������һ����ӰԺ�ݲ�

This article will give a concise plot summary of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. When you think “Jane Eyre,” you probably think “gothic romance” and “insane wife in the attic” – and you wouldn’t be wrong. (I admit, I do love .) More than that, Jane Eyre is a trenchant examination of what it means to be an individual within a system that insists on conformity. As noted by Virginia Woolf, Jane is thoroughly modern, showing an “”&�Բ�����;

Also check out our 7 Most Important Quotes from Jane Eyre as well as our Jane Eyre Characters article.

Though Project Gutenberg has a , I recommend the for its helpful endnotes and footnotes. 

Volume I, Chapters 1-4

In chapter one, we meet our protagonist, 10-year-old Jane Eyre, who is an orphan in the care of her aunt, Mrs. Reed. Mrs. Reed is a widow and mother to Eliza, John, and Georginia. Rounding the cast of characters is a servant, Bessie, for whom Jane has much fondness. They all live at Gateshead Hall.

Jane is constantly excluded from the family and is bullied by the Reed children (the 14-year-old John is especially unkind). Once, when Jane dares to fight back, she is locked in the red-room, where Mr. Reed died a few years before. While locked in the room, Jane thinks she sees a ghost and passes out. 

Jane Eyre Plot Summary (Continued)

After her fainting spell, Jane is visited by a kind apothecary named Mr. Lloyd. He listens to Jane and urges Mrs. Reed to send Jane to school. Mrs. Reed agrees and sends for Mr. Brocklehurst, the director of Lowood Institution, a school for poor and orphan girls. After an interview, Jane is accepted to Lowood. Before she leaves Gateshead Hall, Jane tells Mrs. Reed how much she hates her. 

Volume I, Chapters 5-9

When Jane arrives at Lowood Institution, she finds the conditions very harsh. There is insufficient food and only thin clothes as protection against the cold winter. Jane makes friends with Helen Burns, whose patience is at odds with her own temperament. Among the teachers, only Miss Temple is kind to Jane. 

When Mr. Brocklehurst comes to visit the school, Jane is so nervous that she drops her slate. It shatters and Mr. Brocklehurst has Jane placed on a tall stool in the middle of the room. He begins to berate her, calling her a liar and a servant of the Evil One. He encourages the rest of the students to shun Jane. Jane is bereft, but Helen assures her that no one likes Mr. Brocklehurst. Miss Temple writes to Mr. Lloyd, who attests to Jane’s honesty. Mr. Brocklehurst’s accusations are dismissed. 

Spring arrives and the conditions improve at Lowood. Soon after, typhus ravages Lowood and many of the girls die. Helen is ill with consumption. One night, Jane visits Helen and falls asleep next to her. When Jane wakes, she is told that Helen died in her arms. 

Volume I, Chapters 10-12 

At this point, the narration jumps ahead. The typhus outbreak brought much-needed attention to Lowood. As a result, the conditions improved dramatically. Jane spends the next eight years there – six years as a student and two years as a teacher. However, when Miss Temple gets married and leaves the school, Jane desires some new adventure. She advertises her services as a governess and is subsequently hired at Thornfield. 

Before Jane leaves, Bessie visits her from Gateshead Hall. Bessie gives her the news of Mrs. Reed and her children and mentions that one of Jane’s relatives had stopped by looking for her. The day after Bessie’s visit, Jane leaves for Thornfield. 

Jane Eyre Plot Summary (Continued)

Thornfield turns out to be a pleasant manor house run by Mrs. Fairfax. Jane meets the young French girl, Adele, who she will be teaching. Adele is the ward of Mr. Rochester, the owner of the estate. While Jane enjoys her time at Thornfield, she begins to chafe at the routine. Aside from the occasional strange laugh she hears from the servants’ quarters [foreshadowing!], all is calm. 

One day, when Jane is walking to the post office, she sees a horse and rider slip on the ice. She helps the rider back to his horse. It turns out that the rider is none other than Mr. Rochester. Jane posts her letter and returns to Thornfield, still thinking about her encounter with Mr. Rochester. 

Volume I, Chapters 13-15

Now that Mr. Rochester has arrived at the manor, he and Jane begin to spend more time together. From Ms. Fairfax, Jane learns that Mr. Rochester is the younger of the Rochester siblings. Before his father and elder brother died, there were some family disagreements that have made Mr. Rochester bitter. 

