Jane Eyre, a neglected orphan raised by a snotty, rich, and hopeless aunt, is 18 years old and a governess to a child named Adéle. Both her parents died less than two years of marriage, and her uncle, the only person that cared for her, also dies, but he makes Mrs. Reed, his wife, promise that she will keep Jane Eyre until she is a grown woman. She is ten years old when this story starts, and she lives at Gateshead with Mrs. Reed, Georgiana, Eliza, and John. Soon, Jane’s “benefactress” gets irritated and vexed with her, so she sends her to Lowood Institute, which is a boarding school. There, she does not get food as delicious as in Gateshead, but in return the teachers treat her much better than Mrs. Reed. She stays here for eight years, six years as a student, and two years as a Lowood teacher, because she knows that she is not wanted by Mrs. Reed. She begins to advertise herself for a private governess, and Mrs. Fairfax, living at Thornfield, took her in to teach Thornfield’s master’s ward. Mr. Rochester, as it turns out, is master of this place, and he falls in love with Jane. On the day he is going to marry Jane, it is revealed that he already has a wife, although a lunatic and locked up, he still cannot wed. It upsets Jane greatly to receive the news that Mr. Rochester already has a wife, and she suddenly leaves Thornfield, maybe forever. However, after leaving, another family “adopts” her and gives her a place to stay for a while. Diana and Mary are the sisters of St. John, who has a servant named Hannah. They are very kind to her, but Jane still leaves shortly because she finds that her heart cannot survive without Mr. Rochester. When she finally returns, she finds out that Thornfield has been burned down by Bertha Rocheste...
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...hough St. John has a very powerful and forceful character and nobody says no to him, when he insisted that Jane should marry him, she refused. ““I am cold: no fervor infects me.” “Whereas I am hot, and fire dissolves ice.”” (pg. 337, pp. 10-11). In the end, when Mr. Rochester asks if he looks hideous, she replies, ““Very, sir: you always were, you know.” “Humph! The wickedness has not been taken out of you, wherever you have sojourned.””(pg. 384, pp. 5-6)
I give this book 9 out of 10 because I would not say it is perfect just because it’s a classic, but it is definitely a better classic than several others. One peculiar prospect to this style of this book is that Charlotte Brontë keeps referring to the “reader” and constantly includes us by asking us questions. Charlotte Brontë brings out family relationships, love relationships, and peculiar static characters.
I was experiencing an ordeal: a hand of fiery iron grasped my vitals. Terrible moment: full of struggle blackness, burning! No human being that ever lived could wish to be loved better then I was loved; and him who thus loved me I absolutely worshipped: and I must renounce love and idol. (311; ch. 27)
St. John Rivers makes some very intriguing choices in Jane Eyre. He is constantly faced with difficult decisions to make. Whether it be refusing his true love or moving to India to give his life serving others, there is always an interesting twist where St. John is concerned. His importance in the novel may be evident to readers, but they may not always understand his decisions and his actions. The choices he makes are exemplary of a man who has given his life to serve God and His people.
From an early age Jane is aware she is at a disadvantage, yet she learns how to break free from her entrapment by following her heart. Jane appears as not only the main character in the text, but also a female narrator. Being a female narrator suggests a strong independent woman, but Jane does not seem quite that.
By comparing St. John to a statue, the reader is forced to see St. John as someone who is cold and rigid. Jane sets up the perception that St.John is disconnected from human feelings. Jane also presents a biased view of men when she first meets Rochester, who later becomes her husband. Furthermore, Jane’s first impressions of Rochester are also negative. Upon first being introduced to Rochester, after he asked to see her, Jane comments, “But it appeared he was not in the mood to notice us, for he never lifted his head as we approached. . .
Chapter 23 of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre Jane Eyre begins by telling us about Jane's strict and unhappy upbringing with her upper class Aunt, Mrs. Reed. She is then sent to Lowood School where her only friend Helen falls ill and dies. When Jane is older she becomes a Governess working for Mr. Rochester at Thornfield Hall. Jane and Rochester fall in love but neither of them express their feelings to each other.
