Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (Summary)

 

Jane Eyre

By Charlotte Bronte

 

Prologue

 

Writing as her pseudonym "Currer Bell," the author thanks her public and her publishers, but attacks literary critics who expect authors to stick to stylistic and moral conventions. Instead, she explains that appearances and beliefs must be examined and the plain truth must be revealed. 

She dedicates her novel to someone who she thinks does this brilliantly—William Thackeray, the Victorian satirist and author of Vanity Fair. She praises Thackeray for being a "social regenerator" who writes books to correct the warped social system.

 

Chapter 1

 

On a dreary afternoon in Gateshead Hall, the ten-year-old Jane Eyre, who has been forbidden by her aunt from playing with her three cousins, finds a curtained window seat where she can read. Jane pages through a copy of the History of British Birds. Its many pictures inspire her to imagine mysterious stories and arctic scenes. 

Jane's bullying cousin John Reed barges in and insults her, calling her a penniless orphan and beggar and a servant in his house. When he knocks her down with the book, Jane fights back for the first time in her life. The two children scuffle. 

Stunned, John goes crying to Mrs. Reed: his mother and Jane's aunt. Mrs. Reed, despite Jane's protests, accuses Jane of starting the fight. As punishment, Mrs. Reed orders Jane to be locked in the red-room. The red-room is a lavishly furnished and rarely used bedroom where, nine years previous, Mrs. Reed's husband (Jane's uncle) had died.

 

Chapter 2

 

Two servants, Bessie Lee and Miss Abbot, haul the wildly struggling Jane upstairs. Shocked at her violent outbreak, they scold her for disrespecting Mrs. Reed, her benefactress and master. They tell Jane that she depends on Mrs. Reed's generosity. Without it, she would have to go to the poor house.

They lock Jane alone in the red-room. Jane catches sight of her gaunt reflection in the mirror and broods on the injustice of Gateshead Hall, where she is always being insulted and punished while the Reed brats enjoy every privilege. She knows that the kindly Mr. Reed would never have treated her so badly. Mr. Reed brought her to Gateshead, and it was his dying wish that Mrs. Reed raise Jane like one of her own children.

Jane thinks about the dead and how, when wronged, they can arise to seek revenge. Suddenly, Jane is overwhelmed with a sense of Mr. Reed's presence in the room. Convinced she sees his ghost, Jane screams in terror. The servants open the door, but Mrs. Reed refuses to believe Jane or to let her out. Locked back into the red-room again, Jane faints.

Chapter 3

 

Jane wakes up in the nursery, cared for by Bessie, and by the local apothecary, Mr. Lloyd. Bessie tells Jane that she thinks that Mrs. Reed mistreated her, nurses Jane, and even sings Jane a song, but Jane is melancholy and unreachable. Jane only feels better when she gets a book— Gulliver’s Travels, a fanciful satire by Jonathan Swift, which she believes is a factual story of distant places.

As Jane recovers, Mr. Lloyd asks her about her health and her well-being. Jane confesses her unhappiness and her regrets about having no family, but says she does not want to leave and become a beggar. Even if she had family, Jane says she would not want to rejoin them if they were very poor. 

Mr. Lloyd asks Jane if she'd like to attend school. Jane gladly says yes. He obtains permission from Mr. Reed, who is thrilled to get rid of her niece. 

Later, Jane overhears Bessie telling Miss Abbot the story of Jane's family. Jane's father was a poor clergyman. Jane's mother, a Reed, married him against her wealthy family's wishes, and they disowned her. Just after Jane was born, Jane's father caught typhus while helping the poor, and both of Jane's parents soon died. Jane's uncle Mr. Reed adopted her. Mr. Reed also died within a year, but made his wife, Mrs. Reed, promise to raise Jane like one of their own children—John, Eliza, and Georgiana.

 

Chapter 4

 

For two months, Jane anxiously waits for her schooling to start. She is finally interviewed by Mr. Brocklehurst—the aloof and stern headmaster of the Lowood school. He lectures Jane about religion, especially about the virtue of consistency. Mrs. Reed warns him that Jane is a liar, and Mr. Brocklehurst promises to inform her future teachers. 

Jane is so hurt by Mrs. Reed's false accusation that she can't stop herself from angrily exclaiming that her aunt makes her sick and is herself a cruel and deceitful person. Mrs. Reed is dumbstruck and subdued by Jane's bold criticism. Afterwards, Jane feels a thrilling mix of victory and fear at her uncontrolled passions. 

The Reeds continue to shun Jane during her remaining time at Gateshead. Yet Jane makes friends with Bessie and speaks to her with a new "frank and fearless" attitude. Bessie treats her to stories and cakes and tells Jane she likes her better than the Reed kids.

 

Chapter 5

 

Four days later, on a January morning, Jane leaves Gateshead. The carriage trip winds through a dreary landscape and lets Jane off at an uninviting, haunted-looking compound—the Lowood school. 

