Jane Eyre Revisited

Original illustrations by F.H.Townsend

Jane Eyre, which I have just read, is a much more complex book than I remembered, but that’s not surprising since I haven’t read it since I was in junior high school! The plot seems simple if you summarize it, but in fact Jane, the narrator, is a multi-faceted personality. She can be both self-effacing and self-respecting, with moral and physical confidence in just about everything she does. Mr. Rochester, her employer and later her lover, is equally multi-faceted and complex.

Both characters are unforgettable right up to the end when we read the sentence no one could ever forget, “Reader, I married him.”

Just one or two quotes. First, her description of seeing the beautiful ladies and gentlemen guests at an evening party in the home where she works as a governess:

“A soft sound of rising now became audible; the curtain was swept back from the arch; through it appeared the dining-room, with its lit lustre pouring down light on the silver and glass of a magnificent dessert-service covering a long table; a band of ladies stood in the opening; they entered, and the curtain fell behind them. There were but eight; yet, somehow, as they flocked in, they gave the impression of a much larger number. Some of them were very tall; many were dressed in white; and all had a sweeping amplitude of array that seemed to magnify their persons as a mist magnifies the moon. I rose and curtseyed to them: one or two bent their heads in return, the others only stared at me.” (p. 214)

Now for the passage in the novel that preoccupied our very young minds when I first read the book. My fellow pupils and I had never previously learned that the standard British marriage text would allow anyone present at the ceremony to immediately bear witness if they knew a reason why the ceremony should be stopped and the marriage not to be completed. In fact, to this day, I have never heard another example of such an objection, either in literature or in life. The unforgettable reaction in the middle of Jane’s wedding begins with the unexpected statement “The marriage cannot go on: I declare the existence of an impediment.” The narrative continues:

”The clergyman looked up at the speaker and stood mute; the clerk did the same; Mr. Rochester moved slightly, as if an earthquake had rolled under his feet: taking a firmer footing, and not turning his head or eyes, he said, ‘Proceed.’ Profound silence fell when he had uttered that word, with deep but low intonation. Presently Mr. Wood said— ‘I cannot proceed without some investigation into what has been asserted, and evidence of its truth or falsehood.’” (p. 362)

 

The setting of the story, in grand mansions of the 19th century British gentry, is also unforgettable now. Back then, it was especially impressive considering that this was the first (or one of the first) times that I read about such a place. I suspect that our teachers may earlier have assigned us to read one or two novels by Charles Dickens, where some of the same stately houses appear — but the atmosphere of the great houses in Jane Eyre is even now overwhelming!

The Accomplished Brontë Family

As you no doubt know, Charlotte Brontë, the author of Jane Eyre, was one of three sisters who all wrote still-popular novels, along with a brother who didn’t produce any lasting literature. All their novels were initially published under masculine pseudonyms: Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell.

• Charlotte (1816–1855) is best known for Jane Eyre, which has been made into at least sixteen movies beginning in 1910.
• Emily (1818–1848), wrote Wuthering Heights, which is currently in the news because of a new movie version that was released last month. At least ten earlier movies have been based on the novel.
• Anne (1820–1849) wrote Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, which are less famous than her sisters’ works, but they have been the subject of a few TV series. 
• Patrick Branwell Brontë (1817-1848) was an alcoholic and an opium addict — despite early promise, he turned out to be quite a loser in contrast to his accomplished sisters.

As you can see from the dates, all four siblings died very young. They were all victims of tuberculosis, though the immediate cause of Charlotte’s death may have been complications from her pregnancy. 

Review ©  2026 mae sander