Jane Eyre (2)

Plot introduction

Jane Eyre is a first - person narrative of the title character . The novel goes through five distinct stages: Jane's childhood at Gateshead, where she is emotionally abused by her aunt and cousins; her education at Lowood School, where she acquires friends and role models but also suffers privations; her time as the governess of Thornfield Manor , where she falls in love with her Byronic employer, Edward Rochester ; her time with the Rivers family at Marsh 's End (or Moor House) and Morton , where her cold clergyman-cousin St John Rivers proposes to her; and her reunion with and marriage to her beloved Rochester. Partly autobiographical, the novel abounds with social criticism. It is a novel considered ahead of its time. In spite of the dark , brooding elements , it has a strong sense of right and wrong , of morality at its core . There are several Christian aspects underlying the plot that mold its character and essence .
Jane Eyre is divided into 38 chapters ; most editions are at least 400 pages long ( although the preface and introduction on certain copies are liable to take up another 100). The original was published in three volumes, comprising chapters 1 to 15, 16 to 26, and 27 to 38.
Brontë dedicated the novel's second edition to William Makepeace Thackeray.

[edit] Plot summary

[edit] Chapters 1-4: Jane's childhood at Gateshead

Young Jane argues with her guardian Mrs. Reed of Gateshead. Illustration by F. H. Townsend.
A ten- year -old orphan named Jane Eyre lives with her uncle 's family, the Reeds. Jane's aunt, Sarah Reed, dislikes her intensely. When her uncle dies , her aunt and the three Reed children become abusive . When bullied by her cousin John, Jane retaliates but is punished for the ensuing fight and is locked in the room where Mr. Reed died. As night falls, Jane's panicked screams rouse the house, but Mrs. Reed won't let her out. Jane faints and Mr. Lloyd, an apothecary is summoned. He talks with Jane and sympathetically suggests that she should go away to school.

[edit] Chapters 5-10: Jane's education at Lowood School

Mrs. Reed sends Jane to Lowood Institution, a charity school, and warns them that Jane is deceitful. During an inspection, Jane accidentally breaks her slate, and Mr. Brocklehurst, the self-righteous clergyman who runs the school, brands her as a liar and shames her before the entire assembly.
Jane is comforted by her friend , Helen Burns . Miss Temple , a caring teacher , facilitates Jane's self- defense and writes to Mr. Lloyd whose reply agrees with Jane's. Ultimately, Jane is publicly cleared of Mr. Brocklehurst's accusations.
Jane mistakes Mr. Rochester for a Gytrash.
While the Brocklehurst family lives in luxury, the eighty pupils are subjected to cold rooms , poor meals , and thin clothing. Many students fall ill when a typhus epidemic strikes. Jane's friend Helen dies of consumption in Jane's arms.
When Mr. Brocklehurst's neglect and dishonesty are laid bare, several benefactors erect a new building and conditions at the school improve dramatically.

[edit] Chapters 11-26: Jane's time as governess at Thornfield Manor

Eight years later , Jane is a teacher employed by Alice Fairfax (the housekeeper of Thornfield Manor) as governess for Adèle Varens, a young French girl. Out walking one day, Jane encounters and helps a horseman who has sprained his ankle . On her return to Thornfield, she discovers that the horseman is Edward Rochester, Master of Thornfield Manor. Rochester is a moody, self-willed man nearly twenty years older than Jane. Adèle is his ward , belonging to a French " opera dancer " whom he had a romantic relationship with, in the past. Adèle however is not his daughter , but is brought up by him, after her mother abandons her.
Jane saves Mr. Rochester from a fire .
Miss Blanche Ingram looking in a book.
Mr. Rochester disguised as a Gypsy woman .
Bertha Mason rips Jane's wedding veil.
Mr. Rochester seems quite taken with Jane, and she enjoys his company. However, odd things begin to happen : a strange laugh is heard in the halls , a near- fatal fire mysteriously breaks out, and a guest named Mason is attacked.
Jane receives word that Mrs. Reed has suffered a stroke and is asking for her. Returning to Gateshead, she remains for over a month while her aunt lies dying. Mrs. Reed rejects Jane's efforts at reconciliation , but does give her a letter previously withheld out of spite. The letter is from John Eyre, Jane's uncle, notifying her of his intent to bequeath his fortune to her.
After returning to Thornfield, Jane proclaims her love for Rochester, who returns her feelings and proposes. As she prepares for her wedding, Jane's forebodings arise when a strange, savage -looking woman sneaks into her room one night and rips her wedding veil in two. As with previous mysterious events , Mr Rochester attributes the incident to drunkenness on the part of Grace Poole, one of his servants.
During the wedding ceremony, Mr. Mason and a lawyer declare that Mr Rochester cannot marry because he is already married to Mr. Mason's sister . Mr Rochester bitterly admits this, explaining that his wife is a violent madwoman whom he keeps locked in the attic , in the care of Grace Poole. When Grace occasionally drinks too much, it gives his wife a chance to escape , and she is the true cause of Thornfield's strange events.
Mr. Rochester asks Jane to go with him to the south of France, and live as husband and wife, even though they cannot be married. Refusing to go against her principles, and despite her love for him, Jane leaves Thornfield in the middle of the night.

