JANE EYRE

About Jane Eyre's book and title:

■ Jane Eyre was written by Charlotte Brontë. This book was published in
1847. It has 111 pages.

■ The main character of the book, Jane Eyre, was taken as the title of the
book. In general, the book deals with the events of Jane Eyre since her
childhood.
The life of Charlotte Brontë:

■ Charlotte Brontë was born in Tharnton, Yorkshire in the North England in

1816.
■ Her father was Patrick Brontë a clergyman. After serving in several parishes,
he moved with his wife and their six small children to Howorth amid the
Yorkshire moors in 1820.
■ Mrs. Bröntë and the two eldest children died, leaving the father to care for the
remaining three girls and a boy. Their upbringing was aided by an aunt who
left her native Cornwall and took up residence with the family at Haworth.
■ The sisters and Charlotte started to write. Charlotte's first novel, The Professor,
was not accepted by the Publisher, but she then wrote Jane Eyre which was a
great success, and for which she is really famous.
SUMMARY OF THE JANE EYRE:
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.
Main characters of Jane Eyre:

■ Jane Eyre: Jane Eyre is the main character of the book.She is shy about people older
than her and she is afraid to express herself. But also a very emotional character.
■ Mrs Reed: Mrs. Reed is Jane Eyre's aunt. Mrs. Reed trusts her own son without ever
hearing Jane, even though her son is unfair. She also punishes Jane. From here we can
see that she doesn’t like Jane very much. We can also see that Mrs. Reed is a liar when
Jane tells her uncle that Jane is dead.
■ Mr. Rochester: He isn’t very handsome and not at all polite but he looks interesting.
There was an emotional bond with Jane. And he fell in love with her. So we can say that
Mr. Rochester is an emotional person.
Discussing the setting of the book:

■ The main quest in Jane Eyre is Jane's search for family for a sense of belonging and
love. However, this search is constantly reduced by Jane's need for independence. In the
novel, he turns out to be an unloved character who is almost obsessed with finding love
as a way to establish his own identity and achieve happiness.
■ The places where in the book: Mrs. Reed's house, Lowood School, Thornfield Hall, the
church and St John’s house.
 Question 1:

■ Jane’s poverty creates numerous obstacles for her and her pursuit of happiness,
including personal insecurity and the denial of opportunities. The beautiful Miss
Ingram's higher social standing, for instance, makes her Jane's main competitor for Mr.
Rochester’s love, even though Jane is far superior in terms of intellect and character.
Her eventual ascent out of poverty does help her overcome her personal obstacles. Also
allows her to fulfill her desire to be Mr. Rochester’s wife.
 Question 2:

■ I think she is a strong character. Because Jane regularly speaks out against the cruel
treatment of her cousin, John and her aunt, Mrs Reed. And she gets it throug. As the
novel progresses, the reader sees Jane blossoming into adulthood. And falls in love with
a man. However, it turns out that the man already has a wife. Jane's heart is broken. Still
doesn’t give up. We can give some examples like these.
Thank you for listening to me :)

■ İREM GÖKSU