Jane Eyre pdf by Charlotte Bronte was originally published as Jane Eyre: An Autobiography and is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under the pen name “Currer Bell”, on 16 October 1847, by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first American edition was published the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York. Jane Eyre is a Bildungsroman which follows the experiences of its eponymous heroine, including her growth to adulthood and her love for Mr. Rochester, the brooding master of Thornfield Hall.
The novel revolutionized prose fiction by being the first to focus on its protagonist’s moral and spiritual development through an intimate first-person narrative, where actions and events are coloured by a psychological intensity. Charlotte Brontë has been called the “first historian of the private consciousness” and the literary ancestor of writers like Proust and Joyce.
Jane Eyre pdf Summary
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is a book about an orphan who endures a harsh childhood, Jane Eyre becomes governess at Thornfield Hall in the employment of the mysterious Mr. Rochester. Jane’s moral pilgrimage and the maturity of Charlotte Bronte’s characterization are celebrated aspects of the novel, as is its imagery and narrative power. Rapidly reprinted following its first publication in 1847, Jane Eyre still enjoys huge popularity as one of the finest novels in the English language. Poor and plain, Jane Eyre begins life as a lonely orphan in the household of her hateful aunt. Despite the oppression she endures at home, and the later torture of boarding school, Jane manages to emerge with her spirit and integrity unbroken. She becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she finds herself falling in love with her employer—the dark, impassioned Mr. Rochester. But an explosive secret tears apart their relationship, forcing Jane to face poverty and isolation once again. One of the world’s most beloved novels, Jane Eyre is a startlingly modern blend of passion, romance, mystery, and suspense.
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Charlotte Bronte Author of Jane Eyre pdf Book
Charlotte Brontë, best known for her novel Jane Eyre pdf book, was born in Thornton, Yorkshire, the daughter of an Anglican clergyman. After the death of her mother, Charlotte was left with her sisters Anne and Emily and her brother Branwell to the care of their strictly religious Aunt Elisabeth. During a somewhat unhappy childhood the children created imaginary worlds as an escape from their everyday life. She attended the Clergy Daughter s School at Cowan Bridge but returned in the same year due to the harsh conditions, which she later suggested as the cause of her elder sisters deaths and her own melancholia. In 1839 Charlotte was governess with the Sidgwick family at Skipton, and in 1841 with the White family at Rawdon, however her attempts to earn a living as a governess were constantly hampered by her terrible shyness, her ignorance of children and her longing to be with her sisters. Jane Eyre was published in 1847 and achieved immediate success. She dedicated the book to W.M. Thackeray. It is the story of a penniless orphan who becomes a teacher, obtains a post as a governess, comes into an inheritance from an uncle and finally marries the Byronic hero, clearly reflecting an autobiographical influence. In 1854 Charlotte married her father s curate, Arthur Bell Nicholls. She died during her pregnancy on March the 31st 1855. Over the past fifty years her reputation has risen greatly, and her work has been shown to speak up for oppressed women of all ages.
Jane Eyre pdf, Paperback, Hardcover Book Information
- ASIN : 1853260207
- Publisher : Wordsworth Editions Ltd (August 31, 1997)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 448 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9781853260209
- ISBN-13 : 978-1853260209
- Reading age : 18 years
- Lexile measure : 890L
- Item Weight : 9.8 ounces
- Dimensions : 5 x 0.9 x 7.7 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #57,413 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,140 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction
- #2,090 in Classic Literature & Fiction
- #2,250 in Regency Romances
- Customer Reviews: 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,956 ratings
Jane Eyre characters by Charlotte Bronte
- Jane Eyre: The novel’s narrator and protagonist, she eventually becomes the second wife of Edward Rochester. Orphaned as a baby, Jane struggles through her nearly loveless childhood and becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall. Though facially plain, Jane is passionate and strongly principled and values freedom and independence. She also has a strong conscience and is a determined Christian. She is ten at the beginning of the novel, and nineteen or twenty at the end of the main narrative. As the final chapter of the novel states that she has been married to Edward Rochester for ten years, she is approximately thirty at its completion.
