Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë
Setting: Early 19th century, England. The novel takes place over thirty years and in five distinct
locations: Gateshead, Lowood School, Thornfield Hall, Moor House, and Ferndean.
Characters
 Jane Eyre: The protagonist. Jane transforms from a hardened, realistic girl to an
independent and bold woman trying to make a living. Because Jane is plain and has no
affinity for the beautiful, she is disdained by typical Victorian society.
 Mrs. Reed/ Eliza, John, and Georgiana Reed: Jane’s aunt and cousins. Mrs. Reed
begrudgingly cares for Jane after her sister and brother-in-law die. Aunt Reed has no love
for Jane, and the children torture her endlessly. Later in life, Georgiana attempts to befriend
Jane, Eliza becomes a nun, and John commits suicide.
 Bessie: Jane’s childhood caretaker, who shows some affection for Jane.
 Mr. Breckenridge: The headmaster of Lowood. He lives a lavish and privileged lifestyle
while the students are forced to live in poverty.
 Mrs. Temple: Jane’s favorite teacher, who acts as a surrogate mother for Jane at Lowood.
Mrs. Temple helps Jane clear her name after Mr. Breckenridge accuses her of obstinacy.
 Helen Burns: Jane’s only friend at Lowood; Helen is very passive and centered in a way
that Jane does not understand. She dies from consumption (tuberculosis).
 Mr. Edward Rochester: The owner of Thornfield Hall, and the alleged father of Adele. He
employs Jane as a governess and falls in love with her. Jane enjoys having conversations
with Rochester and falls in love with him as well.
 Mrs. Fairfax: The housekeeper at Thornfield. She is very kind and well-intentioned, but not
very good company for Jane.
 Adele Varens: Jane’s student at Thornfield. Adele’s mother is a famous French dancer with
whom Rochester was involved. He does not believe that Adele is his daughter, but takes her
in nonetheless.
 Blanche Ingram: A friend of Rochester’s, who visits Thornfield Hall. Jane believes that
Blanche will marry Rochester, because she is very beautiful and proper.
 Bertha Mason: Rochester’s wife. She is kept locked up in the third story of Thornfield
because she is “crazy” and violent. She was born to a wealthy Creole family.
 St. John Rivers: Takes Jane in after she flees from Thornfield. He is an extremely serious
and controlling minister. St. John decides to go to India and asks Jane to accompany him as
his wife. Through a series of coincidences, Jane and St. John turn out to be cousins.
 Diana and Mary Rivers: St. John’s sisters. They are intelligent and independent, and they
support Jane while she is living at Moor House.
Plot Summary
Jane is orphaned at a young age, and is taken in by her aunt and uncle. While living at
Gateshead, she is mistreated and emotionally abused. Her cousins, especially John Reed, taunt
and tease her while their mother blatantly ignores the situation. Bessie, Jane’s caretaker, is the
only person to show any type of affection for Jane. After Jane retaliates against John, she is sent
to the Red Room. While confined in her deceased uncle’s bedroom, she goes into a state of terror
and faints. The family doctor, Mr. Lloyd, suggests that Jane is sent away to boarding school.
After a visit from the headmaster, Mr. Brocklehurst, Jane is unceremoniously shipped away.
Jane travels fifty miles to Lowood Boarding School, an institution that claims to function
under the Christian principle of poverty. The school provides a miserable childhood for Jane; she
is malnourished, under-clothed, and very lonely. The only companion she has is Helen Burns,
who manages to endure life with extreme patience, looking only towards death as a relief. When
the headmaster, Mr. Brocklehurst, visits the school, Jane drops her slate and is singled out by Mr.
Brocklehurst. He makes her stand in the middle of all of her classmates while he ridicules her;
although she is mortified at first, she eventually gains a sense of martyrdom and confidence.
Additionally, her favorite teacher, Mrs. Temple, clears Jane of all wrongdoing and, unlike the
other teachers, listens to her concerns and shows her kindness.
