JANE EYRE

By Charlotte Brontë

CAST OF CHARACTERSJ

ane Eyre: orphaned as a child she’s sent to live with her abusive aunt and cousins (the

Reeds). Later in life, becomes a governess to Mr. Rochester’s ward, Adèle. Falls in love

with Mr. Rochester. Opinionated, independent, and very moral.

E

dward Rochester: Dark and broody master of Thornfield Manor. Has one previous wife he

keeps locked in the attic. Falls in love with Jane and attempts to marry her. Is disfigured

and blinded by Bertha Mason. Byronic hero.

B

ertha Mason: Rochester’s first wife via arranged marriage. She is insane and Rochester

locks her in the attic of his house. She repeatedly breaks out and tries to kill Jane and

Rochester. Eventually kills herself by setting fire to Thornfield Manor.

M

rs. Alice Fairfax: Housekeeper of Thornfield Manor. Elderly widow. She keeps an eye on both

Jane and Mr. Rochester.

CAST OF CHARACTERSA

dèle Varens: Daughter of Rochester’s French mistress. Rochester takes her in as his ward

when her mother dies. Jane becomes her governess. Very excitable.

B

lanche Ingram: Rich socialite who tries to marry Mr. Rochester. Rochester flirts with her

to make Jane jealous.

S

t. John Rivers: He and his sisters take Jane in after she leaves Rochester. An extremely

moral, duty-bound Christian man. In love with Rosamond Oliver, but decides to marry

Jane instead because she’d make a better wife for him as a missionary in India. Turns

out to be Jane’s cousin.

J

ohn Eyre: Rich uncle of Jane and the Rivers siblings. Tries to adopt Jane after her

parents’ deaths, but is stopped by the Reeds. Leaves Jane his entire fortune when he

dies.

H

elen Burns: Jane’s school friend. A devout Christian. Dies of consumption at a young age.

PLOT OF JANE EYRE

6

0secondrecap.com presents: Jane Eyre: A Plot

Summary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wavPu4r5TI

MAJOR THEMES &CONFLICTS

U

pholding Moral Convictions

S

earching for home and family

T

rying to be an independent woman in a male-driven world

N

avigating between social/moral obligation and passion

CONTEXT

O

riginally published as Jane Eyre: An Autobiography in 1847 under the male

pen name “Currer Bell”.

B

est seller in 1847.

T

he novel contains elements of social criticism and explores classism,

sexuality, religion and feminism.

C

ritics consider the text to be ahead of its time because of the

characterization of the female protagonist, Jane.

SYNTHESIS OF CRITICISM

K

irkus Review, “Jane: A Modern Romantic Retelling of Jane

Eyre.” Review published Sept. 15, 2010. Viewed Feb. 12.

2013. Web. www.kirkusreviews.com

“

Flashes of originality, wit and vivid imagery bring the story

to life intermittently, but the distracting improbabilities pull

readers out of the story again and again.”

SYNTHESIS OF CRITICISM

K

apurch, Katie. ""'Why Can't You Love Me the Way I Am?': Fairy Tales,

Girlhood, and Agency in Neo-Victorian Visions of Jane Eyre” N.p.,

n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2013.

T

his article references Sandra Gilbert’s critique of Jane Eyre, who

says the reason the story of Jane Eyre is so incredibly popular during

the Victorian era is because of its inclusion of familiar fairy-tale

structures and imagery. Kapurch suggests that Jane by April Linder

continues the trend of fairy-tale inclusion by modernizing the

character using current representations of girlhood, femininity, and

what it means to be a heroine.

SYNTHESIS OF CRITICISMG

ilbert, Sandra M., and Susan Gubar. The Madwoman in the

Attic: The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-century Literary

Imagination. New Haven: Yale UP, 1979. Print.

G

ilbert and Gubar use the character Bertha Mason from

Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre to argue that female characters of

the nineteenth century were notoriously portrayed as either the

monster or the angel. They use Bertha to prove that even

women authors of the Victorian period struggled with

characterizing female characters in a manner other than the

monster or the angel.

OTHER ADAPTATIONSY

A Novels

-Naxos Young Adult Classics Jane Eyre• Abridged audio version of Jane Eyre

-A Breath of Eyre by Eve Marie Mont (2010)

-Dark Companion by Marta Acosta (2012)• YALSA Nominee in 2012 for Best Fiction for Young Adults Award

O

ther Literary Adaptations

- Mrs. Rochester: A Sequel to Jane Eyre by Hilary Bailey (1997)

-Jane Rochester by Kimberly Bennett (2000)

-Jane Eyre’s Daughter by Elizabeth Newark (2008)

-Jane Slayre by Sherri Browning Erwin

OTHER ADAPTATIONS

F

ilm & Television

-Jane Eyre. 2006 TV version produced by the

BBC. Starred Ruth Wilson as Jane, and Toby

Stephens as Mr. Rochester.

-Jane Eyre. 2011 film version directed by Cary

Fukunaga. Starred Mia Wasikowska as Jane, and

Michael Fassbender as Mr. Rochester.2011 film version

JANE BY APRIL LINDNER

P

ublished in 2010

S

et in Thornfield Park

T

he novel tells the tale of Jane who is forced to drop out of an esteemed East Coast

college after her parents suddenly die. She takes a job as a nanny to rockstar Nico

Rathburn who she falls in love with. A mystery involving the dark past of her lover Nico

forces Jane to question which is more important true love or staying true to oneself.

S

imilar to Jane Eyre Jane is portrayed as a strong independent character.

A

tale of a forbidden romance and a dark mystery

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

B

orn in North Merrick, New York

B

egan college as an art major

T

eaches Creative Writing, Literature and Freshman

Composition at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania

C

urrently working on Catherine a young adult retelling of

Wuthering Heights due out in the Spring

April Lindner