Jane+Eyre

=Jane Eyre =

Pertinent Biographical Information:

 * Charlotte Brontë was born in Yorkshire, England on April 21, 1816.
 * Maria Branwell Brontë, Charlotte's mother, died when she was five. Charlotte and her siblings were raised by their aunt.
 * In 1824, Charlotte and her sisters Maria, Elizabeth, and Emily were sent to a boarding school for clergymen's daughters called Cowan Bridge.
 * After an outbreak of tuberculosis at the school killed Maria and Elizabeth, Charlotte and Emily were brought home. Returning to school later in life, Charlotte became a schoolteacher in 1835, she would soon after become a governess.
 * Brontë wrote under a male pseudonym because her book would not have been published or accepted otherwise.

Literary Historical Period/Movement and Pertinent Background

 * ====Jane Eyre explores controversial themes, main characters are strong, intelligent women with a backbone in a time period (Victorian society) where women were subservient. ====
 * ====Themes of dehumanization of poverty for women without male dependence and socio-economic status. ====
 * ===="Coventionality is not morality" - Charlotte Brontë ====
 * ====Self-righteousness is not religion." - Charlotte Brontë ====


 * Major Characters, Their Relationships, Their Conflicts **
 * **//Jane Eyre //** - The protagonist/narrator of the novel. She endures tumultuous relationships and many hardships as she struggles to find her place in a society that constantly tries to keep her down. Jane is persecuted by her aunt, **Mrs. Reed **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">, who treats her badly and overlooks the actions of her own children against her, especially those of  **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">John Reed. **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> Jane is also wronged by  **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Mr. Brocklehurst **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> , the headmaster of Lowood. Jane only makes three friends in her childhood,  **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Bessie Lee **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> ,  **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Maria Temple **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> , and  **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Helen Burns **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> , though she loses them all before moving on to Thornfield where she meets  **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Mr. Rochester **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> , whom she falls in love with.
 * **//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Edward Rochester //**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> - Master of Thornfield; he eventually falls in love with **Jane**.
 * **//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">St. John Rivers //**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> - Along with his sisters, St. John takes **Jane** in after she runs away from Thornfield. He begins to seek Jane as his wife but is rejected, leading Jane to leave him when he confesses his “love”.
 * **//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Mrs. Reed //**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> - **Jane**'s cruel aunt, who raises her at Gateshead until the age of ten, sending Jane away to Lowood school. She appears again on her deathbed and serves to show the growth of Jane’s independence and character.
 * **//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">John Reed //**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> – **Jane**'s cousin; **Mrs. Reed**'s son; treats Jane very cruelly during their childhood. In his latter life, John becomes a drunken failure and commits suicide to escape from debt born of gambling.
 * **//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Bessie Lee //**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> - The maid at Gateshead. She is the only figure in **Jane**'s childhood that treated her kindly, and even she wasn't kind to her until the very end of her stay. She was the only person to see her off to the boarding school and also to come visit her.
 * **//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Helen Burns //**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> – **Jane**'s close and first true friend at Lowood Institution. She tragically dies of consumption with Jane by her side.
 * **//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Mr. Brocklehurst //**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> - Cruel headmaster at the Lowood Institution. He preaches a life of poverty to the children enrolled, so that they may be prepared for the hardships of life. However he uses this as a front to hypocritically divert funds from the school into his own pocket. He also judges ** Jane ** unfairly and humiliates her at Lowood.
 * **//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Maria Temple //**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> - **Jane** and **Helen**'s teacher at Lowood Institution. She tries to care for the girls there and is kind to them. She is one of the only friends Jane makes throughout the novel.
 * **//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Alice Fairfax //**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> - The Housekeeper of Thornfield Hall. She is kind to ** Jane. **
 * **//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Grace Poole //**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> - **Bertha Mason**'s keeper at Thornfield Hall. Her drunken carelessness frequently allows Bertha to escape and wreak havoc on the inhabitants.
 * //**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Adele Varens **//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> - **Jane**'s pupil at Thornfield Hall. **Rochester** takes Adele in after her mother, his former lover, abandons her.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Other Influential Characters
 * // Bertha Mason - // Mr. Rochester's crazy wife whom he hides from Jane in the hope that she will marry him since she doesn't know.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">//Blanche Ingram// - A beautiful, sociable woman who depises Jane and hopes to marry Rochester for his money.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">//John Eyre// - Jane's uncle, who leaves her a large sum of money valued at 20,000 pounds. He sent a letter to her aunt in order to have her sent to him while she was still a child but Mrs. Reed told him that Jane had died.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">//Uncle Reed// - Mrs. Reed's late husband also Jane's uncle. During her childhood, Jane believes she can feel the presence of his ghost in the red room and this exacerbates her ill-standing with the Reeds. It is only because he forced Mrs. Reed to promise to take care of Jane that her aunt puts up with her.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">//Georgiana Reed// - Jane's cousin, one of Mrs. Reed's two daughters. During their childhood, Georgiana treats Jane very cruelly; however, in adulthood befriends Jane and confides in her.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">//Eliza Reed// - Jane's cousin, one of Mrs. Reed's two daughters. Devotes her life to the church and travels to a convent in France.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">//Mr. Lloyd// - The Reed's apothecary (physician) who suggests that Jane be sent away to school after she reveals her ill tendencies to him.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Brief Plot Summary
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Section I ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As a young orphan, Jane Eyre is raised by her aunt, Mrs. Reed. Mrs. Reed is the wife of the deceased Uncle Reed, Jane’s mother’s brother, who made his spouse promise to care for Jane after he died. While under the care of her aunt, Jane is verbally abused by her aunt and physically and verbally abused by her cousins, mainly John Reed. After a traumatic experience in the room where her uncle died, Jane becomes ill and the apothecary suggests that she be sent away. To Jane’s surprise, her aunt eventually concurs and allows Jane to attend an all girls school called Lowood. Before Jane leaves, she severely scolds her aunt for her poor treatment and also befriends Bessie, the maid. Once at Lowood, Jane is humiliated by the school headmaster, Mr. Brocklehurst, who singles her out from all of the girls and calls her a liar. The conditions at Lowood are less than pleasant because of Mr. Brocklehurst's hypocrisy. He uses the school's funds to furnish his wealthy and opulent lifestyle, leaving the girls with little money for food and clothes. During her time spent at Lowood, Jane befriends a girl named Helen Burns is strong-willed and determined. Jane’s true confidante dies from consumption not long after their friendship begins. The typhoid epidemic also results in Brocklehurst’s departure and shines light upon the unsatisfactory conditions at the school. After Brocklehurst’s departure, Jane’s attitude towards school changes significantly. She finishes her education as a student and becomes a teacher there. ====