[edit] Chapters 27-35: Jane's time with the Rivers family

Jane leaves Thornfield and sleeps outside .
Jane begs for food.
St. John Rivers admits Jane to Moor House.
Jane travels to the north of England . After mislaying her funds, she sleeps on the moor and begs for food, but is turned away as a beggar, a thief, or worse . Exhausted , she is saved by St. John Rivers, a young clergyman, who brings her to the home of his sisters , Diana and Mary . As she regains her health, St. John finds her a teaching position at a nearby charity school. Jane becomes warm friends with Mary and Diana, but St. John is too reserved for her to relate to, despite his efforts on her behalf. Jane sees that the brother and sisters have money -related worries, but does not enquire further .
Rosamond Oliver shows an interest in St. John.
St. John tells Jane she has inherited £20,000.
Jane considering St. John's proposal .
When the sisters leave for governess jobs in London, St. John becomes more comfortable around Jane, evidencing his own conflicts of the heart , which involve the beautiful and wealthy Rosamond Oliver. When Jane confronts him about his feelings for Miss Oliver, he confesses that he has turned away from them, because he feels called to be a missionary, and he knows that Miss Oliver would not accept such a life.
St. John discovers Jane's true identity, and astounds her by showing her a letter stating that her uncle John has died and left her his entire fortune of £20,000, equivalent to £1,510,000 in today 's pounds[1]. When Jane questions him further, St. John reveals that John is also his and his sisters' uncle . They had once hoped for a share of the inheritance, but have since resigned themselves to nothing . Jane, overjoyed by finding her family, insists on sharing the money equally with her cousins.
St. John asks Jane to accompany him to India as his wife. He asks solely because he wishes a good missionary's wife, a role in which he believes Jane will excel. She agrees to go, but refuses marriage, believing his reserve and reason incompatible with her warmth and passion . But, his powers of persuasion eventually begin to convince her to change her mind.
However, at that very moment, she suddenly seems to hear Mr. Rochester calling her name. The next morning , she leaves for Thornfield to ascertain Mr. Rochester's well-being before departing forever for India.

[edit] Chapters 36-38: Jane's reunion with Mr. Rochester

Thornfield burned to the ground by Bertha.
Jane and Mr. Rochester reunited.
Mr. Rochester's sight improving.
Jane arrives at Thornfield to find only blackened ruins . She learns that Rochester's wife set the house on fire and committed suicide by jumping from the roof . In his rescue attempts, Mr. Rochester lost a hand and his eyesight. Jane reunites with him, but he fears that she will be repulsed by his condition . When Jane assures him of her love and tells him that she will never leave him, Mr. Rochester again proposes. He eventually recovers enough sight to see their first-born son.

[edit] Characters

• Jane Eyre: The protagonist of the novel and the title character. Orphaned as a baby, she struggles through her nearly loveless childhood and becomes governess at Thornfield Hall. Although she falls in love with her wealthy employer, Edward Rochester, her strong sense of conscience does not permit her to become his mistress, and she does not return to him until his insane wife is dead and she herself has come into an inheritance.
  
• Mr. Reed: Jane's maternal uncle, who adopts Jane when her parents die. Before his own death , he makes his wife promise to care for Jane.
  
• Mrs. Sarah Reed: Jane's aunt by marriage, who adopts Jane but neglects and abuses her. Her dislike of Jane continues to her death .
  
• John Reed: Jane's cousin, who bullies Jane constantly, sometimes in his mother's presence. He ruins himself as an adult and is believed to die by suicide.
  
• Eliza Reed: Jane's cousin. Bitter because she is not as attractive as her sister, she devotes herself self-righteously to religion .
  
• Georgiana Reed: Jane's cousin. Though spiteful and insolent, she is also beautiful and indulged. Her sister Eliza foils her marriage to a wealthy Lord .
  
• Bessie Lee: The plain -spoken nursemaid at Gateshead. She sometimes treats Jane kindly, telling her stories and singing her songs . Later she marries Robert Leaven.
  
• Robert Leaven: The coachman at Gateshead, who brings Jane the news of John Reed's death, which brought on Mrs. Reed's stroke.
  
• 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 .
  
• Mr. Brocklehurst: The clergyman headmaster and treasurer of Lowood School, whose mistreatment of the students is eventually exposed.
  
• Miss Maria Temple: The kind, superintendent of Lowood School, who treats Jane and Helen (and others ) with respect and compassion . She helps clear Jane of Mr. Brocklehurst's false accusation of deceit.
  
• Miss Scatcherd: A sour and vicious teacher at Lowood.
  
• Helen Burns: An fellow- student and best friend of Jane's at Lowood School. She refuses to hate those who abuse her, trusting in God and turning the other cheek. She dies in Jane's arms.
  
• Edward Fairfax Rochester: The master of Thornfield Manor. A Byronic hero , he makes an unfortunate first marriage before he meets Jane.
  
• Bertha Antoinetta Mason: The violently insane first wife of Edward Rochester.
  
• Adèle Varens: A French child to whom Jane is governess at Thornfield. She is Mr Rochester's ward.
  
• Mrs. Alice Fairfax: An elderly widow and housekeeper of Thornfield Manor. She treats Jane kindly and respectfully, but disapproves of her engagement to Mr Rochester.
  
• Blanche Ingram: A socialite whom Mr. Rochester appears to court in order to make Jane jealous.
  
• Richard Mason: An Englishman from the West Indies, whose sister is Mr. Rochester's first wife.
  
• St. John Eyre Rivers: A clergyman who befriends Jane and turns out to be her cousin. He is Jane Eyre's cousin on her father 's side. He is a devout, Christian of Calvinistic leanings. By nature he is very reserved and single -minded.
  
• Diana and Mary Rivers: St. John's sisters and (as it turns out) Jane's cousins.
  
• Grace Poole: Bertha Mason's keeper.
  
• Rosamond Oliver: A wealthy young woman who patronizes the village school where Jane teaches, and who is attracted to the Rev. St. John.
  
• John Eyre: Jane's paternal uncle, who leaves her his vast fortune. He never appears as a character.