- Mrs. Sarah Reed: (née Gibson) Jane’s maternal aunt by marriage, who reluctantly adopted Jane in accordance with her late husband’s wishes. According to Mrs. Reed, he pitied Jane and often cared for her more than for his own children. Mrs. Reed’s resentment leads her to abuse and neglect the girl. She lies to Mr. Brocklehurst about Jane’s tendency to lie, preparing him to be severe with Jane when she arrives at Brocklehurst’s Lowood School.
- John Reed: Jane’s fourteen-year-old first cousin who bullies her incessantly and violently, sometimes in his mother’s presence. Addicted to food and sweets, causing him ill health and bad complexion. John eventually ruins himself as an adult by drinking and gambling and is rumoured to have committed suicide.
- Eliza Reed: Jane’s thirteen-year-old first cousin. Envious of her more attractive younger sister and a slave to a rigid routine, she self-righteously devotes herself to religion. She leaves for a nunnery near Lisle (France) after her mother’s death, determined to estrange herself from her sister.
- Georgiana Reed: Jane’s eleven-year-old first cousin. Although beautiful and indulged, she is insolent and spiteful. Her elder sister Eliza foils Georgiana’s marriage to the wealthy Lord Edwin Vere when the couple is about to elope. Georgiana eventually marries a “wealthy worn-out man of fashion.”
- Bessie Lee: The nursemaid at Gateshead Hall. She often treats Jane kindly, telling her stories and singing her songs, but she has a quick temper. Later, she marries Robert Leaven with whom she has three children.
- Miss Martha Abbot: Mrs. Reed’s maid at Gateshead Hall. She is unkind to Jane and tells Jane she has less right to be at Gateshead than a servant does.
- Mr. Lloyd: A compassionate apothecary who recommends that Jane be sent to school. Later, he writes a letter to Miss Temple confirming Jane’s account of her childhood and thereby clears Jane of Mrs. Reed’s charge of lying.
- Mrs. Alice Fairfax: The elderly, kind widow and the housekeeper of Thornfield Hall; distantly related to the Rochesters.
- Adèle Varens: An excitable French child to whom Jane is a governess at Thornfield Hall. Adèle’s mother was a dancer named Céline. She was Mr. Rochester’s mistress and claimed that Adèle was Mr. Rochester’s daughter, though he refuses to believe it due to Céline’s unfaithfulness and Adèle’s apparent lack of resemblance to him. Adèle seems to believe that her mother is dead (she tells Jane in chapter 11, “I lived long ago with mamma, but she is gone to the Holy Virgin”). Mr. Rochester later tells Jane that Céline actually abandoned Adèle and “ran away to Italy with a musician or singer” (ch. 15). Adèle and Jane develop a strong liking for one another, and although Mr. Rochester places Adèle in a strict school after Jane flees Thornfield Hall, Jane visits Adèle after her return and finds a better, less severe school for her. When Adèle is old enough to leave school, Jane describes her as “a pleasing and obliging companion – docile, good-tempered and well-principled”, and considers her kindness to Adèle well repaid.
- Grace Poole: “…a woman of between thirty and forty; a set, square-made figure, red-haired, and with a hard, plain face…” Mr. Rochester pays her a very high salary to keep his mad wife, Bertha, hidden and quiet. Grace is often used as an explanation for odd happenings at the house such as strange laughter that was heard not long after Jane arrived. She has a weakness for drinking that occasionally allows Bertha to escape.
Quotes from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will.”
“Some of the best people that ever lived have been as destitute as I am; and if you are a Christian, you ought not to consider poverty a crime.”
“Do you think I am an automaton?–a machine without feelings? and can bear to have my morsel of bread snatched from my lips, and my drop of living water dashed from my cup? Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong!–I have as much soul as you,–and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you. I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom, conventionalities, nor even of mortal flesh;–it is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave, and we stood at God’s feet, equal,–as we are!”
“Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts, as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, to absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex.”
“’I am not an angel,’ I asserted; ‘and I will not be one till I die: I will be myself. Mr. Rochester, you must neither expect nor exact anything celestial of me–for you will not get it, any more than I shall get it of you: which I do not at all anticipate.’”
