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Description
Jane Eyre is a first-person narrative of the title character, a small, plain-faced, intelligent and honest English orphan. The novel goes through five distinct stages: Jane's childhood at Gateshead, where she is abused by her aunt and cousins; her education at Lowood School, where she acquires... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis
Summary
Orphaned as an infant, Jane Eyre lives with at Gateshead with her aunt, Sarah Reed, as the novel opens. Jane is ten years old, an outsider in the Reed family. Her female cousins, Georgiana and Eliza, tolerate, but don't love her. Their brother, John, is more blatantly hostile to Jane,... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Cast of Characters/Important People
- Jane Eyre: The protagonist and title character, orphaned as a baby. She is a plain-featured, small and reserved but talented, empathetic, hard-working, honest (not to say blunt), and passionate girl. Skilled at studying, drawing, and teaching, she works as a governess at Thornfield Hall and falls in love with her wealthy employer, Edward Rochester.
- Mr. Reed: Jane's maternal uncle. He 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 resides at Gateshead. Because her husband insists, Mrs. Reed adopts Jane. Jane, however, receives nothing but neglect and abuse at her hands.
- Bertha Mason: Daughter of a wealthy Creole Jamaican family
- Edward Fairfax Rochester: The owner of Thornfield Manor and guardian of Adèle. He possesses a strong physique and great wealth, but his face is very plain and his moods prone to frequent change.
- Helen Burns: An angelic fellow-student and best friend of Jane's at Lowood School. Several years older than the ten-year-old Jane, she stoically accepts all the cruelties of the teachers and the deficiencies of the school's room and board. She refuses to complain, believing in the New Testament teaching that one should love one's enemies and turn the other cheek.
- 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.
- Mr. Brocklehurst: The arrogant, hypocritical clergyman who serves as headmaster and treasurer of Lowood School. His family leads an opulent lifestyle. At the same time, he preaches a doctrine of Christian austerity and self-sacrifice to everyone in hearing.
- Miss Maria Temple: The kind, attractive young superintendent of Lowood School. She recognizes Mr. Brocklehurst for the cruel hypocrite he is, and treats Jane and Helen with respect and compassion.
- St. John Eyre Rivers: A clergyman, he is a devout, almost fanatical Christian of Calvinistic leanings. He is charitable, honest, patient, forgiving, scrupulous, austere and deeply moral; with these qualities alone, he would have made a saint. But he is also proud, cold, exacting, controlling and unwilling to listen to dissenting opinions.
- Blanche Ingram: A beautiful but self-absorbed, cruel and shallow socialite whom Mr. Rochester appears to court. Blanche despises the rather dowdy protagonist because she is a governess.
- Mrs. Alice Fairfax: An elderly widow and housekeeper of Thornfield Manor. She treats Jane kindly and respectfully.
- Adèle Varens: A naive, vivacious and rather spoiled French child to whom Jane is governess at Thornfield. She is Rochester's ward because her mother, Céline Varens, an opportunistic French opera singer and dancer, was Rochester's mistress
Memorable Quotes
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“If people were always kind and obedient to those who are cruel and unjust; the wicked people would have it all their own way: they would never feel afraid, and so they would never alter, but would grow worse and worse.”
Jane Eyre -
“If all the world hated you, and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved you, and absolved you from guilt, you would not be without friends.”
Helen Burns - Show all quotations from this book (warning: contains spoilers)
First Sentence
A PREFACE to the first edition of "Jane Eyre" being unnecessary, I gave none : this second edition demands a few words both of acknowledgement and miscellaneous remark.
Table of Contents
Glossary
- Burgh: An incorporated town with some degree of independence.
- Charnel: A room in which dead bodies and bones are deposited.
- Convolvuli: Any plant belonging to the Morning Glory family, characterized by twining plants and trumpet-shaped flowers.
- Interlocutrice: A female individual who takes part in a conversation.
Authors & Contributors
- Charlotte Bronte (Author)
- Emma Fielding
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