In the novel Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte uses Jane Eyre as her base to find out how a character confronts the demands of a private passion that conflicts with her responsibilities. . Mistreated abused and deprived of a normal childhood, Jane Eyre creates an enemy early in her childhood with her Aunt Mrs. Reed. Just as Mrs. Reeds life is coming to an end, she writes to Jane asking her for forgiveness, and one last visit from her.
Jane Eyre, written in 1847 by Charlotte Bronte, relates a tale of tragedy, mystery, and gothic romance. Covering the multiple issues of England in that time, Bronte writes of orphan treatment, social class, and Britain’s controversial law of prohibiting divorce in all circumstances. Orphaned at a young age and unwanted by her guardian Mrs. Reed, Jane searches for higher prospects in education at Lowood, eventually earning a position as a governess at Thornfield. Complications disrupt her life, when she becomes engaged to her employer, Mr. Rochester, and soon after discovers that he is already married to a lunatic. Leaving Thornfield, Jane finds a home with St. John and his two sisters. Eventually, she returns to her former employer, discovering Thornfield in ashes, Mrs. Rochester dead, and Mr. Rochester blind and free from wedlock. Flooded with motifs, Jane’s continual struggles between her passions and responsibility prevail as the main theme of Bronte’s entrancing narrative.
"'The marriage can not go on: I declare the existence of an impediment'" (306). Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, is the story of an orphaned girl who is sent to live at Gateshead Hall with Mrs. Reed and her three cousins, whom Jane doesn't get along with. At the age of ten, Mrs. Reed sends Jane away to Lowood Institution, an all girls' school, where she spends the next eight years of her life. At the age of eighteen, Jane leaves Lowood and accepts the position as governess at Thornfield Hall. Mr. Rochester, the owner of Thornfield Hall, and Jane fall madly in love and plan to get married, but little does Jane know, Mr. Rochester has a terrible secret that could ruin Jane's life. Throughout the novel, the theme of deceit and dishonesty results in unhappiness and suffering not only to those being lied to, but also to those people perpetuating the untruths.
Through the course of the novel, Jane Eyre is dependent on first her Aunt Reed, then Mr. Brocklehurst, and, subsequently, Mr. Rochester. As John Reed, her cousin, taunts her, she is “a dependent… [has] no money’” (Bronte 4), highlighting the complete control her Aunt Reed has of her life at this point. Her Aunt Reed chooses to send her to the frightful Lowood School and leads her Uncle John Eyre to believe her “’dead of typhus fever at Lowood.”’ (Bronte 217) While at Lowood, she is dependent on the dreadful Mr. Brocklehurst, a “personification of the Victorian superego,” (Gilbert and Gubar 343) who is the “absolute ruler of this little world.” (Rich 466) He uses “religion, charity, and morality to keep the poor in their place,” (Rich 466) rendering the students psychologically dependent on him. Finally, as a governess at Thornfield Hall, Jane Eyre is dependent on Mr. Rochester as his employee, required to acquiesce to his whims and to ask his...
Jane started out with no family, causing her to yearn for someone to accept her as their family, treating her with love and respect. At a young age, Jane lost her parents, leaving her with her aunt and cousins. They treated her poorly, acting as if she was incompetent and considering her more of a servant than a family member. Then, they sent her off to school, forgetting about her entirely. Eventually, Jane acquired the family she had always dreamt of. She never felt quite right with other people accepting her, that is, until Mr. Rochester came into her life. She did not feel as though she had found her true family until she had met him. "All these relics gave...Thornfield Hall the aspect of a home of the past: a shrine to memory.” (92). When they get married, her dreams are achieved, as she finally got the family she had always wanted.
