The internal conflicts of the novel include respect vs. power, reflected in Rochester’s desire to conquer Jane and how she wants him to see her; love vs. independence, portrayed in Jane’s desire to be loved and the other to be a strong woman; and passion//love vs. morality, displayed in Jane’s conflict to stay or leave Rochester after finding out he is married. External conflicts include men vs women, shown in the Victorian nature of the novel, and how Jane is expected to be obedient; the wealthy vs the poor, shown in Jane and Rochester’s differences socioeconomically; and children vs. adults, one example being the teachers at Lowood and the students, or Jane and her aunt.
Plot Summary
Jane Eyre is set in the Victorian Era England and tells the story from Jane’s point of view. The story is introduced with Jane as a plain looking, smart, charismatic orphan, where she is living with her aunt and cousins, who treat her like a slave. One incident, Jane is locked in the “Red Room” where she feels the presence of her Uncle’s ghost and faints from fear. When she is old enough, she is sent to the Lowood School for girls, where she spends all of her childhood and the beginning of her adult life. While she is there, she is taught about discipline, respect, and compassion, because Jane loses a friend who taught her about patience in the beginning of her stay at Lowood.
When she completes her education, Jane is sent to Thornfield Hall to become a governess to a child named Adele, who is the ward of the owner of Thornfield, Edward Rochester. While Jane is teaching Adele, she begins to fall for Rochester, who is rich, handsome, and mysterious, without realizing that Rochester has demons that pray on him (literally). While she is living at Thornfield, a series of events happen that make her question both Rochester and her family, because Rochester ‘s bedroom is set on fire by someone, and Jane’s aunt dies, revealing a letter sent to Jane from John Eyre offering her a place to live that the aunt hid and replied that Jane was dead. When she returns to Thornfield, Rochester shows Jane about control, passion and power, due to his unrequited desire to conquer people beneath him, while Jane teaches Rochester about compassion, respect and what a strong woman looks like, through her persona and levelheadedness.
After Rochester proposes and Jane realizes on her wedding day that Rochester is keeping his old wife, Bertha Mason, in his attic, she leaves Thornfield, heartbroken and lost, and is found by a man named St. John Rivers, whom she discovers to be her cousin. While she is there, she teaches at a school where St. John gave her the job, receives a dowry of 20,000 pounds, and denies his proposal of marriage, because she is still in love with Rochester and even hallucinates pictures of him. But when she hears that Rochester was in a fire, she returns to Thornfield and sees that Bertha has killed herself and set fire to Rochester’s estate, forcing Rochester to a place called Ferndean. Jane travels to Ferndean with a new sense of hope and more confidence, when she discovers that Rochester went blind in the fire. But the two reconcile their “flame” and Jane helps him with his disability and teaches him the importance of requited love and respect.
When she completes her education, Jane is sent to Thornfield Hall to become a governess to a child named Adele, who is the ward of the owner of Thornfield, Edward Rochester. While Jane is teaching Adele, she begins to fall for Rochester, who is rich, handsome, and mysterious, without realizing that Rochester has demons that pray on him (literally). While she is living at Thornfield, a series of events happen that make her question both Rochester and her family, because Rochester ‘s bedroom is set on fire by someone, and Jane’s aunt dies, revealing a letter sent to Jane from John Eyre offering her a place to live that the aunt hid and replied that Jane was dead. When she returns to Thornfield, Rochester shows Jane about control, passion and power, due to his unrequited desire to conquer people beneath him, while Jane teaches Rochester about compassion, respect and what a strong woman looks like, through her persona and levelheadedness.
After Rochester proposes and Jane realizes on her wedding day that Rochester is keeping his old wife, Bertha Mason, in his attic, she leaves Thornfield, heartbroken and lost, and is found by a man named St. John Rivers, whom she discovers to be her cousin. While she is there, she teaches at a school where St. John gave her the job, receives a dowry of 20,000 pounds, and denies his proposal of marriage, because she is still in love with Rochester and even hallucinates pictures of him. But when she hears that Rochester was in a fire, she returns to Thornfield and sees that Bertha has killed herself and set fire to Rochester’s estate, forcing Rochester to a place called Ferndean. Jane travels to Ferndean with a new sense of hope and more confidence, when she discovers that Rochester went blind in the fire. But the two reconcile their “flame” and Jane helps him with his disability and teaches him the importance of requited love and respect.