Helen Burns becomes ill from consumption. Jane visits Helen on her deathbed; Helen
dies in Jane’s arms. Additionally, many girls fall sick to typhus fever. An investigation reveals
that the fever was caused by the horrid conditions; Mr. Brocklehurst is held responsible and loses
his position. The school is taken over by more benevolent gentlemen and the living conditions
improve substantially. Jane finishes her studies and then becomes a teacher for two years.
Jane becomes tired of her monotonous life and advertises herself as a governess. She is
hired as Adele’s teacher and quickly moves to Thornfield Hall. While Mrs. Fairfax is showing
Jane around the house, they hear laughter from the attic. Mrs. Fairfax says that the voice is Grace
Poole’s, a servant who does her sewing on the third floor. In the spring, Edward Rochester visits
the country estate. Jane and Rochester talk easily about life, and greatly enjoy each other’s
company. One night, Jane hears the same laugh again and goes out of her bedroom to discover
Rochester’s room entirely engulfed in flames. After rescuing Rochester from the fire, Jane tries
to figure out who started the fire; Rochester claims that Grace Poole accidentally upset a candle.
After Grace Poole continues to work at Thornfield, Jane concludes that she has been deceived.
Life continues on as usual until Rochester brings home a party of wealthy gentlemen and ladies.
Rochester dotes upon Blanche Ingram, a beautiful woman who is available for marriage.
Jane is heartbroken and confused, because she has unwillingly fallen in love with Rochester. One
evening, an old friend of Rochester’s, Mr. Mason, arrives at Thornfield to discuss private
matters. His arrival is overshadowed by the appearance of a gypsy, who volunteers to read
everyone’s fortunes. Jane is the last person to get her fortune read, and she explains that she
believes that Rochester and Blanche Ingram will be married. Rochester reveals that he disguised
himself as the fortune-teller.
In the middle of the night, Jane hears a piercing cry from the third story. Rochester brings
Jane upstairs, where she finds a very bloody Mr. Mason. She bandages all of his wounds, many
which were bite marks, and attempts to figure out the cause—but to no avail.
Soon thereafter, a servant from Gateshead arrives to inform Jane of John Reed’s suicide
and Mrs. Reed’s sickness. Jane decides to return to her childhood home. Mrs. Reed repents to
Jane on her deathbed, and gives her a letter from John Reed, her brother-in-law. In the letter,
John Reed explains that he wishes to entrust his inheritance to Jane, his niece, because he is
unmarried and childless. After Mrs. Reed dies, Jane returns to Thornfield. She is very excited to
see Rochester again; however, he corners her into a conversation about marriage and she is
overcome with emotion. She attempts to run away, but he insists on following her. After Jane
confesses that she is upset by his marriage to Blanche Ingram, Rochester denies her claims. He
asks her to marry him, and Jane accepts his proposal.
Soon after, Rochester takes Jane to town and they go shopping. Jane is very
uncomfortable with the new clothes that he buys for her, because she is used to very plain and
pure dresses. Jane and Rochester wait a month to get married. The night before the wedding, a
woman, who rips apart Jane’s wedding veil, visits Jane. Rochester blames the incident on Grace
Pool and suggests that she sleep with Adele for the night. The next morning, the couple goes to
town to marry. Just as they are saying their vows, Mr. Mason appears and reveals that Rochester
is already married to his sister, Bertha Mason. Bertha Mason, not Grace Poole, is the insane
woman living in the third floor. After this revelation, Jane refuses to marry Rochester and visits
the insane woman living in the attic. Rochester reveals that Bertha was responsible for the fire in
his bedroom. Jane flees Thornfield in the middle of the night.
Jane finds herself alone in the world yet again, without any food or money. She resorts to
sleeping outside and begging in small towns for spare bits of food. After traveling a long
distance, Jane arrives at Moor House. She collapses on the steps and is nursed back to health by
Mary and Diana Rivers. Their brother, St. John Rivers, is the local parson. When Jane returns to
health, she stays with at Moor House and continues her studies. However, Jane soon asks to
provide for herself. St. John asks Jane to be the headmistress of the newly established village
school for girls. Meanwhile, the Rivers find out that their Uncle John had died, but had decided
to bequeath all of his inheritance to an unknown relative.
