MATERIALS

• Lecture:  Victorian Art and Introduction to Jane Eyre (PDF)
• Paintings for Art Analysis Assignment (PDF)

Author Biography

Charlotte Brontë, born on April 21, 1816, was the third child of Maria Branwell Brontë and the Reverend Patrick Brontë. Originally of Irish descent, the Brontës moved to Haworth, a village on the Yorkshire moors, when Patrick Brontë was appointed rector of the Haworth parish church. The Haworth Parsonage, set high on a hill, overlooked the church graveyard on one side and the wild desolate moors of Yorkshire on the other.

It was in this environment that the six Brontë children, Maria, Elizabeth, Charlotte, Branwell (the only son), Emily, and Anne formed their own imaginary world, creating stories and poems inspired by a box of toy soldiers. The written word was valued in the Brontë household as the Reverend aspired to literary success, and the small library in his study was readily available to the children.

Tragedy struck the family early and persistently. Soon after the move to Haworth, Maria Branwell Brontë, exhausted from bearing six children in seven years, died of cancer after a long illness. Charlotte was only five years old.

The Reverend made several unsuccessful attempts to remarry, and eventually called his sister-in-law Elizabeth to Haworth to help raise the children.

In 1824, Maria, eleven years old, and Elizabeth, ten, were sent to a new school for the daughters of clergymen at Cowan Bridge. Charlotte, eight, and Emily, six, joined them that same year. Due to the unsanitary and harsh conditions of the school, a typhoid epidemic occurred. Maria and Elizabeth both died of tuberculosis. Charlotte and Emily were brought home immediately.

In 1831, Charlotte was again sent away to be educated–at Roe Head, an exclusive school fifteen miles from Haworth. After less than a year, she returned home to teach her sisters, then, in 1835, returned to Roe Head as a teacher, only to be called home again when Aunt Elizabeth died. For a brief time she worked as a governess, then returned home to Haworth, and for the next few years tutored her sisters, Emily and Anne, while continuing to write.

At the age of twenty–six, Charlotte, hoping to open her own school in Haworth, enrolled in a small private school in Brussels to study foreign languages. There she formed a one–sided romantic attachment to the married headmaster, Constantin Heger, and continued to write him letters after returning to England.

In 1846, after discovering that Emily and Anne had been writing poetry, Charlotte convinced her sisters to self–publish a book of their poems. Under the pseudonyms Currer (Charlotte), Ellis (Emily), and Acton (Anne) Bell, they published their first book of poems. Only two copies sold, but that did not deter them from each writing a novel. Charlotte’s Jane Eyre was published in 1847, followed by Anne’s Agnes Gray, and Emily’s Wuthering Heights.

Success came immediately to Charlotte, and she continued to write throughout her life. Shirley was published in 1849, Villette was published in 1853, and The Professor was published after her death, in 1857.

Unfortunately, Charlotte’s siblings Emily, Anne, and Branwell were all dead by 1849, and Charlotte was left alone at Haworth to care for her father. In 1852, Charlotte accepted a marriage proposal from her father’s curate, Arthur Bell Nichols, and continued to live at Haworth. In 1855, pregnant with her first child, Charlotte caught a chill while walking on the moors, and died on March 31, at the age of thirty-nine.

Narrative
Jane Eyre is written in the first person, and told from the viewpoint of its main character, Jane Eyre. As part of her first-person narrative, Bronte uses one of the oldest conventions in English fiction: this novel is allegedly a memoir written by a real woman named Jane Eyre and edited by Currer Bell (Charlotte Bronte's pseudonym). (Indeed, the full title of the book is Jane Eyre: An Autobiography. As part of this convention, the narrator occasionally addresses the reader directly with the word "reader.") Modern readers know, of course, that this is simply a convention, and accept it as such.

Although the first-person viewpoint means that the narrative scope is somewhat restricted, at times the narrator of Jane Eyre seems more omniscient (aware and insightful) than a typical first-person narrator. Much of the action seems to unfold naturally. In part, this may be because the story is told in retrospect. That is, in Bronte's narrative technique, the action is not happening as it is being told, but has already happened. As in many traditional first-person narratives, the narrator in Jane Eyre describes other characters astutely, both their external appearance and their inner personalities. There are also passages in which the narrator offers particular observations and opinions about life—observations and opinions that sometimes seem as if they are coming from the author. Yet the novel's suspense relies on the fact that the narrator is not entirely omniscient—or at least on the fact that she does not reveal key information until the point in the chronology of events when Jane herself became aware of this information. For example, the narrative does not report that Rochester is married and that his wife is locked away upstairs until the moment in the wedding ceremony when other characters come forth with this information. Similarly, Jane lives with the Rivers for some time before she, and the reader, learn that they are her cousins.