“Every atom of your flesh is as dear to me as my own: in pain and sickness it would still be dear. Your mind is my treasure, and if it were broken, it would be my treasure still.” –Mr. Rochester
“I sometimes have a queer feeling with regard to you–especially when you are near me, as now: it is as if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs, tightly and inextricably knotted to a similar string situated in the corresponding quarter of your little frame. And if that boisterous Channel, and two hundred miles or so of land come broad between us, I am afraid that cord of communion will be snapt; and then I’ve a nervous notion I should take to bleeding inwardly.” –Mr. Rochester
“Her coming was my hope each day,
Her parting was my pain;
The chance that did her steps delay
Was ice in every vein.”
–Song sung by Mr. Rochester
“I would always rather be happy than dignified.”
“There is no happiness like that of being loved by your fellow-creatures, and feeling that your presence is an addition to their comfort.”
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Read reviews on Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Customer reviews on Barnesandnoble for Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
RRRR
a year ago
An All Time Favorite (Just Get Past Pg 80)
This is one of my favorite books of all time. I first read it as a high school assignment and full disclosure, the beginning had me bored to tears. But stick with it – trust me. I’m not a big reader of classic romances, but after page 80 I could not put this book down. Over 8 years later I have read this book a total of 4 times.This is a novel for those who don’t want a conventional romance, but a story with strong, intelligent, well-rounded characters who develop complex bonds with one another over the course of the book. It’s long, but the plot is rich, the characters well formed, and the writing/plot much easier to digest than other writers of the same period. Highly highly recommend.
Anonymous
Wayne, New Jersey
5 out of 5 stars.
2 years ago
A Beautiful Story About Love And Independence
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte was the second Bronte novel I read. I fell in love with this book and the first-person narration provides a deeper understanding of our protagonist; it is classified as a bildungsroman coming-of-age story. This is a more developed story than Agnes Grey. Jane Eyre was published in 1847 by Smith, Elder and Company under the alias, Currer Bell. The Bronte sisters were among Lucy Maud Montgomery’s literary influences and the character of Anne Shirley often alludes to Jane Eyre. Spoilers(you can read this section of the review if you have read Jane Eyre):
Jane Eyre commences with the story of an orphan girl, Jane Eyre from northern England who has been left under the care of her Aunt Reed at Gateshead Hall. Jane is mistreated and abused by her aunt and cousins, John, Eliza, and Georgiana. Her nursemaid, Bessie treats her kindly and amuses her with stories. She takes solace in her imagination and books including Bewick’s British History of Birds, Arabian Nights, Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift, and Marmion by Sir Walter Scott. Jane has always been vehemently passionate and defensive, unwilling to conform to Victorian society. Fire symbolizes passion and ardor. Birds symbolize freedom and following one’s heart. After her cousin, John Reed torments and strikes her, she screams and Mrs. Reed locks up Jane in the red room where her Uncle Reed died. Jane is haunted by the presence of Mr. Reed’s ghost; as a result, she faints and becomes weak and feverish for a while. When the apothecary, Mr. Lloyd visits Jane, she elucidates that she wants to spread her wings and is unable to do so because of the hateful environment she is living in. Mr. Lloyd suggests Mrs. Reed that Jane should be sent to school. One afternoon, Mr. Brocklehurst, the president of a charity school in Yorkshire visits the Reed estate. Mrs. Reed informs him that Jane has a tendency for deceit. The cold hypocrite, Mr. Brocklehurst then leaves Jane enraged. Before leaving for Lowood School, Jane reminds Mrs. Reed that the Reeds are the deceitful ones and she would never visit her again. On his deathbed, Mr. Reed had made his wife promise to care for Jane, love her, listen to her, and treat her as an equal. Instead, Mrs. Reed takes out all her anger on Jane because she believes that her husband had nurtured Jane and neglected their own children. After Jane makes her statement, Mrs. Reed’s feelings of animosity and hatred towards Jane grow.
