I first read this book when I was 15. I live in the UK and Jane Eyre was one of the set texts for my English Literature course. Usually, studying a book in this sort of depth puts you off for life, but Jane Eyre has remained a long-term favourite of mine. I never tire of reading it.
The heroine of the book, Jane, is an orphan and is living with her aunt in the north of England. Her life is a torment; her cousins make her life a misery and her aunt despises her. There is a particularly vivid moment when Mrs Reed (Jane's aunt) locks her into an old, disused bedroom as punishment. Finally Jane is sent to a charitable institution/school to be educated.
Her life there is much better than at Gateshead, where her aunt lived, and the contrast is important as Jane has moved from living in relative luxury to being in simple and poor conditions. This is a contrast Charlotte Brontė uses a great deal in her books. Finally, Jane leaves Lowood (the school) to be a governess to a French girl, Adele, at a large manor house called Thornfield.
The owner of the house, Mr Rochester, is quite taken with Jane, although Jane is unaware of this; indeed, she thinks Mr Rochester is going to marry one of his house guests Blanche Ingram who, whilst being beautiful and accomplished, has an unpleasant character and mean nature.
I won't cover the plot in more detail as it will spoil the book for those of you who have not read it. I hope what I have written intrigues you enough to read a true classic which has stood the test of time.
It is important to remember when reading Jane Eyre (indeed, any of the Brontė books) just how different life was for women then. When published it was considered quite shocking and brutal in the way Jane was portrayed. Women simply did not behave in this manner. I have noted some other comments about French being used throughout the book. Charlotte Brontė would have expected her contemporary readers to understand French and so did not bother to provide translation. If you do not speak French I would advise you to purchase a copy of the book that has notes at the back which cover and provide translation for both the French and also the local dialect/colloquialisms that modern readers will be unfamiliar with.
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