Setting
The action of the book takes place in northern England sometime in the early- to mid-nineteenth century, and covers a span of about a dozen years. Bronte does not give specific year-dates for the incidents in the book, nor does she refer to contemporary historical events. Scholars generally assume that Jane Eyre's "autobiography" parallels Charlotte Bronte's life at the same age. Because the narrative frequently mentions specific months and seasons, the reader is rarely in doubt as to the exact time of year a particular incident is taking place. This precision helps give the book a more realistic feeling.

Bronte uses a succession of several main settings—primarily, individual houses—for the plot's action. She describes the settings vividly, thereby creating a particular atmosphere as well as giving the illusion of realism. Moreover, setting is used in a way that gives the novel structural unity and variety. Each setting or grouping of settings corresponds with a distinct phase of Jane Eyre's life.

Among the novel's main settings are Gateshead Hall, the home of Jane's aunt (by marriage), with whom the orphaned girl is living at the beginning of the book. At the age of ten, Jane is sent to Lowood Institution, a charity school for impoverished orphans. From there, at age eighteen Jane goes to Thornfield Hall to serve as a governess. When she learns the secret of Mr. Rochester's marriage to Bertha, she flees across the moors to Moor House, where she is taken in by the Reverend St. John Rivers. Toward the end of the book she finds Mr. Rochester at his other home, Ferndean Manor—Thornfield having been destroyed in a fire set by Bertha during Jane's absence.

Bronte does not use the real names of her locations. However, scholars have identified a number of real places as models for the settings in the book. Lowood Institution is believed to be based on the Clergy Daughters' School at Cowan Bridge, in Yorkshire, which Bronte attended as a girl. Thornfield Hall may be modeled on two different manor houses with which Bronte was familiar. The first, called Norton Conyers, is near the city of Ripon in North Yorkshire. North Lees Hall, a large, forbidding-looking stone manor house in Derbyshire, also seems to fit the description of Thornfield. In 1846 Bronte spent three weeks in the village of Heathersage, in Derbyshire, visiting her old school friend Ellen Nussey. Just before Bronte left to return to her home at Haworth, Ellen's brother, the local vicar, conducted a funeral service for a man named Thomas Eyre. The Eyre family was prominent in the area, and Bronte would most likely also have seen the name on various memorials in the church. North Lees Hall is nearby. Local history books recount that the first mistress at North Lees Hall, one Agnes Ashurst, was insane and was kept locked in an upstairs room. This woman died in a fire, just as Bertha does in the novel. (There is a similar legend about Norton Conyers.) In this area, visible from the vicarage where Bronte stayed, is another manor house called Moorseats—believed to be the model for Moor House.

Regardless of the factual bases of her settings, Bronte's descriptions of these settings, and of the surrounding countryside, are always exceptionally vivid. These descriptions help the reader visualize the places where the action is taking place. They also create a particular mood and atmosphere. Bronte takes stock Gothic descriptive elements (clouds, moonlight, stormy weather, dark hallways) and gives them a particularity that transcends the limitations of the Gothic genre.

Structure
Addressing the reader at the beginning of chapter 11, Jane remarks that "a new chapter in a novel is something like a new scene in a play." Jane Eyre is divided into thirty-eight chapters. More significantly, however, the novel can be seen in three distinct parts. Each of these parts traces a pattern of conflict and resolution (or rather, until the work's conclusion, partial resolution); Jane is faced with particular obstacles and opportunities. Running through each of these sections is Jane's effort to find or establish a true home.

The first part (comprised of chapters 1 through 10), covers Jane's childhood and schooling. These chapters are set at Gateshead Hall and at Lowood Institution. The major characters include Mrs. Reed and her children, Mr. Brocklehurst, Helen Burns, and Miss Temple. The main conflicts and incidents include Jane's rebellion against Mrs. Reed and her friendship with the fatally ill Helen.

Chapters 10 through 27 tell of Jane's life as a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she falls in love with Edward Rochester. Apart from Jane herself, Mr. Rochester is the central character in this section. Mrs. Fairfax, Adele, Blanche Ingram, Grace Poole, Bertha Mason, and Mr. Mason also have significant roles. The dramatic action in this section centers on Jane's growing love for Mr. Rochester (and vice versa), Jane's fear that Rochester will marry Blanche, and a series of strange incidents that occur at Thornfield.