The Lowood school is a charity school for orphan girls, ranging in age, and all wearing drab rough uniforms. On her first day, Jane witnesses the strictly regimented routine. Teachers order the girls around in formation. Students share beds in long dormitories, and must eat sparse and sometimes inedible meals. 

The school's superintendent, Ms Maria Temple intervenes to provide some better food. Ms. Temple also teaches several subjects. Jane respects her for her kindness and knowledge. 

Jane spots a solitary girl reading. The girl is Helen Burns, an orphan herself. Jane is not used to talking to strangers, but she feels an immediate connection to Helen. Jane asks her a lot of questions about the school, the teachers, and Mr. Brockehurst which Helen answers carefully and with respect.

In the afternoon, a bitter teacher history teacher named Miss Scatcherd kicks Helen out of class and makes her stand in the middle of the school room for all to see. Jane cannot understand how Helen can bear the humiliation so quietly.

 

Chapter 6

 

On Jane 's second day at the school, she wakes up shivering to a meagre breakfast. She finds that her wash water is frozen in its pitcher. 

In classes, Jane is overwhelmed by the lessons, but is fascinated by watching Helen across the room. Even though Helen answers many difficult questions in her class, Miss Scatcherd goes out of her way to criticize and punish Helen. When she whips Helen across the neck, Jane is amazed that Helen doesn't flinch or cry.

Later, Jane tells Helen how she should furiously resist such unjust treatment. Helen explains to Jane her philosophy of turning the other cheek, and her belief in a beautiful afterlife that gives her hope and patience to endure suffering in this world.

 

Chapter 7

 

Conditions at Lowood remain harsh. On weekly Sunday walks to Mr. Brocklehurst's church, the poorly-clothed girls suffer exposure to frigid weather. They are constantly cold and underfed. In sympathy, Jane gives most of her small meals to other starving girls. 

One day, Mr. Brocklehurst, who is rarely present at the school itself, visits Lowood with his rich, well-dressed relatives. In front of the school, he reemphasizes the rules of his harsh educational program to Ms. Temple, who had been bending the rules out of kindness to the girls. She fumes in silence. On seeing a girl's curly red hair, he demands that all the girls' hair be cut off for the sake of modesty. 

Jane is terrified that Mr. Brocklehurst will remember his promise to Mrs. Reeds to tell all the teachers that Jane is a liar. Jane is so nervous that she accidentally drops her chalk slate during his visit. Mr. Brocklehurst then makes her stand on a high stool in front of everyone, says that Jane is deceitful, and tells all the students and teachers to avoid her.

Jane is devastated, but takes heart from Helen, who smiles at Jane every time she passes by.

 

Chapter 8

 

After school is dismissed that evening, thinking that she is hated by everyone, Jane collapses into tears. Helen reassures Jane that she is pitied, not hated, by her peers. Helen also promises that even if the whole world despised her, Jane would still find friendship and protecting love in her faith. 

Ms. Temple brings the two girls to her office and treats them to tea and cake. Jane tells Ms. Temple that she is not a liar, and relates her life story, trying hard to be moderate and humble. Ms. Temple and Helen talk of learned subjects, and Jane watches them in awe. To Jane, they seem radiant with intelligence and purity. 

Ms. Temple promises to write to Mr. Lloyd to confirm that Jane’s assertion that she is not a liar. Mr. Lloyd soon writes back to exonerate Jane, and Ms. Temple announces in front of the whole school that Jane is innocent of Mr. Brocklehurst's charges. Jane returns to her studies with new vigour and excels in French and drawing. She now prefers the impoverished Lowood to the luxuries of Gateshead.

 

Chapter 9

 

Spring brings better weather, but the dampness of the school grounds results in an epidemic of typhus that infects more than half of Lowood's students. Many are sent home. Many others die.  Jane, meanwhile, is encouraged to wander outside for her health, and she takes great pleasure in the lush scenery and flowers. In the midst of spring's renewal, Jane contemplates death for the first time. 

Jane soon learns that Helen is also deathly ill. Helen suffers from consumption (tuberculosis), not typhus, and is being held in quarantine in Ms. Temple's room.

One night Jane sneaks to Helen's bedside. Helen assures Jane that she is not scared of dying because she will be leaving behind the suffering of the world and going to her God. They fall asleep in each other's arms. By morning, Helen is dead. 

Helen is buried in an unmarked grave. But 15 years later, someone (probably Jane) places a headstone on the grave that is carved with the word "Resurgam"—Latin for "I will rise again.

 

Chapter 10

 

The epidemic and deaths expose the depravity at Lowood and Mr. Brocklehurst 's neglect. New management takes over and improves the school. 

Eight years pass. Jane excels in her studies during that time. Driven by a wish to please her teachers, she graduates first in her class and becomes a teacher at the school herself. But when Ms. Temple marries and leaves for a distant country, Jane yearns for a change herself, to venture out into the wide world and find a "new servitude." 

