Jane Eyre: A Novel of Education by Charlotte Bronte - Overview and Plot Summary, Schemi e mappe concettuali di Inglese

Scarica Jane Eyre: A Novel of Education by Charlotte Bronte - Overview and Plot Summary e più Schemi e mappe concettuali in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! CHARLOTTE BRONTE LIFE AND MAIN WORKS Charlotte Bronte, her sisters and brother are the children of an Irish man who lived in Yorkshire, an isolated and lonely place she’s been educated at home she worked as a governess (as Jane Eyre does) and went to teach in Brussels she died one year after her wedding, when she vas only 39. The most famous work by Charlotte Bronte is Jane Eyre. JANE EYRE Jane Eyre (originally published as Jane Eyre: An Autobiography) is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It is first of all a bildungsroman, or novel of education: Jane Eyre follows the experiences of its main character, her growth and her love for Mr. Rochester, the brooding master of Thornfield Hall the main character evolves through the story. The novel is a first-person narrative from the perspective of the title character. The novel's setting is somewhere in the north of England. It goes through five distinct stages: Jane's childhood at Gateshead Hall, where she is emotionally and physically abused by her aunt and cousins; her education at Lowood School, where she gains friends and role models but suffers privations and oppression; her time as governess at Thornfield Hall, where she falls in love with her mysterious employer, Edward Rochester; her time with the Rivers family, during which her cousin, St. John Rivers, proposes to her; and finally her reunion with her beloved Mr. Rochester and their wedding. JANE EYRE – THE PLOT Jane, aged 10, lives with her uncle's family, because her parents died of typhus. Mr. Reed, Jane's uncle, was the only member of the Reed family who was ever kind to Jane. Jane's aunt, Sarah Reed, dislikes her, abuses her, and treats her as a burden, and discourages her children from associating with Jane. The nursemaid, Bessie, proves to be Jane's only ally in the house, even though Bessie occasionally scolds Jane harshly. Excluded from the family activities, Jane leads a unhappy childhood, with only a doll and books with which to entertain herself. One day, as punishment for defending herself against her cousin John Reed, Jane is relegated to the red room in which her uncle had died; there, she faints from panic after she thinks she has seen his ghost. Mrs. Reed talks to Mr. Brocklehurst who is the director of Lowood Institution, a charity school for girls, to enroll Jane. Mrs. Reed cautions Mr. Brocklehurst that Jane has a "tendency for deceit", which he interprets as her being a "liar". Before Jane leaves, however, she confronts Mrs. Reed and declares that she'll never call her "aunt" again. Jane also tells Mrs. Reed and her daughters, Georgiana and Eliza, that they are the ones who are deceitful, and that she will tell everyone at Lowood how cruelly the Reeds treated her. At Lowood Institution, a school for poor and orphaned girls, Jane soon finds that life is harsh; she finds a friend, an older girl, Helen Burns. During a school inspection by Mr. Brocklehurst, Jane accidentally breaks her slate, thereby drawing attention to herself. He then stands her on a stool, brands her a liar, and shames her before the entire assembly. Miss Temple, the caring superintendent, facilitates Jane's self-defence. Helen and Miss Temple are Jane's two main role models that positively guide her development, despite the harsh treatment she has received from many others. The 80 pupils at Lowood are subjected to cold rooms, poor meals, and thin clothing. Many students fall ill when a typhus epidemic strikes; Helen dies in Jane's arms. When Mr. Brocklehurst's maltreatment of the students is discovered, several benefactors erect a new building and install a sympathetic management committee to moderate Mr. Brocklehurst's harsh rule. Conditions at the school then improve. After six years as a student and two as a teacher at Lowood, Jane decides to leave. Her friend and confidante, Miss Temple, also leaves after getting married. She advertises her services as a governess takes the position at Thornfield Hall, teaching Adèle Varens, a young French girl. One night, while Jane is walking to a nearby town, a horseman passes her. The horse slips on ice and throws the rider. Jane helps him get back onto his horse. Later she learns that this man is Edward Rochester, master of the house. Adèle was left in his care when her mother abandoned her. At Jane's first meeting with Mr. Rochester, he teases her, accusing her of bewitching his horse to make him fall. Jane is able to stand up to his initially arrogant manner, despite his strange behaviour. Mr. Rochester and Jane soon come to enjoy each other's company, and spend many evenings together. Odd things start to happen at the house, such as a strange laugh, a mysterious fire in Mr. Rochester's room (from which Jane saves Rochester by rousing him and throwing water on him and the fire), and an attack on a house guest named Mr. Mason. After Jane saved Mr. Rochester from the fire, he thanked her tenderly and emotionally, and that night Jane felt strange emotions of her own, towards him. Next day, however, he left unexpectedly for a distant party gathering, and several days later returned with the whole party, including the beautiful and