Jane Eyre: An Autobiography
Charlotte Brontë
Contains spoilers for the entire book.
Discussion topics
Topic 01 of 08
The red-room
What does the child Jane, locked in the red-room at Gateshead, carry with her into the rest of her life?
Keep the conversation going
- Was Jane right to speak back to Mrs Reed the way she does before leaving for Lowood?
- How does being an unwanted dependant in that house shape the way she later sees love and belonging?
There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.
Discussion topics
What does the child Jane, locked in the red-room at Gateshead, carry with her into the rest of her life?
Keep the conversation going
- Was Jane right to speak back to Mrs Reed the way she does before leaving for Lowood?
- How does being an unwanted dependant in that house shape the way she later sees love and belonging?
Helen Burns teaches Jane to endure injustice, while Jane's instinct is to resist it. Which of them did you find more convincing?
Keep the conversation going
- What do Mr Brocklehurst's hypocrisy and Miss Temple's kindness show Jane about authority and goodness?
- How does Helen's death change Jane, and does Jane ever fully accept Helen's way of seeing the world?
What draws Jane and Rochester together, given everything that seems to separate them?
Keep the conversation going
- What did you make of Rochester's games with Jane, from Blanche Ingram to his disguise as the fortune-teller?
- How does Jane insist on being his equal, in spirit if not in station?
When the wedding is stopped and Bertha is revealed, how did you judge Rochester's deception?
Keep the conversation going
- Does the reason he gives for hiding his marriage change how responsible you hold him?
- How do you read the way the novel presents Bertha, and does she deserve more of the story's sympathy?
Why does Jane leave Rochester when she loves him and he begs her to stay?
Keep the conversation going
- Is her choice an act of principle, of self-respect, or of fear?
- What does the hardship she faces on the moors suggest about the cost of that choice?
St John offers Jane a life of purpose and duty without love. Why is that so hard for her to refuse?
Keep the conversation going
- How is St John's hold over Jane both like and unlike Rochester's?
- What does Jane's decision to share her inheritance with her cousins say about what she values most?
What do you make of Jane hearing Rochester call her name, just as she is about to give in to St John?
Keep the conversation going
- Does the novel ask you to take that moment literally, or in some other way?
- How does it change the meaning of her return that she comes back by choice, as an independent woman?
Is the ending at Ferndean a reward, a reckoning, or both?
Keep the conversation going
- Why do you think Rochester has to lose so much before he and Jane can be together?
- Why do you think the novel closes with St John rather than with Jane and Rochester?
There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.