Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë, published in October 1847 under the pen name "Currer Bell" by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The book is narrated in the first person and carries a strong autobiographical flavor. It tells the story of Jane Eyre, a plain-looking orphan girl of poor birth: in childhood she lives with her aunt, Mrs. Reed, and is treated coldly; at ten she is sent to the charitable boarding school Lowood, where she spends eight years in hardship and repression; as an adult she becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall and comes to know and love the master of the house, Rochester. On her wedding day she discovers that Rochester already has a wife confined in the attic, and she refuses to stay, leaving alone. She then wanders to Marsh End, meets the St. John family, unexpectedly inherits her uncle's fortune, and also rejects St. John's loveless proposal. In the end she returns to the burned-out Thornfield and is reunited with Rochester, who has lost the estate and been left disabled. Within the framework of a love story, the novel depicts a woman's pursuit of independent personhood, equal status, and spiritual freedom, and also touches on religion, class, and colonial wealth. It is regarded as an important female coming-of-age novel in the history of English literature. The information in this entry follows the Song Zhaolin translation (Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House, "Penguin Classics" edition).