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Jane Eyre (character)
Encyclopedia
Jane Eyre is the hero
ine of Charlotte Brontë
's 1847 novel of the same name
.
in look. She sees herself as "poor, obscure, plain and little". Mr. Rochester once compliments Jane's "hazel eyes and hazel hair", but she tells the reader about Mr. Rochester's error that her eyes are not hazel; they are in fact green.
When Jane is ten, she is sent to Lowood School — a miserable place run by the sadistic clergyman, Mr. Brocklehurst, who preaches a hypocritical religious doctrine. There, Jane makes her first friend, Helen Burns, who warns Jane that she "[thinks] too much of the love of human beings." The students at Lowood are over-taxed and under-fed; moreover, their care and sanitation is bad, and many become ill and die. Helen Burns is one such pupil. As she dies, Helen explains that she "[has] faith [that she is] going to God", and so is unafraid. Jane has trouble comprehending this. "Where is God? What is God?" she asks. "It is true Jane does right, and exerts great moral strength, but it is the strength of a mere heathen mind which is a law unto itself. No Christian
grace is perceptible upon her", Eliza Rigby, writing about Jane Eyre for the Quarterly Review in 1847, would decree. Charles Burkhart
suggested that "love is a religion in Jane Eyre." Rigby may have thought that same about this "anti-Christian composition." Jane spends her childhood searching for love, at Lowood, and cannot find it — though she is liked by one of her teachers, Miss Temple.
Jane stayed at Lowood for eight years, six as a student and two as a teacher.
. She is employed by a Mrs. Alice Fairfax of Thornfield Hall
. Jane assumes that she will be teaching Mrs. Fairfax's child, but learns that Mrs. Fairfax is only the housekeeper of Thornfield. Jane will be teaching Adèle Varens, ward and possibly illegitimate daughter of Edward Rochester, Thornfield's owner. Mrs. Fairfax warns Jane that Rochester is rarely at home, and she will see little of him. One evening, when walking through the mist on the moors, Jane is almost run into by a man on a horse. Veering to avoid Jane, the man falls off; Jane helps him remount, as his ankle is hurt. When Jane returns from her walk, she finds that Mr. Rochester has come home; in fact, Rochester is the man whom she met on the moors. Rochester claims Jane to be a witch, thinking she has bewitched his horse.
Soon Jane and Mr. Rochester fall in love, and Jane agrees to marry him once proclaiming herself as his equal. It turns out, however, that Mr. Rochester is already married; his mentally ill wife Bertha lives hidden in the attic of Thornfield. Distraught and heartbroken, Rochester explains to Jane how he came to be married. After Rochester left college, his father told him of a meeting he'd arranged for his son between Rochester and a young woman named Bertha Mason whose beauty made her the pride of Spanish Town. Rochester set out to meet her and, lured by her wealth and beauty along with the persuasion of the Mason family, married Bertha.
Yet he was not informed that the Mason family carry violent insanity
in their genes, with the last three generations (Bertha's mother and grandmother) succumbing to it. After Bertha's condition arose, her husband locked her in an attic and placed her in the care of Mrs Grace Poole. However Bertha has managed to escape whenever Mrs Poole gets drunk and causes havoc in the house. By nearly marrying Jane, Rochester almost committed bigamy.
It has been said that "Jane is determined to find [her happiness] here on Earth", rather than in Heaven, as Helen assumed she would. However, though Jane loves Rochester, she has too much self-respect to be his mistress
. Unsure of what her future holds, Jane sneaks away from Thornfield. She travels some time in a coach, and accidentally leaves her things in it, when she disembarks. Jane wanders for a few days on the moors, before collapsing — hungry, depressed, and ill. She is discovered and saved by a young minister, St John Rivers. He takes her to his sisters, Mary and Diana; they nurse Jane back to health. When well, she becomes a teacher to the local farm girls — under the alias of Jane Elliot.
St John Rivers, in love with a local gentlewoman, Rosamund Oliver claims she would not make him a good wife. St John Rivers later discovers Jane's true identity and tells her that her uncle John Eyre (who resides in Madeira) has died leaving her a twenty thousand pound fortune. It is then explained by St John that John Eyre was his mother's brother, meaning St John, Mary and Diana Rivers are Jane's cousins. Jane decides she would not be happy with such a large fortune so plans to divide it equally between herself, St John, Mary and Diana. St John then asks Jane to marry him as she would make a good missionary's wife. Rivers wants not passion in marriage, but a woman who would be a good worker. It is his life-long ambition to become a missionary
. Jane, to this purpose, learns Hindustani
; however, whilst she is willing to travel with St. John as his assistant, she will not marry him as she knows that they do not love each other, and will not enter into such an unhappy state of affairs.
