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Title: Jane Eyre
Series:
----------
Author: Charlotte Bronte
Rating:
3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Classic
Pages:
503
Words: 190.5K
From
Wikipedia
Gateshead
Hall
Jane
Eyre, aged 10, lives at Gateshead Hall with her maternal uncle's
family, the Reeds, as a result of her uncle's dying wish. Jane was
orphaned several years earlier when her parents died of typhus. Mr.
Reed, Jane's uncle, was the only member of the Reed family who was
ever kind to Jane. Jane's aunt, Sarah Reed, dislikes her, abuses her,
and treats her as a burden, and Mrs. Reed discourages her three
children from associating with Jane. Jane, as a result, becomes
defensive against her cruel judgement. The nursemaid, Bessie, proves
to be Jane's only ally in the household, even though Bessie
occasionally scolds Jane harshly. Excluded from the family
activities, Jane leads an unhappy childhood, with only a doll and
books with which to entertain herself.
One
day, as punishment for defending herself against her cousin John
Reed, Jane is relegated to the red room in which her late uncle had
died; there, she faints from panic after she thinks she has seen his
ghost. The red room is significant because it lays the grounds for
the "ambiguous relationship between parents and children"
which plays out in all of Jane's future relationships with male
figures throughout the novel.[7] She is subsequently attended to by
the kindly apothecary Mr. Lloyd to whom Jane reveals how unhappy she
is living at Gateshead Hall. He recommends to Mrs. Reed that Jane
should be sent to school, an idea Mrs. Reed happily supports. Mrs.
Reed then enlists the aid of the harsh Mr. Brocklehurst, who is the
director of Lowood Institution, a charity school for girls, to enroll
Jane. Mrs. Reed cautions Mr. Brocklehurst that Jane has a "tendency
for deceit", which he interprets as Jane being a liar. Before
Jane leaves, however, she confronts Mrs. Reed and declares that
she'll never call her "aunt" again. Jane also tells Mrs.
Reed and her daughters, Georgiana and Eliza, that they are the ones
who are deceitful, and that she will tell everyone at Lowood how
cruelly the Reeds treated her. Mrs. Reed is hurt badly by these
words, but does not have the courage or tenacity to show this.[8]
Lowood
Institution
At
Lowood Institution, a school for poor and orphaned girls, Jane soon
finds that life is harsh. She attempts to fit in and befriends an
older girl, Helen Burns. During a class session, her new friend is
criticised for her poor stance and dirty nails, and receives a
lashing as a result. Later, Jane tells Helen that she could not have
borne such public humiliation, but Helen philosophically tells her
that it would be her duty to do so. Jane then tells Helen how badly
she has been treated by Mrs. Reed, but Helen tells her that she would
be far happier if she did not bear grudges. In due course, Mr.
Brocklehurst visits the school. While Jane is trying to make herself
look inconspicuous, she accidentally drops her slate, thereby drawing
attention to herself. She is then forced to stand on a stool, and is
branded a sinner and a liar. Later, Miss Temple, the caring
superintendent, facilitates Jane's self-defence and publicly clears
her of any wrongdoing. Helen and Miss Temple are Jane's two main role
models who positively guide her development, despite the harsh
treatment she has received from many others.
The
80 pupils at Lowood are subjected to cold rooms, poor meals, and thin
clothing. Many students fall ill when a typhus epidemic strikes;
Helen dies of consumption in Jane's arms. When Mr. Brocklehurst's
maltreatment of the students is discovered, several benefactors erect
a new building and install a sympathetic management committee to
moderate Mr. Brocklehurst's harsh rule. Conditions at the school then
improve dramatically.
Thornfield
Hall
After
six years as a student and two as a teacher at Lowood, Jane decides
to leave in pursuit of a new life, growing bored of her life at
Lowood. Her friend and confidante, Miss Temple, also leaves after
getting married. Jane advertises her services as a governess in a
newspaper. A housekeeper at Thornfield Hall, Alice Fairfax, replies
to Jane's advertisement. Jane takes the position, teaching Adèle
Varens, a young French girl.
One
night, while Jane is carrying a letter to the post from Thornfield, a
horseman and dog pass her. The horse slips on ice and throws the
rider. Despite the rider's surliness, Jane helps him get back onto
his horse. Later, back at Thornfield, she learns that this man is
Edward Rochester, master of the house. Adèle was left in his care
when her mother abandoned her. It is not immediately apparent whether
Adèle is Rochester's daughter or not.
At
Jane's first meeting with Mr. Rochester, he teases her, accusing her
of bewitching his horse to make him fall. Jane stands up to his
initially arrogant manner, despite his strange behaviour. Mr.
Rochester and Jane soon come to enjoy each other's company, and they
spend many evenings together.
Odd
things start to happen at the house, such as a strange laugh being
heard, a mysterious fire in Mr. Rochester's room (from which Jane
saves Rochester by rousing him and throwing water on him and the
fire), and an attack on a house-guest named Mr. Mason.
After
Jane saves Mr. Rochester from the fire, he thanks her tenderly and
emotionally, and that night Jane feels strange emotions of her own
towards him. The next day however he leaves unexpectedly for a
distant party gathering, and several days later returns with the
whole party, including the beautiful and talented Blanche Ingram.
Jane sees that Blanche and Mr. Rochester favour each other and starts
to feel jealous, particularly because she also sees that Blanche is
snobbish and heartless.