Finally, chapters 28 through the end of the book center on Jane's life after she has fled Thornfield. The action here takes place in the countryside and at Moor House and Moorton. The Reverend St. John Rivers is the other main character here, along with his two sisters. Although Rochester does not reappear until the end of the book, his presence remains significant in Jane's mind. Dramatic highlights in this part of the novel include Jane's attempt to find shelter, her uneasy relationship with Rivers, and her ultimate return to Mr. Rochester. Many readers and critics have found this to be the weakest, most contrived part of the book. However, the events of this section serve to test Jane's devotion to Rochester. When she returns to marry him at the end of the book, both characters (and their circumstances) have evolved and matured from what they were at the time of their planned wedding in the second section.

Gothicism
Because of its powerful writing, and because of its concern with moral and social issues beyond the immediate plot, Jane Eyre is not generally considered a Gothic novel as such. However, it makes use of many of the elements found in the Gothic genre popular in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and critics sometimes place the work in the Gothic tradition, Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1764), Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), and M. G. Lewis's The Monk (1796) are considered classic examples of this genre. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) also uses some Gothic elements, while Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey (1818) satirized the excesses of the genre.

Gothic literature and the Gothic tradition is identifiable by certain characteristics. Often written in overblown language, Gothic novels involve bizarre characters and melodramatic incidents. Menacing castles, decaying manor houses, and wild landscapes are frequently used as settings. The plots of these novels contain an element of the fantastic or the supernatural. There is usually a mood of mystery or suspense, and an innocent heroine is almost always threatened with some unspeakable horror. Additionally, unexplained events take place at night.

Another characteristic of this genre is a hero who has led an adventurous, unconventional life that makes him romantically attractive, but who also has a flaw (usually a terrible secret from his past) that cuts him off from respectable society or makes him socially unacceptable. The Gothic hero may be prone to violent outbursts, but he typically suffers from his awareness of his past actions. In real life, the British poet George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824), was often considered a model of the Gothic hero. (Indeed, the term "Byronic hero" is sometimes used to describe Mr. Rochester and other Gothic heroes.) For Bronte, her brother Branwell also exhibited some of the characteristics associated with a Gothic hero.

In Jane Eyre, Mr. Rochester might be seen as a Gothic hero. However, Bronte has made him a rounded character, not a stereotype. His circumstances are Gothic, but Bronte imbues them with a moral significance. Thornfield Hall might seem a Gothic residence, but apart from the mysterious presence of Grace Poole (who turns out to be benign if unattractive) and Bertha, it is a comfortable house. The facts surrounding Bertha's presence at Thornfield are highly Gothic, as is Bertha herself. Again, however, she is not important in herself, but for what she represents. Other similarities to Gothic may be seen in Bertha's attacks on Messrs. Rochester and Mason and her intrusion into Jane's bedroom; the sudden interruption of Jane and Mr. Rochester's wedding; Jane's flight across the countryside; the cold-hearted Reverend St. John Rivers; the destruction of Thornfield by fire; and the supernatural intervention of Jane hearing Rochester's voice calling her back to him.

Coincidence
When critics point out the weaknesses of Jane Eyre, they almost always mention its use of unbelievable coincidence. Yet, by no means was Bronte the only major writer to use coincidence as a device for advancing a novel's plot. During the Victorian period, the use of coincidence for this purpose was very common, even among the greatest writers. It was an accepted literary convention of the period. The works of Charles Dickens, for example, are filled with coincidences that no one would believe today, yet Dickens's books remain great works of literature. Thomas Hardy, who wrote later in the Victorian period, also has unbelievable coincidences occur in most of his novels.

Of the coincidences in Jane Eyre, at least two have drawn critical comment. The first concerns the way in which Bertha's brother, Mason, finds out about Jane's impending marriage to Rochester. Mason, who lives in Jamaica, is in the wine trade. So is Jane's uncle, John Eyre, who lives on the island of Madeira, several thousand miles away. Earlier, on his way back to Jamaica after his attack by Bertha, Mason happened to stop at Madeira and stayed with John Eyre, unaware of Mr. Eyre's relation to Jane. When John Eyre mentions that his niece, Jane, is to marry a Mr. Rochester, Mason hurries back to England to stop the wedding. The second incredible coincidence concerns the way that Jane receives her inheritance and learns that the Riverses are her cousins. After Jane flees Thornfield and is penniless and on the verge of starvation, she is finally taken in by strangers—St. John Rivers and his two sisters. The Riverses nurture her back to health and provide her with lodging, friendship, and a position as a schoolmistress, but she does not tell them her real identity. One day St. John tells Jane that he has had a letter from a London attorney informing him that his uncle—John Eyre—has died and left a fortune to Jane Eyre. St. John deduces that the young woman he has assisted is that very Jane, and Jane discovers that the very people who had helped her as a stranger are in fact her cousins. Both these coincidences strain the reader's credibility, yet they are necessary in order to drive important developments in the plot.