Jane posts a newspaper advertisement for her services as a tutor, and a week later is offered a job by a Mrs. Fairfax to teach a young girl at the manor of Thornfield. 

Just as she's leaving Lowood, Jane gets a surprise visit from Bessie. Bessie updates Jane about the Reeds—Georgiana tried to run off with a young lord, but her jealous sister Eliza ratted her out to Mrs. Reed. John Reed is failing school, spending money wildly, and generally disappointing his mother. Bessie thinks that Jane is far more accomplished than any of the Reed children.

Bessie also notes that Jane's family (the Eyres) was poor but respected—they even owned property. In fact, seven years previous (shortly after Jane left Gateshead), Jane's uncle John, a well-to-do wine merchant, had visited Gateshead looking for her. He didn't have time to visit her at Lowood, because he was headed to the island of Madeira on business.

 

Chapter 11

 

Jane arrives at Thornfield Hall at night, and therefore can't make out much more than the house's exterior splendor in the dark. She meets the kind old Mrs. Fairfax, who leads her through the cavernous house to a cozy and snug bedroom. To Jane's surprise, Mrs. Fairfax is not the owner of Thornfield but the head housekeeper. She learns from Mrs. Fairfax that Mr. Rochester owns the place but only shows up intermittently. Mrs. Fairfax describes Rochester as peculiar, well-traveled, and a good master. 

Jane meets her new pupil, the hyperactive French girl Adele Varens, whose mother was a French singer and dancer and who is Rochester’s ward. Later, Mrs. Fairfax leads Jane on a tour of the luxuriously furnished house. The third floor is packed with old furniture, odds and ends of the past. Jane considers it strange enough for a ghost to live in. 

After they leave the third floor, strange laughter echoes above them, spooking Jane. Mrs. Fairfax blames the noise on Grace Poole, a servant and seamstress whom Mrs. Fairfax scolds and reminds to "remember directions."

 

Chapter 12

 

Jane eases into the habits of life at Thornfield. She is comfortable and likes the bright but spoiled Adele, but she soon starts to feel discontented, confined, and restless. She thinks that people are wrongfully constrained by their roles in society, especially women, and that all humans need stimulation. Jane finds some comfort in occasionally strolling along the third-floor passageway and allowing her imagination to wander.

Jane frequently hears the strange laughter on the third floor, and observes Grace Poole coming and going with her servant work. Jane is puzzled by Grace Poole, whose plain curt personality doesn't seem to match the bizarre sounds she hears from the third floor.

As Jane carries a letter to the post one winter evening, she hears a horse approaching. The dreary scene and the noise make her think of Bessie’s ghost stories about "Gytrash," a spirit creature, sometimes horse and sometimes dog, which pursues travelers at night. Sure enough, out comes a huge intimidating dog, but it is immediately followed by a horse and rider that dispel Jane's worries about ghosts. 

The horse then slips and falls on a sheet of ice. Jane helps up the rider, a dark and stern-faced man, who questions Jane about her position at Thornfield before riding away. On returning to Thornfield, Jane discovers from the servants that the gentleman was Edward, who has returned home.

 

Chapter 13

 

The next evening, Jane and Adele join Rochester for tea. Rochester seems distant and moody, and speaks in commands, sometimes impolitely. They talk of Adèle's progress and Jane's personal history. 

When he learns that Jane can draw, Rochester is intrigued and asks to see her work. Jane’s pictures show sublime and desolate scenes, including a drowning on a bleak ocean, storm clouds behind a young woman's luminous face, and a cloaked grim reaper near arctic icebergs. The viewing wraps up the evening.

Jane mentions to Mrs. Fairfax that she finds Rochester unpleasantly abrupt. Mrs. Fairfax explains that Rochester has a difficult personality because of his troubled past. He inherited Thornfield from his older brother nine years earlier. Before that, their father had given his entire estate to Rochester's older brother, but had wanted to set up Rochester (who's fist name is Edward) to be wealthy too, and arranged some scheme that didn't work out and continues to be problematic and painful. Mrs. Fairfax is evasive about the scheme and the matter remains a mystery.

 

Chapter 14

 

Jane barely sees Rochester, until one night after dinner he calls for Jane and Adele to join him. He gives Adèle the gift from Paris that he's been impatiently waiting for, and she goes off to play. Rochester, who seems a bit drunk, chats amiably with Jane, and she answers with all of her usual directness. Rochester asks if Jane thinks he's handsome. Jane bluntly says no, even though she secretly admires his eyes. They converse about each other's personalities, about treating people directly and on equal terms. It seems to her that Rochester sometimes speaks as if he were reading her mind.

Describing himself, Rochester claims to be a man of experience and unfortunate circumstances, hardened from flesh into "Indian-rubber." He makes obscure references to his past and his plans for reforming himself, but Jane gets confused by his vagueness and she stops the conversation.