One night, however, Jane hears Rochester's voice calling "Jane, Jane, Jane!" Desperate to see him, Jane rushes back to Thornfield only to find that it has been burnt down. It turns out that Bertha, some nights after Jane's disappearance, set fire to the place, before jumping off of the roof to her death. Rochester tried to save her but could not stop his wife from leaping. Rochester has been badly hurt by a falling beam, in the fire. He has gone blind and lost his left hand. Jane travels to Ferndean, Rochester's other house, where he is staying, looking "desperate and brooding." Rochester and Jane marry. At the end of the story, Rochester is beginning to get some of his sight back, and when his and Jane's first son is born, Rochester can see him.
may have created the character of Jane Eyre as a means of coming to terms with elements of her own life."
By all accounts, Brontë's "homelife was difficult." Jane's school, Lowood, is said to be based on the Clergy Daughters School at Cowan Bridge
, where two of Brontë's sisters, Maria
and Elizabeth, died.
Brontë declared that "I will show you a heroine as plain and as small as myself", in creating Jane Eyre.
When she was twenty, Brontë wrote to Robert Southey
for his thoughts on writing. "Literature cannot be the business of a woman's life, and it ought not to be", he said. When Jane Eyre was published about ten years later, it was purportedly written by Jane, and called Jane Eyre: An Autobiography, with Currer Bell (Brontë) merely as editor. And yet, Brontë still published as Currer Bell, a man.
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
ine of Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood, whose novels are English literature standards...
's 1847 novel of the same name
Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published in London, England, in 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. with the title Jane Eyre. An Autobiography under the pen name "Currer Bell." The first American edition was released the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York...
.
Appearance
Jane Eyre is described as plain, with an elfElf
An elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
in look. She sees herself as "poor, obscure, plain and little". Mr. Rochester once compliments Jane's "hazel eyes and hazel hair", but she tells the reader about Mr. Rochester's error that her eyes are not hazel; they are in fact green.
Childhood
Jane's parents, Mr. Eyre and Mrs. Jane Eyre (née Reed), died not long after her birth. Jane is adopted by her Uncle Reed, her mother's brother. Before he dies, he makes his wife, Mrs. Sarah Gibson-Reed, promise to care for Jane. Mrs. Reed dislikes Jane, and treats her ill, while spoiling her own children, John, Eliza and Georgiana. John Reed is particularly horrible to Jane, often hitting his younger, smaller cousin, whom he calls an "animal".When Jane is ten, she is sent to Lowood School — a miserable place run by the sadistic clergyman, Mr. Brocklehurst, who preaches a hypocritical religious doctrine. There, Jane makes her first friend, Helen Burns, who warns Jane that she "[thinks] too much of the love of human beings." The students at Lowood are over-taxed and under-fed; moreover, their care and sanitation is bad, and many become ill and die. Helen Burns is one such pupil. As she dies, Helen explains that she "[has] faith [that she is] going to God", and so is unafraid. Jane has trouble comprehending this. "Where is God? What is God?" she asks. "It is true Jane does right, and exerts great moral strength, but it is the strength of a mere heathen mind which is a law unto itself. No Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
grace is perceptible upon her", Eliza Rigby, writing about Jane Eyre for the Quarterly Review in 1847, would decree. Charles Burkhart
Charles Burkhart
Charles Burkhart is a retired musicologist, theorist, composer, and pianist. He is a scholar in Schenkerian analysis.-Bibliography:*Burkhart, Charles and Rothstein, William . Anthology for Musical Analysis. ISBN 9780495916079....
suggested that "love is a religion in Jane Eyre." Rigby may have thought that same about this "anti-Christian composition." Jane spends her childhood searching for love, at Lowood, and cannot find it — though she is liked by one of her teachers, Miss Temple.
Jane stayed at Lowood for eight years, six as a student and two as a teacher.
Adulthood
When Jane is eighteen, her mentor, Miss Temple, marries and leaves Lowood. Jane decides to advertise for work as a governessGoverness
A governess is a girl or woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In contrast to a nanny or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not on meeting their physical needs...
. She is employed by a Mrs. Alice Fairfax of Thornfield Hall
Thornfield Hall
Thornfield Hall is the home of the male romantic lead, Edward Rochester, in the 1847 novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. Thornfield Hall is also where a large part of the action takes place....
. Jane assumes that she will be teaching Mrs. Fairfax's child, but learns that Mrs. Fairfax is only the housekeeper of Thornfield. Jane will be teaching Adèle Varens, ward and possibly illegitimate daughter of Edward Rochester, Thornfield's owner. Mrs. Fairfax warns Jane that Rochester is rarely at home, and she will see little of him. One evening, when walking through the mist on the moors, Jane is almost run into by a man on a horse. Veering to avoid Jane, the man falls off; Jane helps him remount, as his ankle is hurt. When Jane returns from her walk, she finds that Mr. Rochester has come home; in fact, Rochester is the man whom she met on the moors. Rochester claims Jane to be a witch, thinking she has bewitched his horse.