Symbolism and Imagery
Jane Eyre is filled with imagery drawn from nature and the English countryside. Bronte uses this imagery to suggest her characters' moral condition and state of mind. There are numerous references to weather and to the sky, in the form of storms, rain, clouds, and sun. At the very opening of the novel, Jane sets the scene by mentioning that "the cold winter wind" had brought with it "clouds so sombre, and a rain so penetrating." The moon, too, appears frequently. There is a full moon on the night when Bertha attacks her brother, as there is on the night when Jane flees Thornfield. Later, St. John Rivers reads his Bible in the moonlight. Tree imagery is perhaps even more significant. Critic Mark Shorer has noted that "nearly every important scene in the development of the passion of Rochester and Jane Eyre takes place among trees—in an orchard, an arbor, a woods, a 'leafy enclosure.'" Shortly after Jane has agreed to marry Rochester, he tells her that she looks "blooming." After their wedding is interrupted, "the woods which twelve hours since waved leafy and fragrant . . . now spread, waste, wild and white as pine-forests in wintry Norway." Ferndean, the house where the blind and maimed Rochester has gone after Thornfield is destroyed, is hidden by the "thick and dark . . . timber . . . of the gloomy wood about it." The house itself can scarcely be distinguished from the trees; when Jane arrives there, she also notes that "there were no flowers, no garden-beds." On their reunion, Rochester tells Jane that "I am no better than the old lightening-struck chestnut-tree in Thornfield orchard." Jane retorts that, on the contrary, he is "green and vigorous," and tells him that "plants will grow about your roots . . . because your strength offers them so safe a prop."

Historical Context

Bronte's England: The Social Context
Jane Eyre is set in the north of England sometime in the first half of the nineteenth century. During this period, British society was undergoing slow but significant change. Perhaps most apparent was the transition from a rural to an industrial economy. The Industrial Revolution had begun in Britain in the late 1700s, and by the time of Jane Eyre, it was running full steam. Although Charlotte Bronte wrote about some of the effects of the Industrial Revolution in her 1849 novel Shirley, she touches on three areas of social concern in Jane Eyre: education, women's employment, and marriage.

Victorian attitudes toward education differed considerably from those prevalent in modern America. For one thing, the level of one's schooling was determined by social class and also by gender. At all levels of society and in virtually all levels of the education system, boys and girls were taught separately. The children of poor or working-class families were taught in local schools, such as the one in which Jane Eyre is a schoolmistress. Such children would rarely progress beyond learning basic skills; most learning was by rote. Most of these children would have left school by their early teen years to work on farms or in factories; boys would often leave to join the army or navy. Upper- and upper-middle-class families, on the other hand, sought to enroll their sons in exclusive private schools (known paradoxically as public schools). In truth, however, conditions in these schools were often as harsh as those in schools for orphans and the poor such as Lowood Institution in Jane Eyre. But a public school education would serve as an entree into good society; the graduates of public schools staffed the higher ranks of government and the professions. Virtually all young men who went on to university (i.e., college) first attended public schools. Women were excluded from universities until the 1870s. The first women did not graduate from an English university until 1874, when four women received degrees from Cambridge University.

Young children in upper-class and upper-middle-class families—both boys and girls—would often receive their earliest education from governesses. Governesses were women who were hired to serve as live-in tutors; they provided their charges with ongoing lessons in a variety of subjects until the child was old enough to be sent away to school. For the most part these women were daughters of the middle classes and the professional classes who had attained a certain level of education. Although the profession of governess was not financially rewarding, it was respectable. Working conditions for governesses varied, depending upon the particular family for which a governess might work. Some parents treated their hired governess with respect, as a professional, while others considered governesses little more than servants who were expected to keep in their place.

In the traditional curriculum of the time, girls and young women did not study such "serious" subjects as mathematics, science, or classics. However, they were taught grammar, history, geography, and French. Art, music, and sewing or embroidery were also considered appropriate subjects, and young women were all expected to have a knowledge of the Bible and basic Christian teachings. These subjects were taught both by governesses and at school. Jane Eyre may not be a typical governess, but clearly she has an excellent command of most of these subjects. By the middle of the nineteenth century, some twenty-five thousand women in England worked as governesses.

Jane Eyre depicts several views of marriage. The marriage of Rochester and Bertha owes more to the Gothic imagination than to reality, while the marriage of Rochester and Jane may also have been more the exception than the norm. Perhaps the most historically accurate view of marriage in early Victorian England is suggested by those marriages in the novel that might, but do not, take place. The anticipated marriage of Rochester and Blanche Ingram, for example, would seem an appropriate one to many Victorians because the two partners come from the same social class. A marriage such as the potential one between Jane and St. John Rivers would also not have been unusual. A husband such as Rivers would secure a "helpmeet" to share his burdens, while the woman in such a marriage would be given an opportunity to establish her own home and family and to do good works.

