By Faith Brammer

I have a vivid memory of picking up a beautiful book at our local library’s book sale around seventh grade– Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. It was a deep navy color with faded gold embossing ornamenting the cover, still so beautiful in its aged state. I remember buying it purely for its prettiness, only to have it sit on my shelf for months afterwards. However, one dull and rainy Saturday, I opened up the volume and was hooked from the first page. I was completely enraptured by Jane’s journey. From her horrific childhood to her trudge through the windy moors, I couldn’t put the book down. Since then, I’ve read the book four times. We follow Jane from a frightened young girl to a strong, independent woman. Though perhaps characterized as a gothic romance, Jane Eyre, in its most basic form, is a coming of age story– a tale of a young woman’s journey of self-discovery and identity. 

The self-narrated novel begins with Jane reflecting on her childhood as an orphan, surrounded by her cruel aunt and cousins. The narrative could function as a whole without the first third of the novel, which consists of Jane’s childhood and her experience at a draconian boarding school, but they set the scene for the story, giving us a general tone and background on Jane’s character. The true plot occurs when Jane is eighteen and meets Rochester for the first time as she arrives to assume her position as governess Thornfield Hall, his estate, and revolves around her journey within a society that pushes against her as a woman of little means and no status. In addition to the limits of being a nineteenth century woman, Jane’s self-confidence has been shattered by her callous upbringing, causing her to stumble even more as she treks towards her uncertain horizon.  Despite these hardships,  Jane’s relationship and romantic involvement with Rochester illustrates her growth as a person– we see her evolve from an eighteen year-old girl who sees herself as subservient to a man who she calls her master, into a young woman who will not relinquish her personal values and independence for the sake of his affection–Jane becomes the master of her own fate, freeing herself from patriarchal convention. However, without those beginning chapters, the reader would not have as strong of a bond with Jane and be unable to fully connect with her journey– they give us an insight to the “why” of Jane’s actions and behavior. By the time Jane arrives at Thornfield Hall and meets the brooding love interest of Edward Rochester, the reader is rooting for Jane to overcome the obstacles in the way of her autonomy and happiness. 

Since the novel is written as a fictional autobiography, we are not only privileged to information that Jane knows, but also to Jane’s feelings and emotions. She’s a dramatized, self-conscious narrator, with a distinct personality, giving the story a more realistic feel. The tone of the narration changes as Jane matures, passionate as a child to mature and introspective as an adult. Thus, the reader is able to see Jane’s personal development. Jane’s thoughts and reflections also help the reader to understand and form a more well-rounded perception of other characters. When Rochester reflects on his past in the presence of Jane, she addresses a question directly to the audience: 

And was Mr. Rochester now ugly in my eyes? No, reader: gratitude, and many associations, all pleasurable and genial, made his face the object I best liked to see… Yet I had not forgotten his faults; indeed, I could not, for he brought them frequently before me…But I believed that his moodiness, his harshness, and his former faults of morality (I say former, for now he seemed corrected of them) had their source in some cruel cross of fate. I believed he was naturally a man of better tendencies, higher principles, and purer tastes than such as circumstances had developed, education instilled, or destiny encouraged. (pp. 129)

Our cognizance of her thoughts attunes us to her set of morality and values, and promotes a feeling of sympathy for Rochester that we would be unable to get if the novel was written in a third-person point of view, and not as Jane recounting her experiences to the reader directly.

In addition to her own personal morality struggles and her grapplings when it comes to her relationship with Rochester, Jane is faced with various trials based on her social class and her identity as a woman. The longer Jane is at Thornfield, the stronger her feelings for Rochester grow, but she views herself as inferior to the society debutantes, such as the character of Blanche Ingram, and knows that  it would be unsuitable for a woman of her social status to become involved with a man such as Rochester. When Jane receives word that Rochester is soon to be married to Miss Ingram, she resolves to leave Thornfield immediately. Rochester implores her to stay on as governess after the marriage, but Jane refuses. She speaks her mind and expresses her feelings to him:

Do you think because I am poor, obscure, plain and little that I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! – I have as much soul as you – and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you. (pp. 225) 

This scene is where we truly see Jane begin to come into her own mind, and stand up for her own self-worth, marking a stark contrast from the frightened child at the beginning of the novel. Rochester confesses his feelings to Jane, and proposes after her spirited speech. The reader is able to feel Jane’s happiness as she narrates her elation, cheering for her as she seems to find her place in this world. However, her joy is short lived. Rochester is found to already be married to a madwoman who he keeps locked away in his attic. Jane must decide to stay at Thornfield and be Rochester’s mistress and have a heavy conscience, or separate for him entirely and gain freedom, for a mistress can never be equal to her master, and moral sanctity. She follows her moral convictions and leaves, feeling secure in her moral choice, but stung by the pain of loss. She was once again alone in the world. 

Throughout the rest of the novel, the odds are continuously stacked against Jane. She suffers from unemployment and homelessness, until she is taken in by a kindly missionary family. She receives a practical marriage proposal, yet she rejects it. She refuses to accept a marriage convenience, holding out for true love. A solely pragmatic marriage would only increase her loneliness– she tells the man, “I cannot marry you and become part of you.” (p. 366) In a marriage like this, Jane would have to relinquish her self-identity. She would be provided for but would be a helpmate to a man who did not truly love her and see her as she is. Clinging to the memory of Rochester, who treated her as an equal in mind and spirit, she refuses to submit to such a future. 

Jane is stubborn, independent, and flawed– which is why we love her. Jane has known loss and loneliness, having no sense of her natal identity or where she belongs from a young age. We watch trials and tribulations shape her character. She’s an underdog, and we eventually get to see her triumph in a society where the odds are against her. In the novel’s turning point, Jane regains her natal identity after discovering that a distant relative, unknown to her, left her all his money in his will; She rises in social status and can provide for herself. One day, she finds out that Thornfield Hall was destroyed in a fire set by Rochester’s wife, who perished in it. She returns to Thornfield, facing Rochester as an equal. She ran from an immoral marriage with Rochester previously, yet refused a loveless marriage, and only marries Rochester when he has fallen and she has risen. This could be read as a compromise of morals, or as Jane taking ownership of her own desire, coming back to Rochester on her own terms, not out of necessity–Bronte leaves this to the reader to interpret.

Despite being written over two hundred years ago, her character’s journey still rings true. While the exact circumstances of Jane Eyre have fallen into obsolescence, the themes that make up the skeleton of the novel carry over into our modern world. Every woman who reads the novel can see a reflection of her own struggles. Loss, love, loneliness, morality and self-discovery are universal. Social class disparity, societal expectations and adherence to a moral code are still issues within twenty-first century society. We are still forced to fight against archaic social conventions in order to stay true to our beliefs. What makes Jane Eyre so good? It’s her own quest to find out what it means to be good–her journey of self-discovery and definition.