Jane Eyre is a classic novel by Charlotte Brontë which was published in 1847 by Smith, Elder & Company, London, and is one of the most famous British novels. It can be considered either a romantic novel or a victorian novel.
   Charlotte Brontë first published the book as Jane Eyre: An Autobiography under the pseudonym Currer Bell, and it was an instant success, earning the praise of many reviewers, including William Makepeace Thackeray, to whom Charlotte Brontë dedicated her second edition.

Plot summary

Ten-year-old Jane Eyre is a poor orphan, treated maliciously by her aunt; her plain looks and perceptive and passionate nature don't appeal to her relatives. Eventually she's sent to boarding school. Her fellow student Helen Burns, who dies young of consumption, encourages Jane to be more humble, patient and forgiving. Jane learns to hide her temper, but the injustices of the world still burn in her soul. At the age of eighteen, Jane takes a job as governess to a little French girl named Adèle, the ward of Mr. Edward Rochester of Thornfield Hall. Mr. Rochester is about thirty-eight, with a blunt, temperament. However, Jane admires and respects his honesty, and the two become friends. Jane falls in love, but believes that Rochester can't love her in return because of her low status and plain looks. One night, Jane hears a strange laugh in the corridor. Investigating it, she sees that Mr. Rochester's bed is on fire, and manages to quench the flames. Mr. Rochester suggests that the culprit is Grace Poole, an odd servant who lives on the otherwise abandoned third floor.

   Mr. Rochester begins courting a local beauty, Blanche Ingram, which pains Jane, who can't believe that Rochester loves the proud, snobbish Blanche. A mysterious Jamaican gentleman, Mr. Richard Mason, arrives at Thornfield, distressing Mr. Rochester. That night, Jane hears horrible yells and goes up to the third floor to see Mason bleeding, stabbed and bitten. Again, Rochester hints that Grace Poole is the culprit.

   Mr. Rochester tells Jane that he's going to get married and she must leave Thornfield. Jane cries, saying she couldn't bear to leave Rochester. He asks her to marry him, revealing he loved her all along; he flirted with Blanche only to make her jealous. Jane accepts his proposal. Richard Mason and his lawyer interrupt the wedding ceremony, claiming that Mr. Rochester still has a wife living: Mason's sister Bertha. Mr. Rochester admits the whole story: Bertha is a violent lunatic under the care of Grace Poole, and it was she who lit the fire and attacked her brother. Rochester was forced into the marriage, and never loved her. He begs Jane to be his wife in all but law, but she refuses. Though tempted, her strong moral compass won't let her become a mistress.
   Fearing that Rochester will detain her, and not trusting herself to resist temptation, Jane sneaks out of Thornfield in the middle of the night. She travels by coach as far as money will take her, then tries to find work and beg for food. She is rescued by St John Rivers (pronounced "Sinjon"), a handsome young clergyman, and his two sisters. By a remarkable coincidence, Jane discovers that the Riverses are her cousins, and that their mutual uncle, John Eyre, has died and left Jane his fortune. Jane shares the money with her cousins. St. John, who plans to go to India as a missionary, asks Jane to accompany him as his wife. However, while Jane has a sisterly affection for St John, she knows he can't love her as Rochester did. She tries to reject him, but his force of personality and moral persuasion are difficult to refuse.

   Suddenly, Jane hears Mr. Rochester's voice calling to her supernaturally. She hurries to Thornfield, which has burned to the ground. She learns that Bertha escaped one night, lit a fire and jumped off the roof; Mr. Rochester lost one hand, one eye, and the sight of his other eye in the conflagration. Jane goes to where Rochester is now living. At first he fears that she'll refuse to marry a blind cripple, but Jane accepts him. Speaking from a vantage point ten years on, Jane tells of their happy marriage, revealing that she's given birth to a son, and that Mr. Rochester has regained some of the sight in his remaining eye.

Background

The early sequences, in which the orphaned Jane is sent to Lowood, a harsh boarding school, are based on the author's own experiences. Two of her sisters died in childhood as a result of the conditions at their school, the Clergy Daughters School at Cowan Bridge, near Tunstall in Lancashire. Mr Brocklehurst is based on the Revd William Carus Wilson (1791-1859), the founder of the school, and Helen Burns is a representation of Charlotte's sister Maria. These facts were revealed to the public in The Life of Charlotte Bronte (1857) by Charlotte's friend the novelist Elizabeth Gaskell and caused considerable controversy at the time. The Gothic Thornfield was probably inspired by North Lees Hall, near Hathersage in the Peak District. This was visited by Charlotte Bronte and her friend Ellen Nussey in the summer of 1845 and described by Ellen Nussey in a letter dated 22 July 1845. It was the residence of the Eyre family and its first owner Agnes Ashurst was reputedly confined as a lunatic in a padded second floor room. (Davies 2006).