Character Profiles

Jane: Jane is an orphan who is at first raised by her aunt, Mrs. Reed and is then sent to Lowood School. Jane is considered plain, and learns to enjoy learning and living a simple life.  When she goes to Thornfield Hall and is engaged to Mr. Rochester, she does not want to give up her industrious, simple life for one filled with gowns and jewels.  When Rochester suggests that they go off together even though they cannot be married, Jane turns to God and finds the strength to leave him.  She becomes the mistress of a school in Morton, and friend to the Rivers family.  When she receives an inheritance from her uncle, Jane shares it with the Rivers, who she discovers are her family.  She then finds Mr. Rochester and the two are married at last.

Mr. Rochester:   Mr. Rochester is the master of Thornfield Hall.  At first Jane finds him withdrawn, but she soon comes to love him and they are to be married.  Jane leaves him when she learns that he already has a wife whom he has hidden because she is mad.  He is at times serious and stern, but he claims sympathy, as he seems to have remorse for some aspects of his life.  In the end he and Jane are married, and he recovers some of the sight he lost in the fire at Thornfield Hall.

Mrs. Fairfax: Mrs. Fairfax is the kindly housekeeper at Thornfield Hall.  She hires Jane and is quite welcoming to her.  She warns her about getting too close to Mr. Rochester.

Adele Varens: Adele is the ward of Mr. Rochester, and the girl that Jane is hired to be governess to.

Grace Poole: Mrs. Fairfax attributes all of the laughs Jane hears to Grace, and Jane at first thinks that Grace is responsible for trying to kill Mr. Rochester and then Mr. Mason.  Jane cannot understand why she is let to stay, but then realizes that Grace is just the caretaker for the real perpetrator.

Bertha Antoinette Mason: Bertha is Rochester's wife.  She comes from a family with a history of madness and is locked up as she attacks those who come near her.  She is described in animal-like terms, and in the end she sets fire to Thornfield and kills herself.

Mr. Mason: Mr. Mason is Bertha Mason's brother.  He comes to stop the wedding of Rochester and Jane.

Miss Ingram: Miss Ingram is the beautiful woman whom Rochester makes Jane think he is to marry.  She is no longer interested in Rochester when he sends out a rumor that his fortune is not as large as it seems.

Mrs. Reed: Mrs. Reed is aunt to Jane and mistress of Gateshead Hall.  She had promised to take care of Jane, but cares more for her own children and sends her to Lowood School.  She also tries to sabotage Jane's future by telling her Uncle that she is dead.  Jane forgives her right before she dies. 

Georgiana, Mary and John Reed: These are the children of Mrs. Reed.  They do not treat Jane well when she resides at Gateshead Hall.  Georgiana is beautiful and turns out to be rather absurd and concerned with herself.  Mary is more industrious and concerned about her finances.  John teases and beats Jane constantly and ends up an in-debt drunkard, finally killing himself.

Miss Temple: Miss Temple is the superintendent of Lowood School.  She is sympathetic to the girls there and tries to help them.  She is admired by Jane and becomes her friend when she becomes a teacher there herself.  When Miss Temple gets married and leaves Lowood, Jane decides to leave as well, prompting her move to Thornfield.

Mr. Brocklehurst: Mr. Brocklehurst is the manager of Lowood School.  He visits Gateshead to meet Jane, and then tells the teachers and students of Lowood that Jane is deceitful.  He does not provide enough for the girls at the school, and after the fever killed so many girls, a committee is set up to help him.

Helen Burns: Helen is Jane's first friend at Lowood.  She does not complain about her position, but tries to be good, telling Jane that she should too.  She eventually dies of consumption.

Bessie and Robert: Bessie is the nurse at Gateshead whom Jane becomes friends with, and Robert is the coachman.  Jane learns they have been married.

John and Mary: John and Mary are the married couple that work at Thornfield and then take care of Mr. Rochester at Ferndean.

Bildungsroman

Important Elements in the Novel:

Setting

• Victorian literature/ ideals

• the effect of place (Mrs. Reed’s, school, the moors, etc.)

