pen Name: Currer Bell, the "editor"
Date of Birth: 1816
Place of Birth: Yorkshire, England
Date of Death: 1855
Brief Life Story: Charlotte Brontë's father was a rural clergyman.
She lost her mother when she was five years old. Brontë's two
older sisters - Maria and Elizabeth - died from an illness that
they likely contracted at their harsh boarding school. Brontë's
first of four novels - Jane Eyre - was immediately and widely
popular, and brought her into London literary circles. Her sisters
Emily and Anne were also successful novelists. After losing all
of her siblings to illness, Brontë married a clergyman. She died
at 38 of complications during her first pregnancy.

4. BELLS AND BRONTËS
The Brontës became a literary powerhouse when Charlotte, Emily, and
Anne all wrote successful first novels. Each sister published the books
under a masculine-sounding pseudonym based on their initials. Charlotte
Brontë became "Currer Bell"; Emily Brontë wrote Wuthering Heights
(1845-46) as "Ellis Bell", and Anne Brontë published Agnes Gray (1847)
as "Acton Bell". Women could enter the marketplace as writers and
novelists, but many writers, including the Brontës, used male
pseudonyms to keep from being dismissed as unimportant.

5. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ELEMENTS IN JANE EYRE
The childhood, passed in a inflexible school for governess where Jane's dearest
friend, Helen Burst, dies of tuberculosis at Lowood school, that recalls the death
of Charlotte's sisters at Cowan Bridge;
The hypocritical religious fervor of headmaster, Mr Brocklehurst who remember
Reverend Carus Wilson, the Evangelical minister of Cowan Bridge;
The dissoluted life of John Reed, the cousin of Jane, and Branwell, the brother
of Charlotte;
The figure of the governess which was the job of both Charlotte and Jane;
The love for a man of an high social class: Arthur Bell Nichols for Charlotte and
Edward Rochester for Jane.

6. KEY FACTS

7. Literary Period: Victorian Age
Date: 1847
Full Title: Jane Eyre: An Autobiography
Genre: Victorian novel. Jane Eyre combines Gothic mystery, a romantic marriage
plot, and a coming-of-age story.
Setting: Northern England in the early 1800s.
Protagonist: Jane Eyre
Antagonists: Mrs. Reed, Bertha Mason, St. John Rivers
Point of View: First person. Jane recounts her story ten years after its ending.

8. HISTORICAL
BACKGROUND

9. Jane Eyre is set in the north of England in the
first half of the nineteenth century. During this
period, British society was undergoing slow
but significant change. Perhaps most apparent
was the transition from a rural to an industrial
economy. The Industrial Revolution had begun
in Britain in the late 1700s, and by the time of
Jane Eyre , it was running full steam. Although
Charlotte wrote about some of the effects of
the Industrial Revolution in her novel Shirley
(1849. she touches three areas of social
concern in Jane Eyre: education, women's
employment and marriage.

10. SUMMARY

11. The novel begins in Gateshead Hall, where a ten-year-old orphan named Jane Eyre is living
with her mother's brother's family. The brother, Mr. Reed, dies shortly after adopting Jane. His
wife, Mrs. Sarah Reed, and their three children (John, Eliza and Georgiana) neglect and abuse
Jane because of the preference that his uncle had for her.
Her female cousins, Georgiana and Eliza, tolerate, but don’t love her. Their brother, John, is
more hostile to Jane. One day he is angered to find Jane reading one of his books, so he takes
the book away and throws it at her. Finding this treatment intolerable, Jane fights back.

12. Mrs. Reed orders to the servants to drag her off
and lock her up in the red-room, the unused room
where Mr. Reed had died. Still locked in the room,
during the night, Jane sees a light and starts
screaming, thinking that her uncle's ghost has
come. Her scream rouses the house, but Mrs.
Reed just locks up Jane in the room for longer.
The day after Jane gets up in her bed with the
doctor, Mr. Lloyd, standing over her bed. He
advises Mrs Reed to send Jane away to school,
because she is obviously unhappy at Gateshead.
Jane is sent to Lowood School, a charity
institution for orphan girls, run by Mr.
Brocklehurst. A stingy and mean-hearted minister,
Brocklehurst provides the girls with starvation
levels of food, freezing rooms, and poorly made
clothing and shoes. He justifies his poor treatment
of them by saying that they need to learn humility
and by comparing them to the Christian martyrs,
who also endured great hardships.