Literary motifs and allusions

Jane Eyre uses many motifs from Gothic fiction such as the Gothic Hall, the Byronic hero (Rochester) and The Madwoman in the Attic (Bertha), who is perceived by Jane to resemble 'the foul German spectre - the vampire' (chapter 25) and who attacks her brother in a distinctly vampiric way: 'She sucked the blood: she said she'd drain my heart' (chapter 20). Literary allusions from the Bible, fairy tales, The Pilgrim's Progress, Paradise Lost and the novels and poetry of Sir Walter Scott are also much in evidence (Davies 2006). The novel also deliberately avoids some conventions of Victorian fiction, for example not contriving a deathbed reconciliation between Aunt Reed and Jane Eyre and avoiding the portrayal of a fallen woman.

Adaptations

Jane Eyre has engendered numerous adaptations and related works inspired by the novel:

Silent film versions

• Three adaptations entitled Jane Eyre were released; one in 1910, two in 1914.
• 1915: Jane Eyre starring Louise Vale (External Link)
• 1915: A version was released called The Castle of Thornfield.
• 1918: A version was released called Woman and Wife.
• 1921: Jane Eyre starring Mabel Ballin (External Link)
• 1926: A version was made in Germany called Orphan of Lowood.

Sound film versions

 1934: This film featured Colin Clive and Virginia Bruce. (External Link)

 1940: Rebecca (film), directed by Alfred Hitchcock and based upon the novel of the same name which was influenced by Jane Eyre. (External Link)Joan Fontaine, who starred in this film, would also be cast in the 1944 version of Jane Eyre to reinforce the connection. (External Link)

 1943: I Walked with a Zombie is a horror movie based upon Jane Eyre.

 1944: Jane Eyre, with a screenplay by John Houseman and Aldous Huxley. It features Orson Welles as Rochester, Joan Fontaine as Jane, and Elizabeth Taylor as Helen Burns.

 1956: A version was made in Hong Kong called The Orphan Girl.

 1963: A version was released in Mexico called El Secreto (English: "The Secret").

 1970: Jane Eyre, starring George C. Scott as Rochester and Susannah York as Jane.

 1972: An adaptation in Telugu, Shanti Nilayam, directed by C. Vaikuntarama Sastry, starring Anjali Devi.

 1978: A version was released in Mexico called Ardiente Secreto (English: "Ardent Secret").

 1996: Jane Eyre, directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starring William Hurt as Rochester, Charlotte Gainsbourg as Jane, supermodel Elle Macpherson as Blanche Ingram, Anna Paquin as the young Jane, and Geraldine Chaplin as Miss Scatcherd.

Musical versions

 A musical version with a book by John Caird and music and lyrics by Paul Gordon, with Marla Schaffel as Jane and James Stacy Barbour as Rochester, opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on December 10 2000. It closed on June 10 2001.

 An opera version was written in 2000 by English composer Michael Berkeley, with a libretto by David Malouf. It was given its premiere by Music Theatre Wales at the Cheltenham Festival.

 Jane Eyre was played for the first time in Europe in Beveren, Belgium. It was given its premiere at the cultural centre "Ter Vesten".

Television versions

 1952: This was a live television production presented by "Westinghouse Studio One (Summer Theatre)" (External Link)

 Adaptations appeared on British and American television in 1956 and 1961.

 1963:Jane Eyre. It was produced by the BBC and starred Richard Leech as Rochester and Ann Bell as Jane. (External Link)

 1973: Jane Eyre. It was produced by the BBC and starred Michael Jayston as Rochester and Sorcha Cusack as Jane.

 1983: Jane Eyre. It was produced by the BBC and starred Timothy Dalton as Rochester and Zelah Clarke as Jane.

 1997: Jane Eyre, with Ciaran Hinds as Rochester and Samantha Morton as Jane.

 2006: Jane Eyre. It was produced by the BBC and starred Toby Stephens as Rochester, Ruth Wilson as Jane, and Georgie Henley as Young Jane.

Literature

 1938: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier was partially inspired by Jane Eyre. (External Link), (External Link)

 1966: Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. The character, Bertha Mason, serves as the main protagonist for this novel which acts as a "prequel" to Jane Eyre. It describes the meeting and marriage of Antoinette (later renamed Bertha by Rochester) and Rochester. In its reshaping of events related to Jane Eyre, the novel suggests that Bertha's madness is the result of Rochester's rejection of her and her Creole heritage. It was also adapted into film twice.

 1997: by Hilary Bailey

 2000: by Emma Tennant

 2001 novel The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde revolves around the plot of Jane Eyre.

 2002: Jenna Starborn by Sharon Shinn, a science fiction novel based upon Jane Eyre

 2002: Jane Rochester by Kimberly A. Bennett

 2006: by Emma Tennant. This is a slightly modified version of Tennant's 2000 novel.

 2007: by Emma Tennant. This is another version of Jane Eyre.

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