 Point of View 

• Jane as narrator

  • judgment and reason

 Themes 

• justice

• sisterhood

• reason vs. passion

  • conflict between emotion and passion

• Physical vs. the spiritual

• feminism/ pre-feminism/ proto-feminism

  • The “third-person man

  • fighting back

  • repression and deviance

  • fate and the heroine

  • independence

• social classes

• fantasy vs. realism

  • fairy tales

  • dreams

  • intellect as salvation

• the coming of age story

• nature and man

  • the mind/ body connection

• religion/ spirituality

  • spiritual revelation

• true love

• conformity

 Major Symbols

• the moon

• food

• fire and burning

• the chestnut tree

 Character Analysis

•  Jane

• Rochester

• Mrs. Reed

• Adele

• Bertha Antoinette Mason

• Miss Temple

• Mr. Brocklehurst

• Helen Burns

• St. John

 TOP TEN QUOTES

1) "I resisted all the way: a new thing for me…" (Chapter 2).  Jane says this as Bessie is taking her to be locked in the red-room after she had fought back when John Reed struck her.  For the first time Jane is asserting her rights, and this action leads to her eventually being sent to Lowood School.

2) "That night, on going to bed, I forgot to prepare in imagination the Barmecide supper, of hot roast potatoes, or white bread and new milk, with which I was wont to amuse my inward cravings.  I feasted instead on the spectacle of ideal drawings, which I saw in the dark – all the work of my own hands…" (Chapter 8).  Jane writes of this after she has become comfortable and has excelled at Lowood.  She is no longer dwelling on the lack of food or other material things, but is more concerned with her expanding mind and what she can do.

3) "While I paced softly on, the last sound I expected to hear in so still a region, a laugh, struck my ears.  It was a curious laugh – distinct, formal, mirthless.  I stopped" (Chapter 11).  Jane hears this laugh on her first full day at Thornfield Hall.  It is her first indication that something is going on there that she does not know about.

4) "Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags" (Chapter 12).  Jane thinks this as she looks out of the third story at the view from Thornfield, wishing she could see and interact with more of the world.

5) "The ease of his manner freed me from painful restraint; the friendly frankness, as correct as cordial, with which he treated me, drew me to him" (Chapter 15).  Jane says this after Rochester has become friendlier with her after he has told her the story of Adele's mother.  She is soon in love with him and goes on to say, "And was Mr. Rochester now ugly in my eyes? No, reader: gratitude and many associates, all pleasurable and genial, made his face the object I best liked to see; his presence in a room was more cheering than the brightest fire" (Chapter 15).

6) "I knew," he continued, "you would do me good in some way, at some time: I saw it in your eyes when I first beheld you; their expression and smile did not…strike delight to my inmost heart so for nothing" (Chapter 15) After the fire Rochester tries to get Jane to stay with him longer and he says this to her.  This is one of the reasons that Jane feels he fancies her.

7) "I had not intended to love him; the reader knows I had wrought hard to extirpate from my soul the germs of love there detected; and now, at the first renewed view of him, they spontaneously revived, great and strong! He made me love him without looking at me" (Chapter 17).  Jane says this when she sees Rochester again after his absence.  She had tried to talk herself out of loving him, but it was impossible.  This is also an example of one of the times that Jane addresses the reader.

8) "In the deep shade, at the farther end of the room, a figure ran backwards and forwards.  What it was, whether beast or human being, one could not, at first sight tell: it groveled, seemingly on all fours: it snatched and growled like some strange wild animal: but it was covered with clothing and a quantity of dark, grizzled hair wild as a mane, hid its head and face" (Chapter 26).  This is what Rochester, Mason, and Jane see when they return from the stopped wedding and go up to the third story.  This is the first time Jane really sees Rochester's wife.

9) "Gentle reader, may you never feel what I then felt? May your eyes never shed such stormy, scalding, heart-wrung tears as poured from mine.  May you never appeal to Heaven in prayers so hopeless and so agonized as in that hour left my lips; for never may you, like me, dread to be the instrument of evil to what you wholly love" (Chapter 27).  Jane says this as she is quietly leaving Thornfield in the early morning.  She knows that she is bringing grief upon herself and Rochester, but she knows she must leave.

10) "Reader, I married him." This quote, the first sentence in the last chapter, shows another example of Jane addressing the reader, and ties up the end of the story.  Jane is matter-of-fact in telling how things turned out.

Assignment 1- Log Assignments

In at least one page for each, address all of the following log questions.  Please type your responses (MLA format).

1. At Gateshead, Jane is a rank outsider. What factors alienate Jane from the rest of the household, even the servants and the other children? How does the reader respond to Jane in consequence of her social isolation?

2. Explain how the dual narrative point-of-view (Jane as an adult recounting the story of Jane as a child) affects the presentation of the experience in the Red Room, and of Mrs. Reed's subsequent reaction to Jane's screaming.

3. Contrast the curriculum and discipline of Lowood School with that of the typical North American public school. Consider such matters as the number and types of teachers, subjects taught, length of school day, the number of students, the age range among the students, and the central place of Christian dogma at Lowood.