Soon Jane and Mr. Rochester fall in love, and Jane agrees to marry him once proclaiming herself as his equal. It turns out, however, that Mr. Rochester is already married; his mentally ill wife Bertha lives hidden in the attic of Thornfield. Distraught and heartbroken, Rochester explains to Jane how he came to be married. After Rochester left college, his father told him of a meeting he'd arranged for his son between Rochester and a young woman named Bertha Mason whose beauty made her the pride of Spanish Town. Rochester set out to meet her and, lured by her wealth and beauty along with the persuasion of the Mason family, married Bertha.
Yet he was not informed that the Mason family carry violent insanity
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
in their genes, with the last three generations (Bertha's mother and grandmother) succumbing to it. After Bertha's condition arose, her husband locked her in an attic and placed her in the care of Mrs Grace Poole. However Bertha has managed to escape whenever Mrs Poole gets drunk and causes havoc in the house. By nearly marrying Jane, Rochester almost committed bigamy.
It has been said that "Jane is determined to find [her happiness] here on Earth", rather than in Heaven, as Helen assumed she would. However, though Jane loves Rochester, she has too much self-respect to be his mistress
Mistress (lover)
A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...
. Unsure of what her future holds, Jane sneaks away from Thornfield. She travels some time in a coach, and accidentally leaves her things in it, when she disembarks. Jane wanders for a few days on the moors, before collapsing — hungry, depressed, and ill. She is discovered and saved by a young minister, St John Rivers. He takes her to his sisters, Mary and Diana; they nurse Jane back to health. When well, she becomes a teacher to the local farm girls — under the alias of Jane Elliot.
St John Rivers, in love with a local gentlewoman, Rosamund Oliver claims she would not make him a good wife. St John Rivers later discovers Jane's true identity and tells her that her uncle John Eyre (who resides in Madeira) has died leaving her a twenty thousand pound fortune. It is then explained by St John that John Eyre was his mother's brother, meaning St John, Mary and Diana Rivers are Jane's cousins. Jane decides she would not be happy with such a large fortune so plans to divide it equally between herself, St John, Mary and Diana. St John then asks Jane to marry him as she would make a good missionary's wife. Rivers wants not passion in marriage, but a woman who would be a good worker. It is his life-long ambition to become a missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
. Jane, to this purpose, learns Hindustani
Hindustani language
Hindi-Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language and the lingua franca of North India and Pakistan. It is also known as Hindustani , and historically, as Hindavi or Rekhta...
; however, whilst she is willing to travel with St. John as his assistant, she will not marry him as she knows that they do not love each other, and will not enter into such an unhappy state of affairs.
One night, however, Jane hears Rochester's voice calling "Jane, Jane, Jane!" Desperate to see him, Jane rushes back to Thornfield only to find that it has been burnt down. It turns out that Bertha, some nights after Jane's disappearance, set fire to the place, before jumping off of the roof to her death. Rochester tried to save her but could not stop his wife from leaping. Rochester has been badly hurt by a falling beam, in the fire. He has gone blind and lost his left hand. Jane travels to Ferndean, Rochester's other house, where he is staying, looking "desperate and brooding." Rochester and Jane marry. At the end of the story, Rochester is beginning to get some of his sight back, and when his and Jane's first son is born, Rochester can see him.
Charlotte as Jane
It has been said that "Charlotte BrontëCharlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood, whose novels are English literature standards...
may have created the character of Jane Eyre as a means of coming to terms with elements of her own life."
By all accounts, Brontë's "homelife was difficult." Jane's school, Lowood, is said to be based on the Clergy Daughters School at Cowan Bridge
Cowan Bridge
Cowan Bridge is a village in the English county of Lancashire.It is south-east of the town of Kirkby Lonsdale where the main A65 road crosses the Leck Beck...
, where two of Brontë's sisters, Maria
Maria Brontë
Maria Brontë was the eldest daughter of Patrick Brontë and Maria Branwell, a part of the Brontë family, and the older sister of Charlotte, Emily and Anne. She was born in Hartshead, Yorkshire.- Early life and education :...
and Elizabeth, died.
Brontë declared that "I will show you a heroine as plain and as small as myself", in creating Jane Eyre.
When she was twenty, Brontë wrote to Robert Southey
Robert Southey
Robert Southey was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the so-called "Lake Poets", and Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843...
for his thoughts on writing. "Literature cannot be the business of a woman's life, and it ought not to be", he said. When Jane Eyre was published about ten years later, it was purportedly written by Jane, and called Jane Eyre: An Autobiography, with Currer Bell (Brontë) merely as editor. And yet, Brontë still published as Currer Bell, a man.