Algemene gegevens

1. Name author: Charlotte Brontë
2. Title of book: Jane Eyre
3. Year of publication: 1847
4. Number of points: 3
5. Number of pages: 448

1. Beschrijf in 1 zin waar het boek over gaat: 
   The development of a woman in the last century.
2. Summary

   When Jane’s parents die, she is been taken care of by her aunt, Mrs. Reed. She doesn’t like Jane, she allows her own children to be very cruel to Jane. At a certain point Jane can’t stand it anymore and she attacks John. She is then locked up in the ‘Red Room’. This is the room where her uncle died. She is very scared and she ends up passing out in there. Jane becomes really depressed and Mr. Lloyd, the pharmacist recommends Mrs. Reed to send Jane to school.
   
   They send her to Lowood, a boarding school for orphans. Jane is eager to learn and she meets her first friend here, Helen Burns. She is a very intelligent girl that does not care about the severe punishment and they can get along very well. She dies during the typhus epidemic. Jane becomes to rest again thanks to Mrs. Temple and later she becomes a teacher at the Lowood.
   
   Jane decides to leave Lowood. She goes to Thornfield Hall to teach the eight-year-old Adele. Mr. Rochester is the owner of Thornfield Hall and the illegitimate father of Adele. Mrs. Fairfax looks after the house because Mr. Rochester is almost never home.
   
   When he is once home, there suddenly happen all kind of strange things, like a fire in his room. Mr. Rochester falls for Jane and he wants to marry her. The marriage can’t continue because Jane finds out that he is already married to Bertha Mason, who is insane. She was responsible for all the strange things that happened.
   
   Jane decides to leave and ends up with Mr. John Rivers. When she hears about a legacy , they turn out to be family. John wants to marry her, not because he loves her but because she would be a good missionary. Jane can’t stand the pressure and decides to go back to the person she loves: Mr. Rochester.
   
   When she comes back to Thornfield Hall, it appears to be burned down to the ground. Bertha Mason has started the fire and then jumped from her room, she died. Jane looks for Mr. Rochester and she finds him. In his attempts to save Bertha Mason, he had lost one hand and got blind. Despite this, Jane still loved him and they finally married and lived together long and very happy.                                                                                       

3. Theme
   The theme of the story is to achieve happiness, and independence of a woman, against the need to be loved by someone.
4. Main Character
   Jane Eyre: She loves her freedom, knows how to impose her will and is very independent. Despite this, she can’t find peace. Her parents have died and she lives with her aunt, who gives her little love. Throughout the story she is becoming a stronger person.
5. Two Minor Characters 
   Mr. Rochester: Jane’s employer. She falls in love with him. At first he seems a little harsh, but when he declared his love to Jane he became really romantic. Later in the book, he becomes handicapped.
   Mrs. Reed: Jane’s aunt. She promised her husband to take care of Jane after his death. But she doesn’t keep this promise, Jane is a zero compared with her own children. She doesn’t treat her nicely.
6. Where is the story set? 
   The story is set in different places: Gateshead (by her aunt), Lowood's (boarding school for orphans), Thornfield (where she works for Mr. Rochester), Morton (where she becomes a school teacher), Ferndean (where she is reunited with Mr. Rochester)
7. When does the story take place?
   The story is set in the late 18th century to the early 19th century. The time in which the story takes place is very important to the story, because traditions and specific uses played a major role in everyday life. The story is told chronologically, the author doesn’t use flashbacks.  
8. Who is the narrator?
   The narrator is Jane Eyre, the story is told from her point of view and it’s about her life.
9. Explain the title
   Jane Eyre is the name of the main character.
10. Is there a message behind the book?
    No. I didn’t feel like she wanted to bring across a message, by for example emphasize things really bad.

1. What is your opion?
   I really liked the book, I found it a beautiful story and I liked the development of Jane. I also liked the changing perspective. What I didn’t like was the writing style, I had some hard times reading it.
2. Would you recommend it? 
   Yes, because of the story.
3. Which part did you like the best?
   I liked the part where Jane returns to Mr Rochester the best. He can’t believe that Jane still loves him because he is a handicapped man now. Jane knows how to convince him that she still loves him. It’s a happy ending.
4. Which part disappointed you the most?
   The part that it is finally the day Jane is going to marry Mr. Rochester, but the ceremony is disrupted. The marriage can’t continue.