 Adele soon returns, dressed up in a new pink gown, and dances around. Rochester says that Adèle reminds him of her French mother, Celine Varens. Rochester promises to someday explain to Jane more about how and why Adèle became his ward.

 

Chapter 15

 

One afternoon, Rochester takes Jane aside and explains his history with Adèle. Years ago in Paris, Rochester fell for Celine Varens, a French singer. Rochester caught Céline with another man, ended the relationship, and wounded the man in a duel. Céline claimed that Adèle was Rochester's daughter, which Rochester doubts based on her looks. Even

so, when Céline abandoned Adèle, Rochester brought her back to England to insure her a good upbringing. 

That night, Jane thinks over Rochester's story and realizes that she really likes speaking with him now that he no longer acts like such a haughty aristocrat around her. 

Later, when trying to sleep, Jane is disturbed by strange noises in the hallway, a demonic laugh at her door, and footsteps retreating to the third floor. She runs into the hallway and sees smoke coming from Rochester's bedroom—Rochester is asleep, but his bed curtains are on fire. She douses the curtains with water, putting out the fire and saving his life. 

Rochester, now awake, rushes up to the third floor. He returns and asks Jane if she's ever heard the demonic laughter before. When Jane responds that she has heard Grace Poole's laugh, Rochester quickly says, "Just so. Grace Poole—you have guessed it." He makes Jane promise to keep quiet about the events of the night. Emotionally moved, Rochester confesses his deep gratitude to Jane and goes to sleep on the sofa in the library. Jane spends a wakeful night contemplating her new emotions.

 

Chapter 16

 

In the morning, Jane is surprised that the servants believe that the previous night's fire started when Rochester accidentally fell asleep with a lit candle next to his bed, and that he woke just in time to extinguish the flames. Jane is astonished when Grace Poole—who seems nothing like a nervous criminal—confirms the story. When Jane asks about the laughter, Grace assures Jane that she imagined it, but that she should probably keep her bedroom door locked anyway. 

To Jane's dismay, Rochester soon leaves for a nearby estate to join a party of aristocrats, including the beautiful Blanche Ingram. Jane chastises herself for thinking she ever had a chance with Rochester. She draws two pictures—a homely self-portrait and a romantic image of Blanche—to remind her of their respective social positions, and to cure herself of any expectation that she might win Rochester's love.

 

Chapter 17

 

Rochester is gone for a week when Jane is upset to learn from Mrs. Fairfax that he may go to Europe for a year. But a week later, Mrs. Fairfax reports a new plan—Rochester will be returning to Thornfield in three days with a group of guests.

Meanwhile, Jane keeps an eye on Grace Poole, who spends most of her time alone upstairs. Jane is amazed that Grace interacts normally with the other servants. She becomes convinced that there's something odd going on when she overhears one servant gossiping that Grace gets paid more than the other servants. 

When Rochester's party arrives, they go into the parlor. Adele, starry eyed, wanders through an adoring crowd in a French dress while Jane, wearing a Quakerish frock, retreats to a corner to observe. 

Blanche Ingram is the belle of the ball and looks as beautiful as Jane imagined. The flirty Blanche hones in on Rochester and, taking a crack at Jane, loudly discusses all of the dreadful governesses that she's had. She then makes Rochester sing a duet with her.

Watching Rochester with Blanche, Jane realizes that she's helplessly in love with him. She sneaks away, about to cry, but Rochester catches her in the hallway. He lets her leave when he sees that she's about to cry, but demands that she come to the nightly parties for as long as his guests remain at Thornfield. He finishes with the words, "Good-night, my—" before cutting himself off.

 

Chapter 18

 

The guests remain for several days. Each night Jane has to watch Blanche flirt with Rochester, including during a game of charades from which Jane is excluded.

Jane senses that Blanche, despite all her efforts, cannot charm Rochester. Still, she thinks Rochester will probably marry Blanche, perhaps for political or social reasons that Jane doesn't understand.

One day, Rochester is away on business. A strange gentleman—Mr. Mason—comes looking for him. The man's unusual, vacant appearance makes Jane uneasy. She learns from Mr. Mason that he and Rochester both had business in the West Indies. 

A few nights later, while Rochester is still away, an old gypsy woman comes to the house to tell the fortunes of the party. Blanche demands to be first, but returns from the library looking disappointed. The other girls twitter about the gypsy's surprising knowledge. The old woman then requests to see Jane.

 

Chapter 19

 

Alone with Jane, the gypsy hides behind a large hat. She describes how Jane feels lonely and represses her feelings. Though initially skeptical, Jane is awed by how much insight the gypsy has into her feelings. The gypsy says that Jane is very close to achieving happiness. She tells Jane that Blanche’s dismay resulted from the gypsy's telling her that Rochester wasn't as rich as he seemed. 

