A very short retelling of the novel "Jane Eyre".
The novel is narrated in the first person. The parents of Jane, the main character, died when she was still very young. The girl was taken in by her uncle, who also died soon after. The aunt had no love for her niece, and little Jane's life in her house was unbearable, but short-lived.
The orphan is sent to a boarding school, where strict, sometimes even cruel, rules reign. There the girl goes through the stages of growing up, receives an education and finds friends. Upon leaving school, Jane, already a girl, gets a job as a governess in the mansion of a wealthy gentleman. A relationship gradually develops between him and Jane, but on the wedding day it turns out that the groom is not free. When he was very young, by a fatal accident, he married a crazy woman, and now he keeps her in his house secretly from everyone.
Struck by the news, Jane runs away from the wedding. The legitimate wife of her lover starts a fire, as a result of which the house collapses and the owner of the house loses his sight. Jane, on the run, realizes that she must return to her beloved. The couple reunites. A child is born to them, and the happy father’s sight returns.
A summary of the novel "Jane Eyre" in detail by chapter.
I. The Life of the Orphan Jane in the Care of the Widow Reed
CHAPTERS 1- 4
Little Jane is only 10 years old and lives in the care of her aunt. When she was just a baby, the girl was orphaned when her father, and then her mother, died of typhus. Since then, Jane remained with her uncle Mr. Reed, but he also left the world of the living earlier than he should have. His wife and children consider Jane a foundling and are trying in every possible way to harm this impressionable, withdrawn and fragile girl. Every day the child is forced to listen to a lot of reproaches from his aunt and endure humiliation and blows from her offspring. Even the house servants look down on the unfortunate child.
Author: Charlotte Brontë
Jane's main offender was cousin John, Mrs. Reed's fourteen-year-old son. On this day, John, as usual, found a reason to tease his “hated” sister. Jane, tired of insults and insults for a long time, unexpectedly gave a powerful rebuff to the insolent man. John won the fight; as a result, the Reed pupil seriously hit her head on the doorframe.
The aunt declared the poor orphan guilty. She ignored her bleeding wound and blamed Jane for the treacherous attack on John. Mrs. Reed cruelly punished the girl by locking her in the “red room” for the whole night. This room, the most mysterious and terrible, should be described separately. The owner of the house was no longer in this bedchamber, so relatives and friends were afraid to enter the room even in daylight. Everyone thought that his spirit dwells in these chambers to this day. And little Jane had to stay here the whole night.
Left alone, the girl thought about how cruelly she was being treated, and no longer hoped for a happy life. Noticing a ray of light, Jane got scared, deciding that it was a sign from the other world. She screamed and called for help, but her tormentors did not release the poor thing, but, on the contrary, extended the punishment for another hour. From the deepest nervous shock the girl lost consciousness.
II. Farewell, hated Gateshead, and hello, new life in Lowood Asylum!
CHAPTERS 5-9
The night in the “red room” caused psychological trauma to the girl, and she fell ill. Mrs. Reed called a pharmacist, kind to the orphan, to examine her niece. Mr. Lloyd talked a lot with the unfortunate child. When asked why there were tears in Jane’s eyes, she replied that she was no longer small enough to cry over scratches or bruises, her tears were the tears of a deeply unhappy person.
Jane simply couldn't stay at the Reed house any longer. Realizing this, the pharmacist Lloyd helped place the orphan in a boarding school. Leaving her aunt's house early for good, Jane did not say goodbye to her relatives - neither she nor they needed it.
The Lowood orphanage was nowhere near heaven on earth. The pupils in this gloomy institution were poorly fed, huddled together by the orphan fire, and listened to endless sermons from old maids. But for Jane Eyre, the shelter became an opportunity for a new life. She found her real ideal here - the headmistress Miss Temple, a proud beauty with aristocratic features, met friends, learned a lot and, most importantly, received her pass to an adult, independent life.
After eight years of studying at the orphanage, Jane is already working here as a teacher. But the soul of a young girl is looking for something new: a graduate of the Lowood Orphanage sends a job advertisement to the newspaper and dreams of changing her life.
III. Grown-up Jane finds her destiny
CHAPTERS 10- 25
Eighteen-year-old Jane is accepted as a governess for her master's daughter Adele at the rich Thornfield estate. Mr. Edward Rochester, who received Miss Eyre in his family nest, is practically never at home. He intrigues Jane, although his image is far from a perfect handsome gentleman. Edward is rather a poorly-couth lout, rude in communication and generous with irony. But with her appearance, Jane does not qualify for “Miss World,” but she clearly interests the wealthy Mr. with her kind heart, meticulous mind, and majestic inaccessibility, despite her low social status.