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Section II
====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After teaching for only a few years, Jane puts out an advertisement as a governess and eventually is hired at a manor called Thornfield. Jane becomes acquainted with the residents of the manor including: Adele, her young French pupil, Mrs. Fairfax, the housekeeper, and the owner; a dark, mysterious man named Mr. Rochester. Soon after, Jane finds herself secretly falling in love with Mr. Rochester. Strange things frequently happen in the night at Thornfield and once Jane must rush into Mr. Rochester’s chambers to rescue him from a fire that is consuming his bed. He suggests to her that the fire was started by a drunken servant, Grace Poole, but keeps the incident a secret from the rest of the house, claiming that he'd fallen asleep with the candle burning. When Grace Poole continues to work at the manor after the incident, Jane assumes there is more behind the story. Jane receives word that Mrs. Reed has fallen ill and returns to Gateshead to see her. Mrs. Reed reveals that she told Jane's uncle, John Eyre, who wrote her aunt asking for Jane to be sent to live with him, that she was dead. Jane returns to Thornfield after Mrs. Reed's death. After a period of unlikely courtship, Mr. Rochester proposes to Jane, and after accusing him of making fun of her, she accepts. On the day of the wedding, an unannounced visitor abruptly interrupts the ceremony. The visitor introduces himself as Mr. Mason, the brother of Bertha Mason, Rochester's estranged wife. Mr. Rochester admits that Bertha is still living in Thornfield itself, and Grace Poole is Bertha's keeper, her main task being to watch Bertha, who is violently insane. After hearing this shocking revelation, Jane flees Thornfield. ====

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Section III
====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hungry and penniless after losing her parcel, Jane is forced to live off the streets and beg for food. Found in a desperate state, Jane is taken in by three siblings named Diane, Mary and St. John Rivers. Jane gives them a false name so that Mr. Rochester will not be able to find her, and they nurse her back to health and offer her a job as a schoolteacher. One day, St. John surprises Jane with a large amount of money left from her deceased uncle, John Eyre. Soon after, St. John decides to take a mission trip to India and asks that Jane accompany him as his wife. Jane refuses because she is still in love with Rochester and because St. John wanted her to be his wife for convenience not because he loved her. Afterward, Jane goes back to Thornfield to find it burnt to the ground by Bertha Mason, who died in the fire though Mr. Rochester tried to save everyone. Jane is astonished to learn that Rochester lost his eyesight and one of his hands during the incident while trying to save his servants. Jane discovers that Rochester has relocated to Ferndean and quickly goes there where she and Rochester reconnect and soon after get married. ====

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Motifs (Recurring Images, Ideas Figures of Speech, Symbols, Colors) & Their Thematic Significance