The gypsy asks Jane about any love interests, which Jane denies having. Jane admits she is alone, but not sad. She says that thoughts of someday building a school cheer her up. 

As the gypsy woman continues speaking, her voice deepens, and Jane suddenly recognizes the gypsy's voice and hand—the gypsy is Rochester in disguise! (For a moment, Jane had suspected that the gypsy was Grace Poole.) 

Though furious with Rochester for fooling her, Jane still mentions Mr. Mason’s arrival at Rochester. Rochester staggers and Jane holds him up. Rochester asks Jane if she would shun him if he were to experience a scandal. Jane promises to stand by him, and goes to bring Mr. Mason to Rochester.

Chapter 20

That night, a scream rips through the midnight silence at Thornfield. All the guests run into the hallway, but Rochester calms everyone by saying that the noise came from a servant having a nightmare.

Once everyone has returned to bed, Rochester taps on Jane's bedroom door and asks for her help. They go up to Grace Poole's third floor room, where Mr. Mason lies bleeding from knife and bite wounds in his arm. They bandage him up and Rochester leaves to fetch a doctor, demanding that Jane and Mr. Mason not speak to each other while he's gone.

Jane is left alone in the dark with Mason. From Grace Poole's locked room down the hall emerge "canine" snarling sounds and human groans. Before dawn, Rochester returns with the surgeon. They sew up Mason and send him away before any of the guests wake. 

Rochester takes Jane for a walk in the garden. He tells her about an obviously autobiographical story of a young man who got himself into serious trouble as a youth and then, to escape from that error, went on to lead a life of luxury and sinful excess. He asks, what if that man now wants to find redemption by living a good and moral life with a wife but is blocked from marrying her by the rules of society? Should he ignore those rules? Jane responds that the person should look not to any other person for redemption, but to God. Rochester then says that he will marry Blanche for his "regeneration," and changes the subject.

 

Chapter 21

 

One afternoon, a messenger from Gateshead brings Jane some shocking news. John Reed, heavily in debt from gambling, has committed suicide. Now Mrs. Reed is deathly ill and demands to see Jane, who travels from Thornfield to Gateshead.

At Gateshead, Jane has a pleasant reunion with Bessie. The Reed sisters, meanwhile, have grown into two very different types of people. Eliza is stern, organized, and highly religious, while Georgiana is a social butterfly who gushes about her romances.

Though she's on her deathbed, Mrs. Reed shows no remorse for her treatment of Jane. On the tenth day of Jane's visit, Mrs. Reed calls Jane into her room and confesses to keeping a letter from Jane. Jane's uncle—John Eyre, a successful wine merchant—had requested custody of Jane three years ago. But Mrs. Reed, hoping to squash any chance of Jane's getting ahead in life, told him that Jane had died of fever at Lowood. Jane is upset and angry, but nonetheless tries to heal her relationship with Mrs. Reed. She rebuffs Jane, and dies that night.

 

Chapter 22

 

Jane stays at Gateshead for a month to settle the affairs of the Mrs. Reed's estate. Georgiana soon goes to London and eventually marries a rich gentleman. Eliza decides to enter a French convent where she eventually becomes Mother Superior.

 

While at Gateshead, Jane gets a letter from Mr. Fairfax that says Rochester has gone to London to buy a carriage, presumably in preparation for his marriage to Blanche. Jane fears that her days at Thornfield are numbered. 

On the road, Jane unexpectedly meets Rochester, who's out driving his new carriage. Rochester begs her to look at the carriage and to tell him "if you don't think it will suit Mrs. Rochester exactly." Jane is so excited to see Rochester that she exclaims how glad she is to return to him, and adds that "wherever you are is my home—my only home."

 

Chapter 23

 

Two weeks after Jane returns to Thornfield, Rochester finds her in the garden and tells her that his plans to marry Blanche are decided. He tells Jane that he has found a governess job for her in Ireland. Jane, upset, says that Ireland is too far away. Jane explains how much she loves Thornfield. Rochester requests that she stay. But Jane fiercely declares her independence and equality, and rebukes him for choosing a loveless marriage. 

Rochester confesses that he has no plans to marry Blanche. He was only trying to make Jane jealous. He passionately asks Jane to marry him. Jane at first thinks Rochester is teasing her, but he convinces her. Jane, overwhelmed with emotion, agrees to marry him.

The weather suddenly changes into a downpour, and the couple rushes inside, where Rochester kisses Jane. Later that night, lightning splits the chestnut tree where they had sat when Rochester proposed.

 

Chapter 24

 

Rochester promises a wedding in four short weeks. After the engagement is announced, Mrs. Fairfax congratulates Jane weakly and warns her about men and marriages between unequal parties. Jane is irritated with Mrs. Fairfax's assumptions, but is also still a little suspicious of her fiancé.

Feeling like she's living a fairy tale, Jane is exuberantly happy—at first. But when Rochester starts lavishing expensive gifts and flattering compliments on her, Jane feels objectified and degraded. She demands to be treated normally, to live on the salary she earns as a tutor, and to dress in her plain outfits.