Edward's favor towards Jane manifested itself when she was already thinking about changing jobs in order to avoid the suffering of unrequited love for a rich gentleman. It turned out that Rochester was not interested in beauties and twirls, he confessed his love to Jane. She agrees to become his wife, but her happiness is overshadowed by a terrible discovery for Jane...
IV. Edward's terrible secret
CHAPTER 26
On the wedding day, Edward's secret is revealed. Someone reports that the proposed marriage cannot be valid, since Mr. Rochester is already married. The groom admits that in his youth he was betrothed to the wealthy West Indian heiress Bertha, but concealed her predisposition to madness. Bertha's illness soon made itself felt to the fullest. The woman turned into a monster with almost no signs of humanity, and Edward could only lock the monster in the house, thus starting a new life. Later, Edward loved the beautiful artist, but she ran away from him, even leaving her daughter Adele. Prayers for forgiveness did not help the would-be groom; Jane was shattered by the revealed truth and refused to stay with him as his mistress.
V. Jane's life after the escape and unexpected inheritance
CHAPTERS 27-35
With a heavy heart, Jane left the home of her loved one. For a long time she was looking for a new shelter and stayed with good friends. Then she met the blue-eyed priest St. John Rivers, became friends with his respectable sisters, got a job as a teacher in a rural school and now lived relatively happily. St. John, having fallen in love with Jane, proposed marriage to her, and after the wedding, they left the country together and went to India for missionary life. However, the girl refused the fan, realizing that she did not have feelings for him.
Very soon, Jane Eyre meets a traveler who, having learned who she is, tells her that she has long been the heiress of a wealthy relative and is very wealthy. Jane generously shares her inheritance with St. John and his sisters.
VI. A new connection of two hearts on the ashes of an old life
CHAPTERS 36-38
All the time away from Rochester, Jane did not stop thinking about him. After unsuccessful attempts to contact Thornfield, the girl decides to travel to abandoned lands. So Jane learns that after her escape, Thornfield suffered a misfortune. Edward's deranged, reclusive wife set the house on fire. The woman died in a fire, and Mr. Rochester was seriously injured while trying to save the insane woman. Edward had lost his sight and most of his body was now covered in scars. But this, of course, did not matter to Jane. She realized how much she valued Edward and rushed to tell him the most important thing. The couple reunites and their son is born. Edward, thanks to the prosperity of his family life, gradually begins to see again.
Main characters and their characteristics:
Jane Eyre is the main character in the novel Jane Eyre. Jane was left an orphan when she was still very young, and her childhood was deprived of affection, care and maternal warmth. Until the age of 10, the girl was raised in the family of her uncle and aunt Reed. But there her life was unbearable. At age 10, Jane was sent to an orphanage, where she was raised and educated until she was 18.
Little Jane was never a beauty; her appearance was more like an elf: she was small, homely and impressionable. But the girl’s inner charisma and virtue did not go unnoticed - although not without difficulties and hardships, Jane found true friends and true love.
Edward Rochester is one of the main characters of the novel. A mysterious, gloomy, but attractive man. Edward comes from a respected family. He fell in love with Jane Eyre, who worked for him as governess to his pupil Adele. Jane reciprocated the man's feelings, but the secret kept within the walls of the Rochester house did not allow two hearts to unite. The wedding and happy life together of Edward and his chosen one became possible only through a series of trials.
John Rivers is another notable character from the novel “Jane Eyre”, the second who wished to marry Jane. John has a good appearance, but as a person he is unhappy, he simply does not allow himself to become happier. Jane touched his heart, and he wanted to take her with him to India to do missionary work there. But his desires were not allowed to come true; the girl’s heart remained in Thorfilnd.
Adele Varens is the little heroine of the novel “Jane Eyre”. Jane went to Thornfield to teach and raise the girl. Adele was a pupil and permanently lived in the house of Edward Rochester. The girl was left in his care by a beautiful singer with whom he was in love.
Charlotte Bronte "Jane Eyre"
It’s hard to write a review on something that has already been awarded multiple praises, and, moreover, praise in correct and vivid words. However, my admiration for this work is so great that I decided to add my own to the sea of reviews.
What struck me most when reading was that “Jane Eyre” is the debut full-length novel by Charlotte Brontë, one of the famous Brontë sisters who created the immortal works “Wuthering Heights”, “Agyness Gray” and others. This fact is amazing. When I started the novel, I expected to see the story of another Cinderella, generously sprinkled with suffering and certainly ending in death. Why death? Honestly, some of the images in the publications are so strange that nothing else comes to mind.
