The story is told from the heroine's point of view. Jane illustrates the hardships she endured living with her aunt, Mrs. Reed--not a blood relative--who despises her and treats her with less affection than a servant. Mrs. Reed justifies her cruelty by inventing falsehoods about Jane being an insolent and violent child when her own kids are abusing Jane. Although the abuse is rarely physical, Jane certainly is abused emotionally. During this time, Jane's only ally, if you could call her that, is her nurse, Bessie. Mrs. Reed eventually sends Jane to Lowood, a boarding school. This school is essentially an orphanage. Their food is rationed and they have strict studying habits. At Lowood, Jane befriends an older child, Helen. Jane cannot understand how Helen can endure hardships and still be a pillar of strength and be a young girl of honor and grace. Even though the reader only experiences a glimpse of Helen relative to the length of the rest of the story, Helen is still a pivotal person in Jane's life.
A new chapter in Jane's life is soon introduced after a brief glimpse into her life as a teacher at Lowood. Because of her training and experience at Lowood, Jane is able to procure an occupation as a governess for a French child, the ward of an Englishman who may or may not be her father. A mutual attraction and respect is soon developed between Jane and her master, Mr. Rochester.
The relationship between the two becomes the major plot with many agonizing twists and turns that does come to a satisfying conclusion. Through it all, Jane is painted as a woman of substance and strength. She's learned, intuitive, and enigmatic. Yet, she doubts her abilities and, at times, her vision is tunneled by her bouts of weakness. This shows a beautiful dichotomy between the two major layers of her personality.
This work delves into the dark side of human emotion and, likewise, is where Emily and Charlotte Bronte's famous pieces, Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, are similar. It also reaches the very pinnacle of passionate love. It challenges what is acceptable to feel even in today's society.
While I love nineteenth century literature because it defines story telling with its originality, I can often get hung up on the language. However, I encourage any reader to wade through the nineteenth century language because of the raw emotion played out on the pages. Jane Eyre has been elevated to my top ten reads of all time. This book helped me to put my life into proper perspective and taught me to have a little more fortitude. And, isn't the reason for reading good literature, in part, to help sculpt a person's worldview?