Jane privately decides to answer the letter from her uncle, John Eyre, which Mrs. Reed had kept from her. She does so because she thinks that if John Eyre made her his heir, as the letter stated, she would be closer to Rochester's equal in terms of class.

Throughout the wedding planning process, Jane resists Rochester's romantic overtures. To put him off, she argues with him and aggravates him. But even so, she still worships him like an idol.

 

Chapter 25

 

 

The wedding day approaches and everything is packed for a honeymoon to Europe. While Rochester is briefly away on business, Jane wanders outside to see the lightning-blasted chestnut tree. 

When Rochester returns the next day, the day before the wedding, Jane tells him of the strange things that happened while he was away. First, she dreamed about being alone on a long, empty road with a pitiful crying child. In a second dream, she was waiting for Rochester at a ruined Thornfield with the same child, but tripped and dropped the child. 

This second dream startled Jane awake, and in the darkness of her room she saw a strange woman with wild hair and a discolored "savage" face going through her closet. The woman put on the wedding veil Rochester had bought for Jane, then tore it in half and stomped on it. Rochester dismisses the story as just another dream, then says that the woman must have been Grace Poole. Finally, he promises to explain everything a year and a day into their marriage. 

Jane spends the night cradling Adele in the nursery behind a bolted door. She cries when leaving Adèle in the morning.

 

Chapter 26

 

On the morning of the wedding, as Rochester hurries Jane to the church, Jane notices two strangers in the churchyard. The strangers also attend the ceremony. When the priest asks if anyone has any objections to the marriage about to take place, one of the strangers stands up and announces that there is an "impediment" to the marriage. Rochester insists that the ceremony proceed, but the clergyman refuses.

The stranger identifies himself as Mr. Briggs, a London lawyer, and reveals that Rocheseter is already married. 15 years ago in Jamaica, Rochester married a Creole woman, Bertha Mason, who still lives in Thornfield. The other stranger turns out to be her brother, Mr. Mason, who timidly comes forward to confirm the story.

Rochester is furious. He concedes that the story is true, but stresses that neither Jane nor anyone else knew of Bertha. His wife is insane, he says, and is kept locked away on the third floor of Thornfield. He brings everyone back to Thornfield and they go up to the third floor. Behind a secret door stands Grace Poole and a disheveled "lunatic" pacing in the shadows. This is Bertha, who seems half-human, half-animal to Jane. Bertha attacks Rochester and he wrestles her into a chair. He goes on to explain that her family hid her insanity until after their marriage. 

Mr. Mason then reveals to Jane that he learned about her wedding plans with Rochester from a business acquaintance—Jane's uncle. After receiving Jane’s letter, John Eyre sent Mason to save her from the sham marriage. John Eyre could not make the trip, as he is dying of consumption (tuberculosis).

Jane locks herself into her room. Feeling that all her hopes have been destroyed, she succumbs to a flood of sorrow over the troubles and betrayals that she has endured. She turns to God, and prays.

 

Chapter 27

Jane realizes that she must leave Thornfield. But when she steps out of her room, she finds Rochester waiting for her. He asks her forgiveness. Jane doesn't respond, though she secretly forgives him immediately. Rochester then pleads with her to come live with him in southern France. Though she still loves him deeply, Jane refuses to go with him and become his mistress. 

Rochester admits that he acted cowardly and wrong and tells Jane the full truth about his past. Rochester's father left his entire fortune to his eldest son, Rochester's older brother. Rochester's father tried to secure a fortune for Rochester by making him a partner with Mason in the West Indies and arranging a marriage for him to Bertha, who was promised a huge inheritance. Rochester met Bertha only briefly, but was dazzled by her exoticism and beauty. However, after marrying her, Rochester learned that Bertha's mother was not dead, as he had been told. Rather, she was insane. Bertha is herself violent, coarse, and profoundly self-indulgent. Before long, she also followed her mother into insanity. 

By this point Rochester’s father and brother had died. Legally bound to Bertha, Rochester returned to England, secretly installed her at Thornfield, and hired Grace Poole to watch over her. He then left Thornfield and spent years looking for another wife, specifically a European woman. Finding no one, Rochester plunged into debauchery with many mistresses, including Celine Varens. In the end, consorting with mistresses made him disgusted with himself, as it seemed almost like buying a slave. Eventually, he returned to England with Adele. Then he met Jane, whom he loved from the first moment.

For an instant, Jane considers staying with Rochester, reasoning that she deserves a devoted man after a life of isolation and neglect. She also fears that she may never find another. Yet at the same time she knows that she will respect herself only if she does what she knows is right. Still, she remains at Thornfield. But that night, Jane's mother appears to her in a dream and tells her to flee temptation. Fighting her own desires, Jane sneaks away from Thornfield with her modest belongings and hires a carriage on an unknown road.