Once Jane arrives at Lowood, she is soon made aware of the strict boarding school environment. There are a great many privations. However, she befriends Helen Burns, a teenage girl who is very connected to nature, God, and herself. Jane and Helen have several conversations about injustice. Helen believes in love and forgiveness. She knows she is near a protective land of God and spirits that she will merge with. Jane also finds a kindred spirit in the headteacher, Miss Temple, a woman who appreciates Jane’s talents and discovers beauty in all her students. Mr. Brocklehurst visits the school a few times, but Miss Temple clears Jane of all wrongs. In spite of the poor environment, Jane flourishes and excels in her academics. She wins the hearts of everyone at Lowood and soon learns French. Although Jane looks plain and is not beautiful or attractive, she astounds everyone with her skill at painting. Helen and Miss Temple continue to be her mentors. When spring arrives and Jane is surrounded by a lovely, vivacious garden, everyone’s life becomes filled with sunshine. However, the typhus epidemic soon strikes and the beloved Helen dies of consumption in Jane’s arms. On her last night, Helen reassures Jane that death is not painful and it will lead her to be restored to infinite happiness with her Maker.
The school trustees find out about the girls’ poor living conditions and scarce food. They build a new school and the conditions quickly improve. Within a few years, Jane’s confidante, Miss Temple gets married to Reverend Naysmith and is forced to leave her job. Jane has now spent eight years at Lowood, six as a student and two as a teacher. She yearns for different opportunities outside of Lowood. She advertises for a position as a governess at Thornfield Hall. A fortnight later, Mrs. Alice Fairfax accepts her as governess for Adele Varens. The night before she leaves for Thornfield, Jane is visited by Bessie. She learns that Bessie has married Robert Leaven and now has children of her own. Bessie tells Jane that Georgiana desires for marriage and fortunes, Eliza is sensible and consecrated, and John has become an alcoholic and criminal.
At Thornfield Hall in Millcote, Jane begins work as a governess for the French orphan child, Adele. A few days later, Jane sees a horseman and helps him. She intends to stay close to him. Jane later discovers that this man is Mr. Edward Rochester, the master of the house. Mr. Rochester summons Jane every day and they start to have strong feelings for one another. Mr. Rochester can see beauty beyond Jane’s plain appearance and Jane can see comfort amid Mr. Rochestor’s stern and rigid figure. One day, Jane begins to hear strange noises and she saves Rochester from a fire in his room. Rochester uses Grace Poole as an excuse for these incidents. Jane misses Rochester when he is away from her. One evening, he brings home many guests. Everyone presumes that Rochester will marry Blanche Ingram. Jane feels very lost with the Eshtons and Ingrams and decides to simply observe the party. Blanche is conceited and condescending. She always looks at Jane contemptuously. Jane concludes that Blanche will not let Rochester live happily. There are many delightful events such as fortune-telling with a gypsy woman. However, the strange happenings continue. Richard Mason, a visiting man, gets injured.
Jane soon receives the news that John Reed has committed suicide and Aunt Reed is dying of a stroke. She leaves Thornfield for a month to visit her aunt. Jane brings her sketching set with her and astounds her cousins. Eliza is disciplined and Georgiana is whimsical. Jane remembers Helen’s dying words and wonders if her aunt will give up her materials and learn to love. Unfortunately, Mrs. Reed remains cruel and threatened until her dying day even though Jane has forgiven her. Jane learns that she has a paternal uncle, John Eyre in Madreia.
After Mrs. Reed’s funeral, Jane returns to Thornfield with a lot of hope. Mr. Rochester declares that he has decided not to marry Miss Ingram and it is actually Jane he wishes to marry. Jane and Rochester propose and engage in four weeks of courtship before their wedding. Jane clearly informs Rochester that she merely wants love, not jewels. On their wedding day, Richard Mason announces that Rochester cannot marry Jane because he is already married to Bertha Mason. Bertha is referred to as the madwoman in the attic. Rochester was trapped in this marriage to Bertha and soon realized that he could not live with his lunatic wife. Rochester had basically informally divorced Bertha and kept her in confinement with her servant, Grace Poole. Jane decides she must temporarily leave Thornfield.