13. Despite the difficult conditions at Lowood,
Jane prefers school to life with the Reeds.
Here she makes two new friends: Miss
Temple and Helen Burns.
A day, Mr. Brocklehurst, visiting the school for
an inspection, put Jane on a chair and say to
the other girls:
“You see this girl? She is young, she looks like
an ordinary child. Nothing about her tells you
she is evil. But she is all wickedness! Children,
don’t talk to her, stay away from her.
Teachers, watch her, punish her body to save
her soul – if indeed she has a soul, because
this child… I can hardly say it… this child is a
liar!”

14. Later that day, Miss Temple allows Jane to speak in her own defence. After Jane does so, Miss
Temple writes to Mr. Lloyd. His reply agrees with Jane's, and she is cleared of Mr. Brocklehurst's
accusation.
Thanks to the Mr. Brocklehurst’s doctrine of privation and poverty the majority of children in the
school become sick because of a typhus epidemic in which nearly half of the students die,
including Helen Burns, who dies in Jane’s arms.

15. The narrative
resumes eight years
later. Jane has been a
teacher at Lowood
for two years, but
after Miss Temple
marriage she decides
to leave Lowood so
she advertises for a
governess and is
hired by Mrs. Alice
Fairfax, housekeeper
of the manor of
Thornfield, to teach
to a little French girl
named Adèle.

16. A few months
after her arrival
at Thornfield,
Jane goes for a
walk and help a
man who had fall
off his horse. He
is rude to her and
calls her a 'witch'
but she helps him
to back on the
horse. On her
return to
Thornfield, Jane
discovers that the
horseman is her
employer, Mr.
Edward
Rochester, a
moody,
charismatic
gentleman nearly
twenty years
older than Jane.

17. That same night, Jane
hears eerie laughter
coming from the hallway,
and upon opening the
door she sees smoke
coming from Rochester's
room. Rushing into his
room, she finds his bed
curtains ablaze and
douses them with water,
saving Rochester's life.
Rochester says a matronly
servant named Grace
Poole is responsible, but
Grace Poole shows no
signs of remorse or guilt.
Jane is amazed and
perplexed. But by this
time, Rochester and Jane
are in love with each
other, though they do not
show it.

18. Soon after the fire incident, Mr. Rochester leaves
Thornfield. When he returns, he organizes a party
with high-class ladies and gentlemen, including Miss
Blanche Ingram, a beautiful lady whom he seems to
be courting. The party is interrupted when a strange
old gypsy woman arrives and insists on telling
everyone's fortunes. When Jane's turn comes, the
gypsy tells her a great deal about her life and
feelings, much to Jane's surprise. Then the gypsy
reveals "herself" to be Rochester in disguise.
That night, after a piercing scream wakes everyone
in the house, Mr. Rochester ask Jane to help him; a
certain Mr. Richard Mason, a Englishman from the
West Indies has been stabbed and bitten in the arm.
Again, Rochester hints that Grace Poole is
responsible.

19. Jane returns to Gateshead
because of her aunt conditions.
Mrs. Reed gives Jane a letter
that she had previously hidden
out of spite. The letter is from
Jane's father's brother, John
Eyre, notifying her of his intent
to leave her his fortune upon his
death.
After Jane's return to Thornfield,
she and Rochester gradually
reveal their love for each other.

20. Jane accepts Rochester's proposal of
marriage, but she is plagued by doubts
about it. She feels she is Rochester's
inferior and continues to address him
as "master".
Her doubts increase when a strange,
savage-looking woman sneaks into her
room one night and torn her wedding
veil in two. As usual, Rochester
attributes the incident to Grace Poole.

21. However, the wedding goes ahead. But
during the ceremony in the church, the
mysterious Mr. Mason and a lawyer step
forth and declare that Rochester cannot
marry Jane because his own wife is still
alive. Rochester admits this fact,
explaining that his wife is a violent
madwoman that he keeps imprisoned in
the attic, where Grace Poole looks after
her. But Grace Poole occasionally drunk,
giving her the opportunity to escape. It
is Rochester's mad wife who is
responsible for the strange events at
Thornfield. The wedding is cancelled,
and Jane is heartbroken.

22. Jane decides to escape from Thornfield.

23. She sleeps outdoors on
the moor and begs for food
in the villages that she
meets along the way for
several days. One night,
freezing and starving, she
begs for help at Moor
House. St. John Rivers, the
young clergyman who lives
in the house, decides to
help her.

24. Jane, who gives the false surname of Elliott, quickly
recovers under the care of St. John and his two kind
sisters, Diana and Mary. St. John finds a job for Jane,
she will teach in a charity school for girls in the
village of Morton.