 

Chapter 28

 

Jane soon runs out of money. The carriage drops her off at a crossroads, and she realizes moments later that she left her belongings in the departed coach. With nowhere to turn, she spends the night outdoors contemplating the stars and God.

Jane walks into a nearby village to ask for work, which is scarce. She tries to exchange her gloves and handkerchief for food, but she is refused. Burning with shame but desperately hungry, Jane begs at a farm for some leftover porridge fed to the hogs.

Weak from hunger and despair, Jane wanders into the wilderness expecting to die. She follows the light of a distant candle and finds a country house (Moor House) with two young women—the sisters Mary and Diana Rivers—inside studying German. Jane knocks, but the servant, Hannah, turns her away as a suspicious beggar. 

Jane collapses outside, believing death is imminent and vowing to wait for God's will. Just then, the women's brother, St. John (pronounced "Sinjin") arrives home. He brings Jane into the house, where the River sisters give Jane food and a dry bed. Jane does not want to be discovered, so she identifies herself by the false name of "Jane Elliott."

 

Chapter 29

 

Jane is semi-conscious for three days. On waking on the fourth day, she finds her clothes cleaned and gets a hot meal. She criticizes Hannah for turning her away the night before. Hannah apologizes, then tells Jane about the Rivers family. Their father lost his fortune in a business deal and died just three weeks ago. Mary and Diana are still in school and afterwards will look for governess jobs. St. John is a poor parson. 

Later, Jane gives the Rivers a brief personal history, but refuses to reveal her real name or any details about her former employer. She claims to have no ties and no connections in England, and asks for help looking for work of any kind. St. John is firm but charitable, and promises to help. Mary and Diana, much warmer personalities than their brother, assure Jane that she can stay with them.

 

Chapter 30

 

Jane quickly becomes friends with Mary and Diana. They share books and conversation, Jane teaches them drawing, and they all enjoy the hardy natural landscape. A month passes in this way, but then Mary and Diana must leave for their jobs as governesses in wealthy households. The Rivers sisters tell Jane that they suspect that St. John will also leave, maybe forever, to become a missionary.

St. John, unlike his sisters, remains pensive and distant at home. Jane visits his church and hears him preach a stern sermon that leaves her feeling sad. In conversation, the two of them realize that they both feel restless but in different ways.

St. John offers Jane a position running a small school for the poor children of his parish in Morton. The pay and lodgings are meagre, but Jane is glad for the job's independence, so she accepts.

Soon after, a letter arrives informing St. John, Mary, and Diana that their wealthy uncle John has just died and left them nothing, with his fortune going to an unknown "other relation." They tell Jane that it was their uncle who led their father into his disastrous business failure.

 

Chapter 31

 

Jane starts work at her school. She has 20 students with little education. While Jane believes that personal potential is not limited to social class, she cannot help feeling a little degraded in becoming a small-town teacher and fears her life is going nowhere. Still, she thanks God for guiding her decision not to become Rochester's mistress.

In conversation, St. John reassures Jane that he also had doubts about choosing his career in the parish church, but that now he has found his life's purpose—to become a missionary in India. St. John speaks with conviction about choosing the difficult but noble path in life. 

One of the school's benefactors is the rich and classically beautiful Rosamond Oliver. Jane can see that Rosamond and St. John are in love.

 

Chapter 32

 

As the days pass, Jane starts to enjoy her teaching, makes progress with her students, and becomes a respected favourite in the community. She enjoys her new life, but is unsettled by persistent and stirring dreams of Rochester. 

Rosamond makes frequent visits to the school, conveniently arriving when St. John is also there. Jane notices that St. John is visibly affected by Rosamond's presence. At home, Jane draws a portrait of Rosamond and offers it to St. John, hoping to learn more about his feelings. Infatuated, St. John gazes at the portrait and daydreams for a blissful 15 minutes. Jane sees her opportunity and boldly suggests that St. John marry Rosamond. St. John admits his love for her, but doubts that Rosamond would take well to missionary work. St. John says that he will not exchange earthly delights for the heavenly kingdom he is working so hard to reach. Suddenly, St. John spots something on the edge of Jane's drawing paper. He tears off a corner of it and, looking agitated, leaves abruptly. Jane, confused, dismisses the act as meaningless.

 

Chapter 33

 

The following night, St. John fights through the snow to visit Jane. He tells her a story which, to Jane's astonishment, is her own personal history. It ends with something she didn't know: after Jane disappeared from Thornfield, an urgent message came that her uncle John Eyre had died and left her a fortune of 20,000 pounds. 

Notices and letters were posted everywhere to find Jane. One reached St. John because John Eyre is in fact his uncle, too. St. John reveals to Jane his full name: St. John Eyre Rivers. His mother was Jane's father's sister, so St. John, Mary, and Diana are all Jane's cousins. St. John says he pieced together the mystery from the scrap of drawing paper he grabbed at the end of Chapter 32: it had her signature, "Jane Eyre." Jane is elated to suddenly have close family, and decides the best thing she could do is share her new fortune equally among all of them. Jane hopes the money will allow Mary, Diana, and St. John all to be financially independent and to live nearby.

