Literary Genres 1 St year, groups 02,03,05 and 06. B.

Bouchetifi

Jane Eyre published as Jane Eyre: An Autobiography, is a novel by the English female
writer Charlotte Bronte. The novel was published on 16 October 1847 in England under the
pen name "Currer Bell".
Primarily of the Bildungsroman genre, Jane Eyre follows the emotions and experience of its
eponymous heroine, including her growth to adulthood and her love for Mr. Rochester, the
Byronic master of fictitious Thornfield Hall. In its internalization of the action, the focus is on
the gradual unfolding of Jane's moral and spiritual sensibility. Jane Eyre revolutionized the
art of fiction. Bronte's novel discusses a number of issues as social criticism of Christian
hypocrisy, sexuality, and feminism to mention only few.

Plot Structure

The novel is written in first-person narration that is from the perspective of the title character.
The events in the novel take place is the north of England during the reign of George III
(1760-1820). In the novel, Jane goes through five distinct stages: Jane's unhappy childhood
at Gateshead Hall, she is emotionally and physically abused by her aunt and cousins; her
education at Lowood School, where she gains friends and role models, but suffers from cold
and food shortages; her time as governess at Thornfield Hall, where she falls in love with Mr.
Rochester, her time with the Rivers family, during which her cold clergyman cousin, St.
John Rivers, proposes to her; and finally her return and marriage with her beloved
Rochester. During those sections, Brontë divided her novel into 38 chapters during which
she comments on various social issues and ideas.

Jane's Childhood

The novel opens with an orphaned child, Jane Eyre, aged ten years living with her maternal
uncle's family, the Reeds, as a result of her uncle's dying wish. It is several years after her
parents died of typhus. Mr. Reed, was the only in the Reed family who was kind to Jane.
Jane's aunt, Sarah Reeds, abhors her, treats her as a burden on the family, and discourages
her children from associating with Jane. Mrs Reeds and her three children: John, Georgiana
and Eliza, are abusive to Jane, they have mistreated her physically, emotionally and
spiritually. The nursemaid Bessie proves to be Jane's only ally in the household, though
Bessie sometimes harshly scolds Jane. Excluded from the family activities and comfort,
Jane lives unhappy years with only a doll and books for consolation.
One day, John has violently molested Jane, when she attempts to fight back, she had been
locked in the red room, a terrible deserted room where her kind uncles passed away. She
faints from panic thinking that she has seen her uncle's ghost. Subsequently, she has been
tended by the kind apothecary, Mr. Lloyd, to whom Jane reveals her secret of miserable life
under the Reed's roof. Later on, Mr. Lloyd recommends to Mrs Reed to send the child
school. Lowood School is a charity school for poor orphan children, is run by Mr.
brocklehurst, a mean-hearted church minister. Mrs Reed warns Mr. Brocklehurst of Jane's
"tendency for deceit " which he interprets as a "liar"; in an effort to correct Jane's fault, he
offers her a religious pamphlet containing "the awful sudden death of Martha G-, a naughty
child addicted to falsehood and deceit" (p 37). Before Jane leaves Gateshead, she confronts
Mrs. reed declaring that she "will never call… [her] aunt again…" (p 38), and that Mrs Reed
and her children are the ones who are deceitful, and that she will tell everybody at Lowood
School about their cruelty and meanness.