25. One snowy night, St. John unexpectedly arrives at Jane's cottage, suspecting Jane's true identity.
He tells her about Jane Eyre's experiences at Thornfield and says that her uncle, John Eyre, has
died and left Jane his fortune of 20,000 pounds. After confessing her true identity, Jane decides
to share her inheritance with the Rivers, who turn out to be her cousins.
St. John had decide to travel to India and devote his life to missionary work. He asks Jane to
accompany him as his wife. Jane consents to go to India but she kindly refuses to marry him
because they are not in love.

26. St. John continues
to pressure Jane to
marry him. Almost
convinced by St
John's reasons, she
hears Rochester's
voice calling her
name, and this
gives her the
strength to reject
St. John
completely.
The next day, Jane
decides to go back to
Thornfield. But she finds
only grey ruins where
the house once stood.
An innkeeper tells Jane
that Rochester's mad
wife set the fire and
then committed suicide
by jumping from the
roof. Rochester saved
the servants from the
burning mansion but
lost a hand and his
eyesight. He now lives in
an isolated manor house
called Ferndean.

27. Going to Ferndean,
Jane reunites with
Rochester. At first, he
fears that she will
refuse to marry a
blind, disfigured man,
but Jane accepts him
without hesitation.

28. “Now I have been married for ten years. I know what it is like to love and be loved. No woman
has ever been closer to her husband than I am to Edward. I am my husband’s life, and he is
mine. We are always together, and have never had enough of each other’s company. After two
years his sight began to return in one eye. Now he can see a little, and when our first child was
born and put into his arms, he was able to see the boy had inherited his fine large black eyes.
Mrs Fairfax is retired, and Adèle has grown into a charming young woman. Diana and Mary are
both married, and we visit them once a year. St John achieved his ambition by going to India as
planned, and is still there. He writes to me regularly. He is unmarried and will never marry now.
He knows that the end of his life is near, but he has no fear of death, and looks forward to
gaining his place in heaven.”

29. CHARACTERS

30. Jane is passionate and opinionated, and values freedom and independence.
She also has a strong conscience and is a determined Christian.
JANE EYRE

31. Jane's aunt by marriage, who adopts
Jane on her husband's wishes, but
abuses and neglects her. She
eventually disowns her and sends her
to Lowood School.
MRS. REED

32. Jane's cousin,
who as a child
bullies Jane
constantly,
sometimes in his
mother's
presence. He
ruins himself as
an adult by
drinking and
gambling and is
thought to have
committed
suicide.
JOHN REED

33. MR. LLOYD
A compassionate apothecary who
recommends that Jane be sent to school. Later,
he writes a letter to Miss Temple confirming
Jane's account of her childhood and thereby
clearing Jane of Mrs. Reed's charge of lying.

34. MR. BROCKLEHURST
The clergyman, headmaster
and treasurer of Lowood
School, whose maltreatment
of the students is eventually
exposed. A religious
traditionalist, he advocates
for his charges the most
harsh, plain, and disciplined
possible lifestyle.

35. HELEN BURNS
Jane's best friend at
Lowood School. She
refuses to hate those
who abuse her, trusting
in God and praying for
peace one day in
heaven. She teaches
Jane to trust Christianity,
and dies of consumption
in Jane's arms.

36. An elderly widow and the housekeeper of
Thornfield Manor. She cares for both Jane and
Mr. Rochester.
MRS. FAIRFAX

37. The master of Thornfield
Manor. A byronic hero, he
is tricked into making an
unfortunate first marriage
to Bertha Mason many
years before he meets
Jane, with whom he falls
madly in love.
EDWARD ROCHESTER

38. BERTHA MASON
The violently
insane first wife of
Edward Rochester;
moved to
Thornfield and
locked in the attic
and eventually
commits suicide
by burning down
Thornfield Hall.

39. Bertha Mason's caretaker. Mr. Rochester pays
her a very high salary to keep Bertha hidden
and quiet, and she is often used as an
explanation for odd happenings. She has a
weakness for drink that occasionally allows
Bertha to escape.
GRACE POOLE

40. A socialite whom Mr.
Rochester
temporarily courts to
make Jane jealous.
She is described as
having great beauty,
but displays callous
behaviour and
avaricious intent.
BLANCHE INGRAM

41. A clergyman who
befriends Jane and turns
out to be her cousin. He
is thoroughly practical
and suppresses all his
human passions and
emotions in favour of
piety. He is determined
to go to India as a
missionary.
ST. JOHN RIVERS

42. SYMBOLS

43. THE RED ROOM
The red-room
symbolizes her
punishment in her
childhood and how
society traps Jane by
limiting her freedom
due to her class,
gender, and
independent streak.

