Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë
Characters
Jane Eyre: She is a dependent, who was not loved much as child, she is very impulsive and correct, she is honest and open, she is intelligente and likes to learn, she is helpful and kind, but she runs away from her problemes because she is scared of getting hurt.
Mrs. Reeds: envied the good relationship between her husband and Jane`s mother (who was his sister), hates Jane because of her mother, she is a very stict and reserved person.
Eliza Reeds: Janes cousine, a very reserved, inteligent and religious women, who never cares much about others.
Georgiana Reeds: Jane`s second cousin, she is very beautiful but serfconvinced and selfish.
John Reeds: hates Jane and loves to give her trouble, he likes to punish her, he ruined his life, was twice in prison and finally killed him self.
Bessi: is Mrs Reeds nurse, she pitties Jane, they are good friends and they stay in contact, from her Jane knows everything about her parents.
Miss Maria Temple: superintendent of Lawood, good friend of Jane, believes in Jane, is Jane`s only hold at Lawood, marries a clergyman.
Helen Burn: Jane`s first real friend, student at Lawood, very calm and religious girl, a positiv opposit to Jane.
Mrs Fairfax: housekeeper at Thornfield, elderly, lonely Lady, very good and heartly.
Mr Rochester: very reserved and cold, falls in love with Jane because of her wild nature, very rich clergyman, often treated mean by his brother and father.
Adèle: Janes student, doughter of a french opera-dancer, Mr. Rochester`s ward, very wild and friendly child.
Diana Rivers: the older of the Rivers sisters, gouverness, very intelligente and similar to Jane, becomes best friend with Jane, married a navy captain.
John Rivers: very reserved and logical thinking person, likes Jane a lot and wants to marry her, goes as missionery to India.
Settings
Gateshead Hall: Janes aunts house (untill she was 10 years)
Lawood Institution: charity – school (untill she was 18 years)
Thornfield: Mr. Rochesters house (unknown for how long she staied, ca. 2 years)
Moor House: (= Marsh End) House of the Rivers (staied for 3 Month)
Morton: town near Moor House, worked there (staied for about 1 year)
Ferndean: a manor-house of Mr. Rochester, becomes happy there (rest of her life)
Summary
To understand Jane Eyres life situation one has to know three facts: first Jane’s mother merried her father against her grandfathers will, with the consequence that her mother got disheritated. Second Jane lost all direct relatives before her second birthday, her parents soon after her birth and her only uncle a year later. At last Jane’s aunt Mrs Reeds only kept her because of a promise she gave to her dying husband.
Jane’s time at Gateshead Hall, her aunt’s house, was caracterised by being ignored from her two cousins Georgiana and Elizia, tyrannized by her cousin John and being despised by her aunt. She was punished for everything she or one of her cousins did. The only friend Jane had at Gateshead Hall was the nurse Bessi, who pittied her.
With ten years of age Jane had, after being punished again, a nerval breakedown. The doctor who knew Jane’s horrible situation in Gateshead suggested to send her to school. Mrs Reeds who wanted to get rid of Jane agreed and half a year later she started at Lowood Institution, a charity-school.
The days there followed a regular timetable: first they all listend to the morningmess, then breakfast, followed by studies with outdoor exercise, next there was eveningmess and dinner after which they continued studing with a snack before going to bed.
In Lowood Jane became very good friends with Helen Burn, who influenced Jane’s moral and religious way of thinking deeply. Another good friend became Miss Maria Temple, the superintendent at Lowood. But Jane`s happyness was not for long: when in spring typhus broke out, Helen was among the first to get ill. Many students died, as well Helen Burns.
Six happy years Jane was a student at Lowood Institution, but she never found such a true and sincere friend as Helen. Also in her two years as teacher there she only had a deeper friendship with Maria Temple. In the beginning of her ninth year Miss Temple married. This was a sign for Jane that she needed a change of scenary and she decided to become a gouvernesse in a private household. The first offer she got was from a Mrs Fairfax, the household seamed very agreeable and so Jane accepted.
Thornfield was a very beautiful place, it was big and half of the house was not in use but always kept clean in case the owner would apear. Mrs Fairfax was a very nice old lady and Jane enjoyed talking to her, as well her student Adelè was a very sweet girl. Just Mr Rochester, her employer and owner of Thornfield, Jane did not like at first. His direct nature confused her. But getting to know him better she started to like him more and more till she finally fell in love. As time passed she also found out why Mr Rochester took Adelè as dependant. She was the daughter of a dead french Opera-dancer, who was Mr Rochesters great passion.
The life in Thornfield was never boring, there always happend something. For example one night Mr. Rochesters bed was on fire and another time he came back with a great party followed by his planing to merry the daughter of Lady Ingram. Miss Ingram was a beautiful women but she was very proud, selfish and ignorant but it seamed that nobody noticed this characteristics. The next thing that happened was that a friend of Mr Rochester was attacked in the middle of the night and Jane had to help Mr Rochester to keep it a secret.