 

Chapter 34

 

When the winter holidays arrive, Jane closes her school and spends a happy Christmas with Mary and Diana, who have returned from their jobs. St. John, on the other hand, is increasingly distant and cold. Asked about Rosamond Oliver, St. John tells them she has recently married a wealthy aristocrat.

One day, St. John finds Jane studying German and suggests that she learn "Hindostanee" instead—the language he's studying for his missionary work in India. Jane agrees, and notes that she feels as if St. John is slowly gaining a strong influence over her, but one that leaves her cold. 

Time passes. That summer, St. John takes Jane on a walk in the hills. St. John tells Jane she has admirable qualities, and proposes that she marry him and accompany him on his missionary work. But Jane's "heart is mute." She recognizes that she could never be happy as St. John's wife. She tells him she would only go to work in India as his sister. He responds that in denying his proposal she is denying the Christian faith.

 

Chapter 35

 

St. John continues to try to convince Jane to marry him. Jane knows that working in India would be a tremendous sacrifice: the heat and heavy labour would soon take her life. She reflects that death doesn't scare her, but that she wants to feel real love in life. Diana agrees that Jane shouldn't go, saying that St. John wants Jane merely to be a tool in his great missionary cause.

One evening after dinner, St. John reads prayers aloud with such fervour and command that Jane feels compelled to accept his marriage proposal. 

Yet just as she's about to give in, Jane hears Rochester's voice calling for help as if from a great distance: "Jane! Jane! Jane!" She rushes outside and cries out a promise to come to him

 

Chapter 36

 

As Jane prepares to leave to go to Thornfield, St. John slips a note under her door urging her to resist temptation. Though unsure herself, Jane feels that what's she's doing is right and that the voice and the "wondrous shock of feeling" she felt were real.

On the journey to Thornfield, Jane thinks about the differences the year away has made in her. Formerly poor and alone, she now has a family and a fortune.

At Thornfield, though, Jane is astonished to find the house burned down and in ruins. 

Jane learns what happened from the proprietor of a local inn. Berthaescaped and set Jane's old bedroom on fire. As the inferno spread, Rochester helped all the servants get out safely. But he could not save Bertha, who stood on the roof laughing maniacally and then jumped to her death. In the collapsing building, Rochester was badly injured: he lost a hand and lost his sight. He lives nearby in a modest house called Ferndean.

 

Chapter 37

 

Jane travels to Ferndean, which is deep in the forest. When she arrives, she sees Rochester in the yard. He looks physically strong still, but now his face looks desperate and sad. Rochester shrugs off the help of a servant, wanders hesitatingly around the yard, and returns inside. 

Jane knocks and talks with the servants at the door. Jane then takes to Rochester a tray with a glass of water that he had asked a servant to bring him. Jane enters the parlor and offers him the water. He recognizes Jane's voice and thinks at first that she is a ghost, but then catches her hand and takes her into his arms, brimming with emotion. 

Jane updates Rochester about her new wealth and leads him on about St. John, jokingly using jealousy to distract him from misery. Rochester mentions all of his infirmities, and advises Jane to go her own way. But Jane, loving him more than ever, promises never to leave him again. Rochester asks her to marry him. Jane joyfully accepts.

Rochester tells Jane about his new repentant relationship with God. He feels punished for his pride and now prays regularly. One evening, asking for God's help in restoring his happiness, he had involuntarily called out for "Jane! Jane! Jane!" and felt as if he heard her respond. Jane is awed by their shared connection. Serving as "his prop and his guide," she leads him home.

 

Chapter 38

 

The final chapter begins with the famous line: "Reader, I married him." Remaining at Ferndean, Jane and Rochester have a small, quiet wedding and live in perfect harmony. Jane never tires of guiding her husband, reading aloud to him, and describing the landscape to him. St. John never comments on Jane's marriage, but Mary and Diana are overjoyed about it. 

Jane visits Adele and finds her unhappy in a harsh school. Jane transfers her to a more liberal one closer to home. Through a good English education, Adèle's "French defects" are purged and she grows into a polite and principled young woman.

Two years into their marriage, Rochester partially regains sight in one eye in time to see the birth of their first baby: a son who inherits Rochester's brilliant black eyes.

Writing ten years after the events of the novel, Jane informs the reader that Diana and Mary both have married respectable and caring husbands and visit regularly. St. John went to India alone. She says that in his last letter, St. John said that he had a premonition of his death, and she adds that she does not expect another letter from him. Jane ends by saying that she doesn't grieve for St. John, who has done God's work, and then quotes St. John's last letter, in which he begs his Master, Jesus Christ, to take him soon.