4. In Rochester we see the kind of hero that the Romantic poet George Gordon, Lord Byron, created in Manfred (1817) and Don Juan (1819-1824). Lonely, defiant, angry at the universe and God for his alienation and disappointments in life, and (above all), brooding, ruggedly handsome, physically powerful, sexually attractive, and mysterious because of some secret associated with his past, the Byronic Hero rejects the judgments and conventions of his society. Explain with specific reference to his character, utterances, and behavior how Rochester may be classified as "Byronic."

5. The importance of fire imagery throughout the novel is evident. For example, in ''as if I had been wandering amongst volcanic-looking hills, and had suddenly felt the ground quiver" (Ch. 18) we have an image that suggests one of the novel's major themes. How does Brontë employ fire both literally and figuratively in the Thornfield section?

6. Jane's 'preternatural' dreams are intended to suggest her extrasensory perception, which of course is vital to her eventual reunion with Rochester. In Chapter 25, how are her dreams of psychological significance?  In other words, what is their significance? Notice that these dreams are comments on Jane's situation as well as foretellings?

7. Comment on Brontë's employing fairy tale patterns and allusions in the novel. What purpose do the allusions to "Cinderella" and "Bluebeard" serve, for example?

8. How does the manner in which Brontë communicates the "facts" surrounding Rochester's marriage to Bertha Mason influence our perception of that relationship? What arguments might have Rochester used if he wished to obtain a divorce? Why did Rochester keep Bertha a virtual prisoner at Thornfield for ten years?

9. How do Jane's experiences at Moorhouse offer a complete contrast to her experiences at Thornfield?

10. What considerations -- other than the proverbial happy ending -- do you suspect provoked Charlotte Brontë to restore Rochester's sight at the end of the novel?

11. The action of the book may be said to be dominated or overshadowed by four strong male characters: John Reed, the Reverend Mr. Brocklehurst, Edward Rochester, and St. John Rivers. What influence or effect does each of these males have on Jane Eyre's moral development? To what extent do these characters constitute Charlotte Brontë's construction of the male gender?

Assignment 2- Study Questions

Address the following questions.  Please type your responses (MLA format).

Preface

1. Analyze the quote "Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion." (vii) In light of what critics of the time had to say about Jane Eyre, what is the thrust of Brontë's response?

Chapter 2

2. Jane Eyre was a watershed novel at the time it was written because it blended two styles of novels: the romantic novel and the gothic novel. According to Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language, romanticism emphasized content rather than form; encouraged "freedom of treatment," "introspection," and celebrated "nature, the common man, and freedom of the spirit." The same source defines the gothic novel as a type of fiction "characterized by picturesque settings; an atmosphere of mystery, gloom, and terror; supernatural or fantastic occurrences; and violent and macabre events." Where do you see both elements in the novel so far?

Chapter 4

3. How does the anecdote of the "little psalm angel" (26) heighten our contempt for Brocklehurst?
4. Why does Bessie begin to treat Jane with kindness at this point in the text? What lesson does Jane learn on how to deal with people she fears? How is this unusual when compared with the depiction of the other children of this time period, such as the "little psalm angel" and the "girls of the school" ?

Chapter 5

5. How does Miss Temple fit in with your expectations of her from Brocklehurst's interview with Jane? In fact, how does her character compare to most of the other adult characters encountered in the text so far?

Chapter 6

6. In this chapter, Jane receives another lesson in strength, this time from Helen Burns. What do you think of Burns' diction and speech? What do you think of her philosophy?

Chapter 7

7. What do you think of Mr. Brocklehurst's philosophy of education in this chapter?

Chapter 8

8. Compare Jane Eyre to other mistreated heroines from children's stories (Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White). Knowing that Jane Eyre is the novel that broke many rules about how a mistreated heroine should act, compare and contrast them to Jane.

Chapter 10

9. What do you think of Jane's prayers for a "new servitude"?

Chapter 11

10. What affect does Mrs. Fairfax's description of Rochester have on the reader? How does Brontë achieve this affect?

Chapter 13

11. How has Thornfield changed with the arrival of Mr. Rochester? What is the significance of this?
12. Brontë makes liberal use of French in her dialogue. What does this say about her audience? How do you compare to that audience?
13. Rochester studies Jane's paintings. What do you make of the paintings? What does this incident add to the story?
14. Comment on the character and appearance of Rochester. How does he measure up to other romantic heroes?

Chapter 14

15. This chapter gives more insight on the nature of Rochester through his battle of wits with Jane. What is revealed about Rochester here? What is the outcome of their conversation?

Chapter 15

16. Why does Jane become more affectionate and tolerant of Adèle, both literally and figuratively?

Chapter 16

17. What do you make of Jane creating a harsh piece of artwork for herself and a lovely piece of artwork depicting Miss Ingram?