Jane also finds out about Adele. While out walking, Mr. Rochester tells Jane of his love affair with Celine Varens, a Parisian opera dancer. Celine cheated on Mr. Rochester and ran off to Italy, but not before claiming that Adele was Mr. Rochester’s daughter. While her paternity remains unclear, Mr. Rochester resolved to bring Adele from France to live in England. 

Jane Eyre Book Summary (Continued)

One night, Jane hears a creepy laugh outside her door. It is the same laugh she heard earlier in the servants’ quarters. Disconcerted, she opens her bedroom door and sees a lit candle on the floor. She also sees smoke coming from Mr. Rochester’s bedroom. When she enters Mr. Rochester’s room, she sees his bed ablaze. Thinking quickly, she grabs the water from his basin and manages to put the fire out. 

When Mr. Rochester awakens, he goes upstairs to see who might be responsible. When he returns, he implicates one of his servants, “Grace Poole.” He asks Jane to tell no one of what she saw and thanks her for saving his life. There is palpable sexual tension. 

Volume II, Chapters 1-4

When Jane rises the next day, she is shocked to see Grace Poole helping mend the curtains in Mr. Rochester’s bedroom. Puzzled, she waits all day in the hope of talking to Mr. Rochester. She is disappointed when Mrs. Fairfax tells her that Mr. Rochester has left to attend a party at another manor. Jane is disappointed, especially when she hears that the highly-marriable Blanche Ingram will be there too. The thought of Mr. Rochester spending time with another woman forces Jane to admit her fondness for him. 

After a fortnight, word comes that Mr. Rochester will be returning – along with the entire party of lords and ladies. Over the course of the next couple weeks, Jane has the opportunity to observe Mr. Rochester and Blanche together. She is doubly disappointed – firstly, that Blanche should be so boring and unoriginal – second, that Mr. Rochester seems to want to marry her anyways. Into the mix arrives Mr. Mason, an acquaintance of Mr. Rochester’s from the West Indies. 

Jane Eyre Plot Summary (Continued)

Mr. Rochester is called away on business and the atmosphere at Thornfield languishes. Fortunately, that night a “gypsy” [sic] fortune-teller appears at the door and refuses to leave until she has given predictions to all the ladies present in the house. Jane is last to receive her fortune and is shocked when the fortune-teller turns out to be Mr. Rochester in disguise!

Volume II, Chapters 5-6

Two long eventful chapters that deserve some space. 

One night, when the house is still full of guests, Jane hears a scream and cries of “Help! Help! Help!” from the servants’ quarters. Mr. Rochester runs upstairs and then comes back down to calm his guests. He claims that Grace Poole has had a nightmare and tells everyone to return to their rooms. 

Jane Eyre Book Summary (Continued)

An hour later, Mr. Rochester comes to Jane’s room and asks her to follow him upstairs to the servant quarters. Jane enters the room with Mr. Rochester and sees Mr. Mason sitting in a chair, bleeding heavily from his shoulder. Mr. Rochester asks Jane to stay with him while he fetches a doctor. Once the doctor arrives and Mr. Mason is secreted away (lest someone see his injuries), Jane walks with Mr. Rochester in the garden. Though he is close to revealing his feelings for her, Jane provides no encouragement. Subsequently, Mr. Rochester declares his intention of marrying Blanche Ingram. 

About a week later, Jane receives word that Mrs. Reed has had a fit and is asking for her. (Her son has died – it is rumored that he killed himself.) Jane returns to Gateshead Hall to attend to Mrs. Reed. Before she dies, Mrs. Reed gives Jane a letter from a previously unknown (and rich) uncle who was searching for Jane three years previous. Out of spite, Mrs. Reed told him that Jane died at Lowood. 

Volume II, Chapters 7-11

When Jane returns to Thornfield, Mr. Rochester is not yet married, though everyone assumes it will happen soon. Jane knows she loves Mr. Rochester – the prospect of having to leave saddens her. One night, as she is out walking on the grounds, Mr. Rochester joins her. As they discuss Jane’s imminent departure, she begins to weep. She confesses her love to Mr. Rochester and he reciprocates, asking her to be his bride. It turns out that Mr. Rochester had wooed Ms. Ingram just to make Jane jealous. The wedding date is set for a month hence. 