Lowood School
At Lowood School, an educational institution for poor and orphaned children, Jane
experiences more hardships as cold, and hunger; but less harsh than Gateshead 's
oppression and abuse; Jane concludes in one of the instances: "I would not now have
exchanged Lowood with all its privations for Gateshead and its daily luxuries. " (p 76).
Among the girls Jane befriends: Helen Burns, Jane's spiritual and intellectual best friend at
Lowood. Burns has a strange and peculiar manner of considering many issues ; for instance
she accepts Miss Scatcherd's terrible punishment and humiliation philosophically. For Burns'
doctrine of endurance is inferred from true Christian values as exultation to punishment
known as "turn the other cheek". She declares to Jane "love your enemies ; bless them that
curse you ; do good to them that hate you and despitefully use you." Such concept confuses
Jane's common sense. Jane immediately reflects the logical conclusion: " then I should love
Mrs Reed, which I cannot do: I should bless her son John, which is impossible. "(p 60) Later
in their conversation, Burns further expounds this concept in what follows: "I can so clearly
distinguish between the criminal and his crime, I can sincerely forgive the first while I abhor
the last;" Burns attempts to teach Jane forgiveness for the sake of her calmness and reward
in the hereafter saying: "with this creed, revenge never worries my heart…injustice never
crushes me too low; I live in calm, looking to the end. " (p 61)
During a school inspection, Mr. Brocklehurst stands Jane on a stool and brands her a liar
and shames her before the whole school. Later, Jane is comforted by Helen and Miss
Temple, the kind superintendent who sympathizes with her and, writes for Mr. Lloyd for
further elucidation to clear Jane's false accusation. Not long, Mr. Lloyd affirms Jane's version
of events, and thus Jane publicly is cleared of Mr. Brocklehurst shameful allegation. Jane
happily writes: "Thus relieved of a grievous load, I from that hour set to work afresh, resolved
to pioneer my way through every difficulty…" ( p 76)
The total of eighty pupils at Lowood are subjected to miserable living conditions. With cold
and bleak rooms, thin clothes, and poor meals, conditions predispose the outbreak of the
typhus in Lowood School. As a result, half of the school pupils perished out of the epidemic
including Helen Burns who subsequently succumbs to further Jane's horror and alienation.
Jane inscribes this dolorous moment in: "Miss Temple… found me laid in a little crib; my
face against Helen Burns's shoulder, my arms around her neck. I was asleep, and Helen
was - dead." (p 84) In fact, Helen Burns is a representation of Charlotte's elder sister Maria,
who died of tuberculosis after spending some time at Lowood School. After the typhus
epidemic, Mr. Brocklehurst's maltreatment of students and flagrant stinginess with which he
runs the school is discovered, many benefactors have erected a new building and thus
conditions at Lowood improve dramatically.
The name Lowood is highly symbolical for it stands for the "low"point in Jane's life where she
was maltreated, however Jane proves to be successful for she has spent eight years: six
years as a pupil and two years as a teacher at Lowood.

1/ Character List

Jane Eyre: the orphaned protagonist of the story. In the beginning, Jane is isolated,
powerless ten-year -old living with an aunt and cousins who disliked her. As the novel
progresses, she grows in strength and affirms her personality despite the various hardships.
She distinguishes herself at Lowood School because of her hard work and vast intellectual
abilities.

Sarah Reed: Jane's unpleasant aunt, who raises her until she is ten years. Though her
maltreatment to Jane, Mrs Reed refuses Jane's reconciliatory attempt before her death. She
dies even unloved by her own children, and unrepentant of her mistreatment of Jane.

John Reed: Jane's nasty and spoiled cousin, responsible for much of violence inflicted
against Jane, and banishment to the red-room. When grown up, John is addicted to
alcoholism and gambling; he supposedly commits suicide at twenty-three when his mother
refused to pay off his debts.

Eliza Reed: another one of Jane's spoiled cousins, Eliza is instantly jealous of the beauty of
her sister, Georgiana. She nastily breaks up Georgiana's elopement with Lord Edwin Very,
and then becomes a devout Christian. But her type of Christianity is devoid of all
compassion or humility, she does not show any sympathy to her dying mother and vows to
break off all contact with Georgiana after her mother's death.

Georgiana Reed: Eliza's and John's sister, Georgiana is the family beauty. She is shallow
and selfish girl interested only in her own pleasures. She accuses her sister of ruining her
plan to marry Lord Edwin Very. Like her sister, Georgiana shows no emotion following their
mother's death. But she, eventually, marries a wealthy man.

Bessie Lee: the maid at Gateshead who rarely scolds Jane, but often consoles her by telling
her entertaining stories and singing her songs. Before Jane's departure to Thornfield Hall,
Bessie visits Jane at Lowood, she is impressed by Jane's intellectual attainments and
ladylike behavior. Bessie marries the coachman, Robert Leaven, and had three children.

Mr. Lloyd: the kind apothecary who suggests that Jane be sent to school following her
horrifying experience in the red-room. Jane likes his presence and compassion, he serves
as a fatherly figure to Jane. When accused falsely of being a liar, Mr. Lloyds' letter to Miss
Temple clears off Mrs Reed's allegation.

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. As a
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 and
spiritual attainment 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 graciously offers the girls
bread and cheese when their breakfasts are inedible. An impressive scholar, A motherly
figure to Jane, she is also 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. Jane
is very much attached to Miss Temple so that she couldn't stand any more Lowood after her
marriage and departure from the school. Jane immediately applied for a position of
governess in the press in order to leave Lowood.

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 Grace: Jane's roommate and fellow teacher at Lowood.

Thank you for reading, for the rest of the story and various points, the next courses would
cover much of that. Please continue reading the story and ask questions. God protect and
bless you.