44. Fire is another symbol present in
Jane Eyre, both caused by Bertha,
first when she sets fire to
Rochester’s bed and second when
she burns down Thornfield by
setting fire to what was Jane’s
bedroom. Bertha first setting fire to
Rochester’s bed could be just be a
reminder for the burning passion
that they once had, or it could be a
warning that she isn’t just going to
let him get away with doing to Jane
what he do to her. Jane is the one
to extinguish the flames set
ironically only to set new one of
the metaphorical kind. The second
fire Bertha sets in Jane’s old
bedroom, which ends up burning
down Thornfield, this shows
Berthas objection to Jane’s sexual
interests in Rochester. The fire
Bertha sets could also represent
her using power of sexuality to
destroy Rochester’s home.
FIRE

45. MADNESS
Bertha’s violent nature contrast
sharply with Jane’s calm morality
but she is also a manifestation of
Jane’s subconscious feelings,
specifically, of her rage against
oppressive social and gender
norms. Jane declares her love for
Rochester, but she also secretly
fears marriage to him and feels the
need to rage against the
imprisonment it could become for
her. Jane never manifests this fear
or anger, but Bertha does. Thus
Bertha tears up the bridal veil, and
it is Bertha’s existence that indeed
stops the wedding from going forth.
And, when Thornfield comes to
represent a state of servitude and
submission for Jane, Bertha burns it
to the ground.

46. EYES
The eyes are the
windows to the soul
in Jane Eyre. Jane is
especially attracted
to Mr. Rochester's
black and brilliant
eyes, which
symbolize his temper
and power. After Mr.
Rochester loses his
eyesight in the fire,
Jane becomes his
eyes: metaphorically,
Jane now holds the
position of mastery.
Now Mr. Rochester
can also see Jane in a
better and new way.

47. THEMES

48. LOVE AND AUTONOMY
Jane is searching love, not to
have romanticism, but rather for
a sense of being valued and
belonging; but Jane must learn
how to gain love without
sacrificing and harming herself
in the process. Jane refuses Mr.
Rochester’s marriage proposal
because it would mean
rendering herself a mistress and
sacrificing her own integrity for
the sake of emotional
gratification. Only after proving
her self-sufficiency to herself
can she marry Rochester and
not be asymmetrically
dependent upon him as her
“master”.

49. RELIGION
Religion is important for Jane
because she meets three main
religious figures: Mr.
Brocklehurst(he illustrates danger
and hypocrises in 19th century),
Helen Burns(Helen’s meek and
forbearing mode of Christinanity
is too passive for Jane to adopt as
her own, although she loves and
admires Helen fot it) and St. John
Rivers(his is a Christianity of
ambition, glory and extreme self-
importance).
Although Jane refuses all three models of religion, she
does not abandon morality, spiritualism, or a belief in a
Cristian God. For Jane, religion helps curb immoderate
passions, and it spurs one on to worldly efforts and
archievements. These archievements incluse full self-
knowledge and complete faith in God.

50. SOCIAL CLASS
Jane Eyre is critical of
Victorian England’s
strict social hierarchy.
Jane is a figure of
ambiguous class
standing and a source
of extreme tension for
the characters around
her. However, it is also
important to note
that nowhere in Jane
Eyre are society’s
boundaries bent.
Ultimately, Jane is
only able to marry
Rochester as his equal
because she has
almost magically
come into her own
inheritance from her
uncle.

51. GENDER RELATIONS
Three central male
figures threaten her
desire for equality
and dignity: Mr.
Brocklehurst, Edward
Rochester and St.
John Rivers. Each
tries to keep Jane in
a submissive
position, where she
is unable to express
her own thoughts
and feelings.

52. WOMEN EDUCATION IN
VICTORIAN AGE

53. The great advance in the education of girls and women may be
traced back to the early activities of the “Governesses’
Benevolent” institution, founded in 1843. These schools were
founded to make teaching a profession for women. In London
were founded King’s College(which exhaminated women how
they teached and then conducted classes in which women could
receive the necessary instruction) and Queen’s College, as a
home for these and other classes allowed to present themselves
at the “Local” examinations of Cambridge, and in 1869,
Cambridge and London universities instituted examinations for
women; in the same year were begun in Cambridge courses of
lectures, which led to the foundation of Newnham College. The
university of London threw open its degree examinations to
women in 1878, Cambridge opened the triposes to them in
1881, and, certain of its schools. Most schools were boarding
schools like Lowood School, where Jane Eyre stayed, where they
received basic teachings.