Jane Eyre’s main character, Jane, is shown maturing from child to adult. Jane’s metamorphosis throws her from the fairytale escape she has created, into real life that she must adapt to in order to survive. There are subtle changes in Jane’s character that hint of maturity. In the novel’s first paragraphs Jane states: “There was no possibility of taking a walk that day . . . I was glad of it; I never liked long walks, especially on chilly afternoons: dreadful to me was the coming home in the raw twilight, with nipped fingers and toes . . .” (1; Ch.1). Further into the novel, nature being the medium of change, Jane adopts a new perspective: “It was a fine, calm day, though very cold; I was tired of sitting still in the library through a whole long morning . . . the distance, two miles, would be a pleasant winter afternoon walk” (102; Ch.12). The juxtaposition of Jane’s varying opinions show the growth of Jane’s character. This growth could be a result of Jane’s change of environment. Jane’s initial dislike of long, chilly walks is perhaps due to her unpleasant surroundings at Gateshead. Jane’s contempt for the walks and the outdoors vanishes during her time in the more hospitable environment of Thornsfield. Though Jane matures through the novel, from the beginning she is unabashadedly honest and harsh, much like nature. Jane, as does nature, reveals only naked and blatant honesty. When Rochester asks Jane if she thinks that he is handsome she, with no initial equivocation, answers, “No, Sir” (122; Ch.13). Jane, a type of nature, is companioned with another character who, similar to Jane, represents nature, Rochester. Rochester rivals Jane with his harsh and natural honesty: “Not quite: you have secured the shadow of your thought; but no more, probably. You had not enough of the artist’s skill and science to give it full being; yet the drawings are, for a schoolgirl, peculiar. As to the thoughts, they are elfish” (117; Ch.13). A development of Rochester’s character can be seen toward the novel’s end. This cha...
Jane Eyre has been acclaimed as one of the best gothic novels in the Victorian Era. With Bronte’s ability to make the pages come alive with mystery, tension, excitement, and a variety of other emotions. Readers are left with rich insight into the life of a strong female lead, Jane, who is obedient, impatient, and passionate as a child, but because of the emotional and physical abuse she endures, becomes brave, patient, and forgiving as an adult. She is a complex character overall but it is only because of the emotional and physical abuse she went through as a child that allowed her to become a dynamic character.
The novel, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, has a plot that is filled with an extraordinary amount of problems. Or so it seems as you are reading it. However, it comes to your attention after you have finished it, that there is a common thread running throughout the book. There are many little difficulties that the main character, the indomitable Jane Eyre, must deal with, but once you reach the end of the book you begin to realize that all of Jane's problems are based around one thing. Jane searches throughout the book for love and acceptance, and is forced to endure many hardships before finding them. First, she must cope with the betrayal of the people who are supposed to be her family - her aunt, Mrs. Reed, and her children, Eliza, Georgiana, and John. Then there is the issue of Jane's time at Lowood School, and how Jane goes out on her own after her best friend leaves. She takes a position at Thornfield Hall as a tutor, and makes some new friendships and even a romance. Yet her newfound happiness is taken away from her and she once again must start over. Then finally, after enduring so much, during the course of the book, Jane finally finds a true family and love, in rather unexpected places.
...t on earth. I hold myself supremely blest - blest beyond what language can express; because I am my husband's life as fully as he is mine" (Bronte 519). Every hardship and trouble Jane endured, from Gateshead to Morton, amplifies the perfect balance between passion and reason Jane receives at the end of the novel. Jane achieves this balance by being with the one she loves the most without any complications of reasoning. Her internal conflicts between Mr. Rochester and St. John Rivers contained many complications including Mr. Rochester's mad wife Bertha, not being in love with St. John, and her own sense of self-respect. Bronte successfully reveals this balance at the end of the novel by Jane receiving a large amount of money, allowing Jane to be with Mr. Rochester without Bertha, Jane discovering she has family, and Jane starting her own family with Mr. Rochester.
In the novel ‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Bronte, Jane shows self-confidence throughout the novel by having a sense of self-worth, and a trust in God and her morals. Jane develops her self confidence through the capacity to learn and the relationships she experiences. Although an oppressed orphan, Jane is not totally with confidence, she believes in what is right and shows passion and spirit at an early age. Helen and Miss Temple equips Jane with education and Christians values that she takes on throughout her life. Jane later also blossoms in self confidence under Mr. Rochester’s love and her family, the Rivers and newly discovered wealth. Bronte uses dialogue and 1st person narration to give an insight of the characters for the reader to see what the characters are saying and suggest what they are really thinking, and it shows Jane’s self-confidence growing in every stage of her life.