That time many questions disturbed Jane, but she did not have the time to find answers. She had to go to Gateshead Hall because her aunt was dying and wished to see her. Afther the suicide of her cousin John her aunt could not recover her health. At her arrival at Gateshead her cousins were already waiting for her. When Jane had the possibility to talk to her aunt she was told that she still had an uncle living in Madeira. The brother of her father, Mr Eyre. He wanted to meet Jane but her aunt told him she was already dead. Because of jealousy she never told her about him. That night Mrs Reeds died with nobody besides Jane by her side. Jane had to stay another month at Gateshead to take care of the household until finally Georgiana went off to London and Elizia became a nun.
After Jane’s return to Thornfield she found out that Mr Rochester was not going to merry Miss Ingram because she only wanted his money. Soon later he asked Jane to merry him. First she did not believe him but he proved her that he really loved her. Eventhough she was very happy about the approaching marriage, she had a strange feeling that it would not happen. Strange dreams, questions about the strange things that happend in the month before and the visit of a strange women in the night confused her. Only on her wedding day Jane was really convinced that she would merry Mr. Rochester. Unfortunately Jane’s feeling was right, she did not merry him. A cleryman interupted the wedding and declared that Mr Rochester already was married. At first Mr Rochester did not admit it but as the cleryman could prove it he told Jane the truth. Fifteen years ago he merried Bertha Mason not knowing that she was mad, ashamed of his stupidity he locked her away and employed Mrs Pool to take care of her. But sometimes whene Mrs. Pool was drunk his wife escaped and started a fire or attacked somebody. Mr Rochester really loved Jane, but when he asked her to be his mistress she, because of not being able to bare such shame left Thornfield secretly in the middle of the night. With the little amount of money she had, she paid a coachman to take her with him. At Whitecross, a streetcrossing, she parted from the coachman and walked on to Morton. After three days of walking in the rain at the end of all resources she reached a house where she finally found help. The inhabitants, two sisters, their brother and a servant nursed her. By the time Jane was getting well again, she found out she was at Moor House and the owners were John, Diana and Mary Rivers. With the sisters Jane became very soon good friends, they had all three similar tastes. John was at first very suspicious about Jane but then he started to like her. Jane became the schoolmistress of the new girls-school of Morton, which John opened. During the time she lived in Morton Jane never spoke to anybody about her past and used an alias, because she was scared that Mr Rochester would find her.
Nearly a year after her arrival at Morton John found out about Jane’s past, and that her uncle in Madeira died and left her twenty million dollers. As he told Jane the sad but as well good news she, who never wanted to have so much money, shared it with her new friends John, Mary and Diana. The Sisters were now able to merry because they had a good dowry and John could become a missionary. He asked Jane to become his wife and join him because he could need her help in educating the women. She did not accept his offer because she wanted to merry only the person she loved.
Jane decided to visit Mr Rochester but when she arrived at Thornfield everything was burned. At the inn she found out that his mad wife started fire in several parts of the house and when Mr Rochester wanted to save her she jumped off the roof. Mr Rochester became blind and lived now in his manor house Ferndean. Jane and Mr Rochester still loved eachother and now as a widdow they maerried. Mary, Diana and Jane stayed close friends and they visited eachother often. A year after their marriage Jane gave birth to their first child and Mr. Rochester started to see again.
About Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte was born (1816) in Thornton, Yorkshire, as daughter of Patrik Brontë, an Anglican clergyman, and Maria Branwell. After her mother and the two eldest children died, Charlotte was left with her sisters Emily and Anne and brother Branwell to the care of their father.
Charlotte attended the Clergy Daughter's School at Cowan Bridge in 1824. She returned home the following year because of the harsh conditions. In 1831 she went to school at Roe Head, where she later worked as a teacher untill she started to suffer melancholia, and gave up her post. Charlotte's attempts to earn her living as a governess were hindered by her disabling shyness and her yearning to be with her sisters.
The collection of poems, Poems By Currer, Ellis And Acton Bell (1846), which Charlotte wrote with her sisters, sold only two copies. Her first novel, THE PROFESSOR, never found a publisher during her lifetime. Undeterred by this rejection, Charlotte began Jane Eyre, which appeared in 1847, under her pen name Currer Bell, and became an immediate success.
Her sisters Emily and Anne died in 1848/49 because of tubercolosis. Although her identity was now well known, Charlotte continued to publish as Currer Bell. Jane Eyre was followed by Shirley (1848) and Vilette (1853).
In 1854 Charlotte Brontë married her father's curate, Arthur Bell Nicholls. She died during her pregnancy on March 31st, 1855 in Haworth, Yorkshire. The Professor was published in 1857.
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