Jane
then receives word that Mrs. Reed has suffered a stroke and is
calling for her. Jane returns to Gateshead and remains there for a
month to tend to her dying aunt. Mrs. Reed confesses to Jane that she
wronged her, bringing forth a letter from Jane's paternal uncle, Mr.
John Eyre, in which he asks for her to live with him and be his heir.
Mrs. Reed admits to telling Mr. Eyre that Jane had died of fever at
Lowood. Soon afterward, Mrs. Reed dies, and Jane helps her cousins
after the funeral before returning to Thornfield.
Back
at Thornfield, Jane broods over Mr. Rochester's rumoured impending
marriage to Blanche Ingram. However, one midsummer evening, Rochester
baits Jane by saying how much he will miss her after getting married
and how she will soon forget him. The normally self-controlled Jane
reveals her feelings for him. Rochester then is sure that Jane is
sincerely in love with him, and he proposes marriage. Jane is at
first skeptical of his sincerity, before accepting his proposal. She
then writes to her Uncle John, telling him of her happy news.
As
she prepares for her wedding, Jane's forebodings arise when a strange
woman sneaks into her room one night and rips Jane's wedding veil in
two. As with the previous mysterious events, Mr. Rochester attributes
the incident to Grace Poole, one of his servants. During the wedding
ceremony, however, Mr. Mason and a lawyer declare that Mr. Rochester
cannot marry because he is already married to Mr. Mason's sister,
Bertha. Mr. Rochester admits this is true but explains that his
father tricked him into the marriage for her money. Once they were
united, he discovered that she was rapidly descending into congenital
madness, and so he eventually locked her away in Thornfield, hiring
Grace Poole as a nurse to look after her. When Grace gets drunk,
Rochester's wife escapes and causes the strange happenings at
Thornfield.
It
turns out that Jane's uncle, Mr. John Eyre, is a friend of Mr.
Mason's and was visited by him soon after Mr. Eyre received Jane's
letter about her impending marriage. After the marriage ceremony is
broken off, Mr. Rochester asks Jane to go with him to the south of
France and live with him as husband and wife, even though they cannot
be married. Jane is tempted but must stay true to her Christian
values and beliefs. Refusing to go against her principles, and
despite her love for Rochester, Jane leaves Thornfield at dawn before
anyone else is up.[9]
Moor
House
Jane
travels as far from Thornfield as she can using the little money she
had previously saved. She accidentally leaves her bundle of
possessions on the coach and is forced to sleep on the moor. She
unsuccessfully attempts to trade her handkerchief and gloves for
food. Exhausted and starving, she eventually makes her way to the
home of Diana and Mary Rivers but is turned away by the housekeeper.
She collapses on the doorstep, preparing for her death. Clergyman St.
John Rivers, Diana and Mary's brother, rescues her. After Jane
regains her health, St. John finds her a teaching position at a
nearby village school. Jane becomes good friends with the sisters,
but St. John remains aloof.
The
sisters leave for governess jobs, and St. John becomes slightly
closer to Jane. St. John learns Jane's true identity and astounds her
by telling her that her uncle, John Eyre, has died and left her his
entire fortune of 20,000 pounds (equivalent to just over $2 million
in 2021[10]). When Jane questions him further, St. John reveals that
John Eyre is also his and his sisters' uncle. They had once hoped for
a share of the inheritance but were left virtually nothing. Jane,
overjoyed by finding that she has living and friendly family members,
insists on sharing the money equally with her cousins, and Diana and
Mary come back to live at Moor House.
Proposals
Thinking
that the pious and conscientious Jane will make a suitable
missionary's wife, St. John asks her to marry him and to go with him
to India, not out of love, but out of duty. Jane initially accepts
going to India but rejects the marriage proposal, suggesting they
travel as brother and sister. As soon as Jane's resolve against
marriage to St. John begins to weaken, she mystically hears Mr.
Rochester's voice calling her name. Jane then returns to Thornfield
to find only blackened ruins. She learns that Mr. Rochester's wife
set the house on fire and died after 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. "Am I hideous, Jane?", he asks. "Very, sir;
you always were, you know", she replies. When Jane assures him
of her love and tells him that she will never leave him, Mr.
Rochester proposes again, and they are married. They live together in
an old house in the woods called Ferndean Manor. Rochester regains
sight in one eye two years after his and Jane's marriage, and he sees
their newborn son.
I did not enjoy this nearly as much as I did back in 2009. The
majority of that is because the writing style just didn't work for me
this time around. It just felt overwrought and over emotional. Much
like Dickens, Charlotte wrote floridly and rather umm, descriptively.
Unlike Dickens, it simply didn't work for me. At all.
As much as I loved Wuthering
Heights last year, I suspect this read through of the
Bronte sisters is going to be my first, and last, time spent with
them. Wuthering caught me in the perfect spot and I doubt
circumstances will so align again. At the same time, I can see why
these are foundational to Classic literature.
This was a very odd read as I hated the style but still appreciated
what Charlotte was doing. Jane Eyre is no saint or milksop. She's a
devil of a child, then an extremely proud young woman who almost
starves to death because of her pride. What she isn't is abrasive,
rude or stupid.
While not getting the highest marks, I was overall satisfied with
this final read. It is good to go out on a good note.
★★★✬☆
