Jane Eyre: An Autobiography
Charlotte Brontë
Jane Eyre: An Autobiography
39 chapters
4.16from 2,406,776 ratingson Goodreads
An unwanted orphan is sent to a charity school that half-starves her, becomes a governess at eighteen, and takes a post at Thornfield Hall for a master who is rude, unhappy and rarely home. Jane tells it all herself, insists on her own worth against everyone who outranks her, and has to decide what she will not do to be loved.
About the book
Published in 1847 under Charlotte Brontë’s pseudonym Currer Bell, Jane Eyre is narrated by Jane herself, tracing her life from an unhappy childhood with the Reed family through school at Lowood and into employment as a governess at Thornfield Hall. Her position leaves her socially vulnerable but determined to preserve her dignity and judgement. The novel combines a coming-of-age story with Gothic mystery and an unusually direct account of a woman insisting on moral and emotional equality. Jane’s relationship with Rochester develops amid class differences, secrecy and strong feeling, while her first-person voice keeps questions of freedom, conscience and belonging at the centre.
Characters
Jane Eyre — Protagonist
An orphaned governess whose intelligence, independence and moral conviction shape her search for belonging.
Edward Rochester — Master of Thornfield
The wealthy, forceful master of Thornfield Hall, where Jane is employed as a governess.
Adèle Varens — Jane’s pupil
A lively French-speaking child under Rochester’s guardianship and the pupil Jane is hired to teach.
Mrs Fairfax — Housekeeper
The kindly housekeeper at Thornfield who welcomes Jane and explains the routines of the household.
Helen Burns — School friend
Jane’s thoughtful friend at Lowood School, whose patience and religious faith contrast with Jane’s temper.
St John Rivers — Clergyman
A disciplined young clergyman Jane meets away from Thornfield, driven strongly by duty and vocation.
Mrs Reed — Jane’s aunt
Jane’s resentful aunt by marriage, who raises her at Gateshead without warmth or a sense of equality.
About the author
Charlotte Brontë (1816–1855) was an English novelist, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters to survive to adulthood, and the author of Jane Eyre. Published in 1847 under the pen name Currer Bell, it was unlike anything else on the shelf: a plain, poor, self-possessed narrator who insists on her own moral standing and tells the story in the first person throughout. Charlotte outlived her brother and both her sisters, and went on writing after their deaths. Her other novels are Shirley, Villette and The Professor.