Jane puts all of her energy into the new village school. She moves out of Moor House and
into the town of Morton, where she is entirely financed by the wealthy Mr. Oliver. One day, she
receives correspondence from Mrs. Fairfax about her Uncle John’s death. In his will, he left Jane
20,000 pounds. It is revealed that St. John is actually Jane’s cousin—his mother’s brother is
Jane’s father. (Jane’s mother is Mrs. Reed’s late husband’s sister.) Jane decides to give five
thousand pounds to each of her newly found cousins, so that the inheritance is spread evenly
between them.
St. John decides to become a missionary to India. He begins to prepare for his voyage and
insists that Jane do so as well. However, St. John becomes increasingly more and more
controlling and vicious with Jane. Before he departs for India, he asks Jane to accompany him as
his wife. Jane refuses because she knows that she would never be happy. St. John gets extremely
upset and starts threatening her. The next day, after another proposal, Jane begins to give in.
However, she suddenly hears Edward Rochester’s voice shouting her name. Jane responds and
decides to return to Thornfield.
Upon her arrival at Thornfield, she discovers that the once-beautiful mansion was now a
ruin. The villagers explain that there was a massive fire, probably started by Bertha Mason.
Rochester woke up all of the servants and got them out of the house. Although he tried to save
his wife, she jumped out of the window and fell to her death. Rochester lost all of his vision in
the fire, so he moved to Ferndean, a secluded country estate.
Jane finds Rochester at Ferndean. He confesses that he heard Jane’s response to his
troubled shouting. They decide to marry. After two years, Rochester regains vision in one of his
eyes, and can even see his first-born son.
Important Devices/ Motifs
 Victorian social structure: Jane struggles to fit in with Rochester’s friends, because the
rigid Victorian social structure dictated that she was not wealthy enough to be of
importance, although she was as intelligent and educated as everyone in the party. The
treatment of Bertha Mason also shows how difference was disdained by society.
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Weather: Weather parallels Jane’s actions and mood; it is misty and wet when Jane
arrives at Lowood, there is a lightening storm after Rochester’s marriage proposal, and
the weather turns dry and hot when Jane runs away from Thornfield.
Fire and Ice: Fire represents passion and spirit, two characteristics necessary in Jane’s
life. The fire set in Rochester’s bedroom is also foreshadowing for the revelation of his
sordid past and marriage. Ice relates to loneliness and desolation; St. John’s stiffness is
often equated to ice.
Surrogate Mothers: Both Bessie and Mrs. Temple fulfill the role of Jane’s surrogate
mother; Bessie sings her lullabies and tells her stories, while Mrs. Temple listens to
Jane’s concerns. They contrast with Mrs. Reed, who refuses to treat Jane as her own.
Themes
 The nature of love/ marriage: Jane encounters two marriage proposals: Rochester’s,
which was fueled by love, and St. John’s, which was based purely on convenience. Jane
rejects Rochester on moral ground, even though she was in love with him. Conversely,
Jane rejects St. John because, despite having pure moral intentions, she was not in love
and would not have been happy. Ultimately, Jane chooses love and happiness
(Rochester) over stability and piety (St. John).
 The struggle between earthly and godly pleasures: Jane struggles with Christian
values throughout the novel. At Lowood, she envies Helen Burns, who accepts all
transgressions with mild patience. Jane cannot accept this method as her own, although
she constantly tries to improve herself. Rochester and St. John are also foils to each other;
Rochester sets aside morality and pursues his love for Jane, while St. John uses his
morality as an excuse for Jane’s love.
 Feminism: Throughout the novel, Jane functions almost entirely without the support of
men. Instead, she makes a living through teaching and other means. She refuses to allow
love to cloud her morality or happiness. Although she ultimately chooses the married life,
it was on her own terms and without the persuasion of men. Strong female characters,
like Mrs. Temple and Diana and Mary Rivers, also emphasize the theme. Many of Jane’s
thoughts mirror feminist ideals as well.