So, the world of the girl Jane, living in the family of her impatient aunt, takes the reader into its arms. And immediately there is pity for her, since the conditions in which she has to exist are unbearable. The problem of abandoned children, to whom there is no one to listen, immediately becomes acute. Both disobedience and a certain impudence appear naturally, and in this respect the novel echoes Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. Just as in HP, the heroine shows character, but the reasons for this manifestation differ, just as the very tones of the two famous novels differ: in The Passage, Katie was selfish, in Jane Eyre, little Jane is unhappy. However, it is precisely such antics of the heroine that make her interesting, since, in this context, there is no movement without rebellion.
The movement occurs as Jane grows up. It is now that she becomes the elf who will subsequently conquer the hero: her wide soul, warm heart, clear understanding of herself (who I am and what I can do) and her place in life make her a very deep being, a very straightforward person who is not typical forgive those who offended her. This is how Jane differs from the rest of the compassionate Cinderellas who were created after Charlotte Brontë. In her, unlike the same heroines of Jane Austen, there was not only heat, but also hardened steel: she always knew what was right for her and what actions should only be condemned. Forgiveness? No, excuse me. An irreconcilable elf with a homely appearance and impeccable training, but with her own inner world - this is Jane Eyre.
It's no secret that Jane's development as a governess was drawn from Charlotte's own life. It was a difficult, depressing formation, and the very fact that the heroine had to be only a governess, with no claims to the future, was somewhat depressing. After all, it’s clear that any heroine deserves the best, and Jane Eyre even more so.
She deserved it - but only for a moment. The prince is played by Mr. Rochester, who, although he does not hire Jane himself, owns the estate where she was hired. The young governess’s ward is not so much curious as her relationship with the owner of the estate. More than one reader’s heart sank on those numerous pages where the elf first receives such a name and justifies it, where Jane and Mr. Rochester, although they become closer, each remain with their own opinion. Numerous conventions and the prevailing nature of life itself prevent our heroine from declaring her love for her employer even through an intermediary (the episode with Mr. Rochester dressing up as a fortune teller is inimitable!). But when this happens, and happiness seems to be close, the reader is horrified by the news that the prince is already married.
This extraordinary moment in the novel probably has no duplicates in later works. He makes the novel not just sentimental, but a gothic, brutal novel in which the natural and the incredible collide. Vampires?! God bless you, where do vampires come from in such a novel?!
But calm down, it's just a matter of madness. And wow, thanks to him and some other facts, Jane disappears from Mr. Rochester’s life, and many subsequent pages are watered with the reader’s bitter tears. It seems that nothing can satisfy the pain of this loss, because Mr. Rochester managed to become a good friend to the one who honored the heroine. How can you bear Jane's wanderings, begging, and even the fact that she finds kind people? How?
But it will. Jane finds shelter and friends, but does not find peace of mind, because, the reader rejoices, she does not betray the memory that he was ready to marry her, the poor governess, who saw in her an elf - mischievous, wayward. And the threat of a contender for Jane's heart, how do you like that? What will she choose - serving people or serving her heart?
I can’t reveal the plot further – I’m ashamed.
The ending, of course, is stunning in its impact on the reader’s soul, fragile from grief. As long as the world lasts, so many young ladies will shed tears over this ending - tears of joy for Jane, and pride for her, and for her perseverance, and faith, and love.
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What is the novel "Jane Eyre" about?
Jane often faces a choice, but always acts in the name of the dictates of her heart and conscience.
Charlotte Bronte's book raises eternal questions and themes: religion and unbelief, morality and permissiveness, forgiveness and true love, family ties and class differences. The ability to take the right step, not to bend under the weight of life's trials, not to become tempted by the evil one - all these are manifestations of the strong will and correct life position of the main character, who at the end of the novel was rewarded for all the hardships with real and pure family happiness.
Jane Eyre was first filmed in 1934, and in 2011 the plot of the novel formed the basis for the 10th film about Jane Eyre.
About the product
The novel "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte was written in 1847. The touching story of the life and love of the orphan Jane Eyre quickly won the love of readers, becoming one of the examples of English classics. The novel was first published in Russian in 1950.
The book raises important topics: the position of women in society, family values, the ability to trust, understand and forgive each other.
We recommend reading online a summary of “Jane Eyre” chapter by chapter. A retelling of the book will be useful for the reading diary and preparation for a literature lesson.
The material was prepared jointly with a teacher of the highest category, Kuchmina Nadezhda Vladimirovna.
Experience as a teacher of Russian language and literature - 27 years.