Chapter 18

18. Sometimes Jane's naïveté offers Brontë a chance to satirize the attitudes and actions of aristocracy. In this chapter, how does Brontë satirize love as seen by the upper class?

Chapter 20

19. At this point in the novel, it is very clear that Rochester is deeply involved with some mystery surrounding Grace Poole. At the end of the chapter, who does he initially hint may help him find happiness? When Jane can not respond to Rochester1s hinting, his tone and attitude change immediately. What does this say about Rochester as a character?

Chapter 21 

20. Describe the resolution of the relationship between Jane and Mrs. Reed. Is it different from what you expected? Would it have been different from what Brontë's audience would have expected?

Chapter 2

21. Chapter 22 is short and ostensibly deals with Jane's return to Thornwood. What function might this chapter serve in terms of the entire text?

Chapter 23

22. In Jane's impassioned speech beginning with "I tell you I must go!" (240) you should be able to find pieces of both Bessie and Helen Burns. How do the philosophies of these two influential characters color Jane's words?

Chapter 24

23. This chapter is pure Jane Eyre. How is Jane different than most brides of romance stories? What would Brontë's audience have thought of her behavior?

Chapter 25

24. When Jane regards her wedding gown,  what mood does Brontë establish?

Chapter 26

25. What is the irony in Jane wearing "the plain square of blond" veil for her wedding?

Chapter 27

26. "Reader, I forgave him at the moment on the spot.". What is your reaction to this?
27. When Rochester explains the circumstances of marriage to Bertha Mason, how do you respond as a reader? Does Brontë succeed or fail to produce sympathy for this character? How?
28. Compare the symbolism of "(a) wind fresh from Europe" (293) and the "fiery West Indian night" (292). What do these symbols represent? Are they ironic in any sense?

Chapter 28

29. The suffering that Jane endures is compounded by her belief that she has "no claim to ask" for help. How is this philosophy in keeping with her character?
30. As the author of the text, Brontë is the artist who chooses what events happen in the plot (much the same way a painter can choose the composition of a painting, or a sculptor can choose where and how to carve the elements of a sculpture). Why did she choose to create a section where her main character goes through so much pain? Is it appropriate?

Chapter 29

31. Do a little research. Where do the names Mary, Diana, St. John, and Hannah come from, and what is the significance attached to those names? Compare the meanings of the names to their respective characters in the previous chapter and this one?

Chapter 30

32. Compare the Rivers family to the Reed family. In what way are they similar? In what way are they foils? Do the names signify anything?

Chapter 31

33. Jane's feelings toward her backwoods students and the "germs of native excellence, refinement, intelligence (and) kind-feeling" that "are as likely to exist in their hearts as in those of the best-born"  are likely to have caused a stir among non-romantics of the period. Why?
34. Jane Eyre is running from an unattainable love. Who else is running as well, and what are the details?

Chapter 32

35. A good minister is an example to his congregation; followers will learn "truth" by simply observing the daily actions of their pastor. Does St. John Rivers impart any "truths" to Jane?

Chapter 33

36. In this chapter, the final pieces of the puzzle slip into place. Is this resolution too coincidental or is it satisfactory?

Chapter 34

37. Characterize the similarities and differences between St. John's offer of marriage and Rochester's. Why does Jane refuse St. John when she is willing to accept a life with him in India? Couldn't she grow to love him? How does her response fit in with what we know about Jane as a character?

Chapter 35

38. Does Jane's near surrender to St. John Rivers, stopped only by "the voice of Edward Fairfax Rochester" speaks to her "in pain and woe" diminish her strength of character? Why would Brontë have slipped again into the realm of the supernatural if Jane had enough strength in her own convictions?

Chapter 36

39. In this chapter we learn the fate of Rochester, Bertha Mason, and Thornfield Hall. How do these revelations sit with you, the reader? Did Brontë do a good job of tying up loose ends?

Chapter 37

40. "To make a love story workŠyou gotta have heart. More important: The audience must believe it's real." This quote by Pat H. Broeske in his article "Save Yourself From Trouble" from the January 1995 issue of Writer's Digest was his thesis for why some Hollywood love stories work and some don't. Does Jane Eyre work as a love story? Do Jane and Rochester have "heart"? Are we glad to see them back together? What makes their relationship ring true for the reader?

Chapter 38

41. If St. John Rivers was such a frigid (and in some ways unpleasant character), why would Brontë chose to end the novel with a reference to him (note the parallel structure: The novel begins with the antics of John Reed and closes with the antics of St. John Rivers)?

Assignment 3- Poster Assignment