A few nights before the wedding, Jane has a terrifying experience. In the middle of the night, she is awakened to the sound of someone in her bedroom. She sees a woman, “lips…swelled and dark; the brow furrowed,” who takes Jane’s bridal veil and tears it in half. Mr. Rochester continues to claim that it must have been Grace Poole – though he promises to clear the matter up after they have been married a year and a day. 

Jane Eyre Plot Summary (Continued)

When the wedding day finally arrives, Mr. Rochester and Jane go to the church to meet the vicar. Jane notices that two strangers are present in the rear of the church. When the vicar asks if there is any reason that these two should not be married, one of the strangers – a lawyer from London – claims that there is an impediment to the marriage. Out of the shadows steps Mr. Mason, who reveals that Mr. Rochester is still married to his sister, Bertha Mason. 

Mr. Rochester admits everything. It turns out that he was rushed into marriage by his family some fifteen years previous. His wife, Bertha Mason, suffered from congenital madness and quickly worsened. For fifteen years, Mr. Rochester has kept Bertha hidden on the third floor of Thornfield Hall. She was the source of all the strangeness that Jane has experienced. The whole party returns to Thornfield and goes to see Bertha, who tries to attack Mr. Rochester.

Understandably, Jane is shocked – she returns to her room and swoons. 

Volume III, Chapters 1-7

Mr. Rochester gives Jane a fuller account of his marriage, though she remains unmoved. Knowing what she does about Mr. Rochester’s situation, Jane decides to flee Thornfield. She leaves the next day before anyone is awake. With just 20 shillings to her name, she makes it as far as Whitcross, where she knows no one. Penniless, Jane sleeps outside and begs for food. On the third night, near death, she wanders to a small house and begs to be admitted. A clergyman by the name of St. John Rivers bids her enter. 

Jane Eyre Plot Summary (Continued)

Jane spends the next month in the company of St. John and his sisters, Diana and Mary (though she gives an alias). St. John gets Jane a job as a schoolmistress. As Jane settles into her new job, she learns of St. John’s desire to become a missionary. One night, St. John figures out who Jane is. It turns out that St. John, Mary, and Diana are Jane’s cousins. Their mutual uncle has just died and left Jane 20,000 pounds in his will. Jane immediately decides to share this inheritance with her new-found cousins. 

Volume III, Chapters 7-12

Her financial future secured, Jane closes the school and invites Mary and Diana to come back from London and live in Whitcross. As they spend time together, St. John takes a renewed interest in Jane. He insists that she learn “Hindostanee” alongside him. She does, but finds his manner to be increasingly oppressive. She is not surprised when he asks her to marry him and come with him on his missionary trip to India. While she is willing to go with him, she refuses his offer of marriage, as she does not love him. 

One night, Jane believes she hears someone crying her name on the moors. She considers it a sign for her to return to Thornfield to see what has happened to Mr. Rochester. When she arrives at Thornfield, she finds the house burned to the ground. After asking around, she finds out that some months ago, Bertha Mason set the house on fire and then jumped from the roof to her death. Mr. Rochester managed to save the lives of all the servants, but was blinded and maimed in the effort. Since then, Mr. Rochester has lived in a small hunting lodge with two servants. 

Jane Eyre Plot Summary (Continued)

When she finds out that Mr. Rochester is still alive, Jane travels immediately to him. He is overjoyed at her arrival. They quickly marry and have a son. Fortuitously, Mr. Rochester regains some sight in one eye and is able to gaze upon his son. On the last page of the book, we find out that St. John has gone to India. In a strange conclusion, Jane tells us that he is ill and will soon die. 

Wrapping Up – Jane Eyre Plot Summary

I’ll admit, when I started Jane Eyre, I feared, like Virginia Woolf, that it would be “out of date as the parsonage on the moor, a place only to be visited by the curious, only preserved by the pious.” How fortunate that I was proved incorrect. Jane Eyre remains a bracingly modern critique of the forces that would crush the individual into conformity. 

If you’ve found this article useful or interesting, you can also check out my summaries and analyses of 1984, The Great Gatsby, Hamlet, The Crucible, Beloved, Brave New World, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Macbeth.