She arrives on the Yorkshire moors. Penniless, she spends two days in starvation. Eventually, she is allowed to stay with St. John Rivers and his sisters, Diana and Mary at Moor House. Within a month, she is offered a teaching position at Moreton and rather enjoys teaching the poor children. Once again, she wins the hearts of everyone in town. St. John receives a letter from Mr. Briggs saying that John Eyre has died and has left behind twenty thousand pounds for Jane. Jane learns that she is a cousin of St. John’s family. She decides to evenly split the money among her cousins. St. John teaches her Hindustani. He asks Jane to marry him and move to India because he thinks she would be fit as a missionary’s wife. Jane is not willing to marry her cousin.
She then hears the mystical voice of Rochester and returns to Thornfield in search of him. However, Thornfield is now in blackened ruins. She learns that Bertha has set a fire in Thornfield and committed suicide. In his rescue attempts, Rochester injured one arm and lost his eyesight and he now lives in Ferndean with his servants, Mary and John. Rochester feels the presence of Jane and cries of joy and gratification, for he was miserable when she was away. Jane confides her love for Rochester and they are soon married. Rochester recovers some of his eyesight to see their newborn son.
**End of Spoilers
Analysis:
Throughout her life, Jane has been looked down upon and shielded from love. She lived in the bitter Gateshead Hall and the strict Lowood School under all its privations. However, she ultimately found happiness with Rochester. Rochester may have appeared stern and hard, but he is actually amiable, loving, and passionate. Jane tells Rochester, “Wherever you are is my home.” As written in the aforesaid summary, fire is a significant symbol in this book and it symbolizes passion, rage, and fervor. Jane is an example of fire because she is confident and determined to follow her heart rather than doing as she apparently should. As Jane grows and develops, she learns to understand and forgive the world around as she attains peace. While Helen Burns is considered a minor character, Jane carries her values throughout her life and lives with the hope of merging with herself and nature to find rapture everywhere. Bertha is considered to be of an inferior race and is treated differently. To keep her insane mental illness a secret and to protect others, she is locked up in the attic. However, this only deteriorates her psychological condition. In this book, birds symbolize freedom and independence. During childhood, Jane was deprived of her innocence because of the worldly people around her. When she encounters Rochester, she feels loved and respected.
Anonymous
5 out of 5 stars
4 years ago
A Must Read!
This is easily one of my favorite books, unlike Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontte is not afraid to write about the turmoil of her characters. She writes of the bitterness of the spirit, the lonliness and the despairing moments that we all go through in our lives. This makes the book relatable , and in the end is saving grace which, agian, we all have the chance to partake of.
Customer reviews on Amazon for Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
ISABEL BECKERMAN
5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic & Tender Romance Paperback For The Ages
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2022
Verified Purchase
Around October last year, I began thinking about re-reading my favorite classics all over again, a kind of a challenge. I read Jane Eyre more than once since the first time I held it in my hands around the age of 11, watched the TV & movie adaptations a hundred times, and talked about it to anyone who would hear me. But reading this book as a grownup woman, I understood aspects of it that I didn’t before. Jane Eyre is more than a gothic romance novel; it’s a true feminist book, an orphaned girl who turns into a working woman searching for herself and her independence in a cruel world that despised the poor and her gender. Finding love in Rochester a man who is her superior in status but her equal in any other aspect is heartbreaking especially when it all falls apart. I think the true romance of Rochester and Jane is not just the age gap, the privilege barrier, or the sweet words; it’s the fact that Jane held her own, experienced heartache, found herself and her wealth, and returned to him as her own woman. I love the religious aspect of the novel and how Jane as a young girl was influenced by her faithful friend Helen. I always thought Helen was angelic, not suitable for this world. Seeing Jane go through hard decisions and standing by her principles errand my admiration. What she did, what she experienced was more than most people would bear. I admire such strength. One of my favorite leading characters, and romances of the Victorian era. Highly recommended !!!!
Annonymous
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book! I love it!
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2021
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I liked the format of the book, it was easy to see, the list of footnotes at the back helped to understand references that I didn’t know, and the introduction in the front of the book, which suggested that I read the book first before looking at the next section was good advice, even though I had read this book many times before! It is a book that I will continue to reread!
Alissa
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read and great printing of it
Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2021
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The notes in the back help explain the phrases we no longer have, ties to stories I didn’t know that give context to the comment, and the translations from French. I hated the book in High school, but I’m loving it as an adult!
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