 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Looking without seeing/Superficiality of Society
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Many times in the novel, people look at Jane without really seeing her or seeing past her plainness. She herself does the same thing but in a different way. When new characters are introduced into the novel, it seems that it takes her a while to notice them; they've already been established before she takes a moment to look at them and describe them for us. It shows in part that she doesn't put much value in people and also that when she doesn't put value in them it's because of their character, not their looks, because she doesn't even notice how they look until later on.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Desolate scenery
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Desolate scenery is described recurrently throughout the novel. It shows not only Jane's bleak outlook on the world but also the beauty she sees in it. The time spent describing the scenery also shows what exactly it is that she notices, not generally people, but places. In a way, the detailed descriptions show that Jane focuses on appearances as well, but it is the appearance of the world that so daunts her.
 * Appearance vs reality/Things not being as they seem
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Throughout the novel many things turn out to be different than how they first appeared such as Mr. Rochester with his secret wife, Celine and her secret lover, and Jane with the plain face that hides an extraordinary woman.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Though Jane lived all of her childhood and young adult life as a poor, worthless girl, she is in fact heir to a million dollar fund.
 * Other Motifs:
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Birds - Jane is often compared to a bird, and birds are used often to reinforce meaning. At the start of the novel, Jane reads a book about birds, stopping on the page of a solitary bird who lives along the frigid northern English coast much like Jane is alone in her aunt's house, rejected the warmth of a fire because of her background. Rochester compares Jane to a bird as well, saying "When you are inquisitive, Jane . . . you open your eyes like an eager bird. . ."
 * Fire/Ice
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Substitute Mothers
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Searching of home/family

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Other Significant Thematic Elements (Significant Character's Names, Significant Quotations, Significant Actions/Events)

 * ====I am glad you are no relation of mine. I will never call you aunt again as long as I live. I will never come to visit you when I am grown up; and if any one asks me how I liked you, and how you treated me, I will say the very thought of you makes me sick, and that you treated me with miserable cruelty. . . . You think I have no feelings, and that I can do without one bit of love or kindness; but I cannot live so: and you have no pity. I shall remember how you thrust me back . . . into the red-room. . . . And that punishment you made me suffer because your wicked boy struck me—knocked me down for nothing. I will tell anybody who asks me questions this exact tale. ’Ere I had finished this reply, my soul began to expand, to exult, with the strangest sense of freedom, of triumph, I ever felt. It seemed as if an invisible bond had burst, and that I had struggled out into unhoped-for liberty. . . . (Chapter 4)====
 * ===="Such is the imperfect nature of man! Such spots are there on the disc of the clearest planet; and eyes like Mrs. Scatcherd's can only see those minute defects and are blind to the full brightness of the orb." (Page 61)====
 * ====“‘I tell you I must go!’ I retorted, roused to something like passion. ‘Do you think I can stay to become nothing to you? Do you think I am an automaton? – a machine without feelings? and can bear to have my morsel of bread snatched from my lips, and my drop of living water dashed from my cup? Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? – You think wrong! – I have as much soul as you, - and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you. I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom, conventionalities, nor even of mortal flesh ; it is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave, and we stood at God’s feet, equal, - as we are!’” (Page 238)====

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Major Themes

 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Many people throughout their lifetimes have the desire to be loved not simply used. (Love vs. Autonomy) ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the novel Jane Eyre, the main character spends most of the novel describing her quest for love and the ups and downs experienced from her joys and pains. She refuses to marry St. John because he only wants her to be his wife for convenience not for love. The novel shows the benefits that can arise from the struggle of waiting for the right person.====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Finding a balance between secular/worldly pleasures versus morality is often a struggle. (Religion) ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For the main character Jane, finding someone to love and to love her back was hard to find. So when Jane meets Rochester, she is immediately overwhelmed with emotions that she has for him, and she soon discovers that he also has the same feelings. Jane, a religious person, questions whether to begin a relationship with Rochester or to resist the temptation that both she and Rochester reveal to one another. She is especially convinced against it when she finds out that he has a wife and flees the temptation. ====
 * ==== It can be difficult to hold on to one's female rights in the midst of male dominance/oppression. (Gender Relations)====
 * ====Mr. Brocklehurst, Mr. Rochester, and St. John Rivers all embrace the dominant male role. Jane constantly struggles with equality as she tries to the climb the class hierarchy. She defies the ideals pressed upon their society that claim that she should submit and boldly proclaims that she is Mr. Rochester's equal. She has a mind and soul just as he does.====
 * ====Faults may be the only characteristics a person can see about themselves or another despite all the good qualities that are present (Appearance vs. Reality)====
 * ====Many people never get past Jane's plain face and see her unique personality, intelligence, and extraordinary drawing ability. Even Jane brings herself down because of her appearance. Though she realizes in others that appearance doesn't count, she still judges herself because she is plain. In the same way, Helen Burns brought herself down because of the unrealistic expectations placed upon her and believed herself to be a wicked child.====