talented Blanche Ingram. Jane sees that Blanche and Mr. Rochester favour each other, and starts to feel jealous, particularly because she also sees that Blanche is snobbish and heartless, and unworthy of "her" Mr. Rochester. Jane then receives word that Mrs. Reed is calling for her, because she has suffered a stroke after John Reed has died. Jane returns to Gateshead and remains there for a month, attending to her dying aunt. Mrs. Reed confesses to Jane that she wronged her, giving Jane a letter from Jane's paternal uncle, Mr. John Eyre, in which he asks for her to live with him and be his heir. Mrs. Reed admits to telling Mr. Eyre that Jane had died of fever at Lowood. Soon afterward, Mrs. Reed dies, and Jane helps her cousins after the funeral before returning to Thornfield. Back at Thornfield, Jane broods over Mr. Rochester's rumoured impending marriage to Blanche Ingram. However, one midsummer evening, Rochester baits Jane by saying how much he will miss her after getting married and how she will soon forget him. The normally self-controlled Jane reveals her feelings for him. Rochester then is sure that Jane is sincerely in love with him, and he proposes marriage. Jane is at first skeptical of his sincerity, before accepting his proposal. She then writes to her Uncle John, telling him of her happy news. As she prepares for her wedding, Jane's forebodings arise when a strange woman sneaks into her room one night and rips her wedding veil in two. As with the previous mysterious events, Mr. Rochester attributes the incident to Grace Poole, one of his servants. During the wedding ceremony, Mr. Mason and a lawyer declare that Mr. Rochester cannot marry because he is already married to Mr. Mason's sister, Bertha. Mr. Rochester admits this is true but explains that his father tricked him into the marriage for her money. Once they were united, he discovered that she was rapidly descending into congenital madness, and so he eventually locked her away in Thornfield, hiring Grace Poole as a nurse to look after her. When Grace gets drunk, Rochester's wife escapes and causes the strange happenings at Thornfield. It turns out that Jane's uncle, Mr. John Eyre, is a friend of Mr. Mason's and was visited by him soon after Mr. Eyre received Jane's letter about her impending marriage. After the marriage ceremony is broken off, Mr. Rochester asks Jane to go with him to the south of France, and live with him as husband and wife, even though they cannot be married. Refusing to go against her principles, and despite her love for him, Jane leaves Thornfield in the middle of the night. Jane travels as far from Thornfield as she can using the little money she had previously saved. She accidentally leaves her bundle of possessions on the coach and is forced to sleep on the moor. Exhausted and starving, she makes her way to the home of Diana and Mary Rivers, but is turned away by the housekeeper. She collapses on the doorstep, preparing for her death. St. John Rivers, Diana and Mary's brother and a clergyman, rescues her. After she regains her health, St. John finds Jane a teaching position at a nearby village school. Jane becomes good friends with the sisters, but St. John remains aloof. The sisters leave for governess jobs, and St. John becomes somewhat closer to Jane. St. John learns Jane's true identity and astounds her by telling her that her uncle, John Eyre, has died and left her his entire fortune. When Jane questions him further, St. John reveals that John Eyre is also his and his sisters' uncle. They had once hoped for a share of the inheritance but were left virtually nothing. Jane, overjoyed by finding that she has living and friendly family members, insists on sharing the money equally with her cousins, and Diana and Mary come back to live at Moor House. St. John asks her to marry him and to go with him to India, not out of love, but out of duty. Jane initially accepts going to India but rejects the marriage proposal, suggesting they travel as brother and sister. As soon as Jane's resolve against marriage to St. John begins to weaken, she mystically hears Mr. Rochester's voice calling her name. Jane then returns to Thornfield to find only blackened ruins. She learns that Mr. Rochester's wife set the house on fire and committed suicide by jumping from the roof. In his rescue attempts, Mr. Rochester lost a hand and his eyesight. Jane reunites with him, but he fears that she will be repulsed by his condition. "Am I hideous, Jane?", he asks. "Very, sir; you always were, you know", she replies. When Jane assures him of her love and tells him that she will never leave him, Mr. Rochester proposes again, and they are married. He eventually recovers sight enough to see their new born son. THE PROTAGONIST: JANE During the Victorian period the woman was seen as the angel of the house, while Jane is a totally different character: she’s an independent, unconventional and courageous woman who tries to improve her economic situation. Jane can be seen as a transposition of Charlotte’s desires and the whole work can be seen as a critic of the society that offered just a few opportunities to woman. MR AND MRS ROCHESTER Mr Rochester is an outstanding character because he is the opposite of the typical romantic hero of the love stories. He is fascinating and exerts a certain power over people. He has an uncommon sensitivity. Bertha is a mad, aggressive and dangerous woman, to both herself and others.