Questions on Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre (1847)

Introduction, Introductory PPT (required for submission; don’t post)

1. Give Charlotte’s birthdate, deathdate, & 3 other important dates
- Charlotte’s birthday is April 21, 1816. Charlotte’s date of death is March 31, 1855. Jane Eyre
was published in October of 1847. Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey were published in December of
1847. Charlotte’s first-written novel, The Professor, is published posthumously in 1857.
2. List 3 sad things that happened to Charlotte
- Charlotte lost her mother and two of her siblings as a child. Charlotte also lost three of her
adult siblings to consumption in a nine-month period. She died during childbirth (and therefore didn’t
get to meet her baby :/).
3. List her 4 novels and their publication dates
- The Professor in 1857. Jane Eyre in 1847. Shirley in 1849. Villete in 1853.

Questions to Preface to the Second Edition (required for submission; don’t post)
4. Dedicates her book to 3 “P’s”—name them
- To the Public, to the Press, and to her Publishers.
5. “Conventionality is not morality” she writes. Discuss what this means to you.
- To me, this really means that just because something is popular doesn’t mean that you should
enjoy it, because popularity does not declare how truly good or right something is. It is like when your
parents ask you if you would jump off a bridge if your friends asked you to do it – just because others
are doing it doesn’t mean that it is the right thing to do.
6. She dedicates the book to a famous author: who and why?
- She dedicates this book to Mr. Thackeray because she “[sees]in him an intellect profounder
and more unique than his contemporaries have yet recognized.” In short, she really admires him and
respects the work that he is putting out.

Chapter-by-Chapter Questions (write-ups on any 30 required for an A )

Chapter 1: What qualities does young Jane possess that make her different from her 3 rich cousins Eliza,
John, and Georgiana?
Jane is practically the opposite of her three cousins in nearly every way; while these three children are
selfish, spoiled, self-centered, arrogant, cruel, and uncontrollable (yet also energetic and happy
children!), Jane is instead loyal, kind, and strong-willed, while also being physically inferior in terms of
her beauty; she does not get to experience the same joy that the other children do because she cannot
allow herself to just be quiet and pleasant.

Chapter 2: The Gothic Tradition was a literary convention popular in the 18th century but used by the
Brontës extensively, too: a genre or plot element involving scary settings; trapped people, often girls;
villainous antagonists; the supernatural; and often a hero. Discuss this convention, how it’s used and
adapted, in the context of Jane’s experience in the Red Room.
I think that it is really easy to see the Gothic influence on this novel during this chapter in the Red Room.
In this question, you mention a few different plot elements that Gothic novels usually have. Out of those
5 elements, this chapter alone has 4 of them: scary settings (being alone in the haunted room), a
trapped girl (Jane, who has been forced there against her will), a villainous antagonist (the family who
locked her in there), and the supernatural (the ghost of her dead uncle). Where this strays from the
traditional Gothic conventions is that Jane herself is a young girl; she is far more unreliable of a narrator
than is typically had in these novels.
Chapter 3: In this chapter, we find out Jane’s family background. Recap it here.
I chose this question because I found it really interesting to learn about Jane's upbringing, especially
when considering that earlier in the chapter she had affirmably stated that she would not ever like to
belong to poor people, even if they were kinder to her. This almost immediately contradicted the
decisions that her mom had made 10 or so years earlier.

In this chapter, Jane learns about her upbringing and her parents when she overhears a conversation
taking place between Bessie and Miss Abbott. She learns that her mother was a member of a wealthy
family, but she was cut off after she fell in love with a poor clergyman. Despite her mother's friends
urges, her mother married her father and gave up the life of luxury that she once had. After being
married for a year, her father caught Typhus while he was visiting a community of poor people near his
curacy; he passed this infection onto Jane's mother, and they died within a few months of one another.

Chapter 4: Mr. Brocklehurst puts Jane in her place; Jane puts Mrs. Reed in hers. She writes, “It was the
hardest battle I had fought, and the first victory I had gained….[however,] A child cannot quarrel with its
elders, as I had done…without experiencing afterwards the pang of remorse and the chill of reaction”
(69). Childhood Studies is a recent literary criticism that investigates such power-plays of the adult and
child in literature; as such a critic, what would you say about these two moments of adult-child “battles”
(over what battles, who wins, how, etc…)?
Upon reading this chapter, I was immediately intrigued by the shifting in power dynamics that occurred
during these two “battles” that Jane participated in. While Jane may have “won” these battles,
ultimately she lost the war because she ended up putting a large target on her back; this is the last thing
that she needed when she was already disregarded by others for her social standing. I think that these
instances really show Jane for what she is; a child. She cannot see past what she needs in the moment
and needs the satisfaction of winning, even if the consequences are going to hurt her more in the long
run.

Chapter 5: Lowood Institution is based on Cowen Bridge Clergy Daughters’ School, the severely run,
poorly furnished school where Maria and Elizabeth Brontë, cold and malnourished, both contracted TB
and returned home only to die. Charlotte, right below them in age, remembered them the most and
was deeply affected. Take a biographical reading and explain Lowood Institution—all the details thus
revealed in this chapter—that might relate to the real Cowen Bridge. You can use details from later
chapters, too, particularly Ch. 9.
The ways in which Jane experiences the institution of Lowood seem to match what is now known about
Cowen Bridge, the school that Charlotte and her sisters attended. From our first introductions to this
school, it is described in such a way that makes it feel immensely cold and unwelcoming; Jane’s own
welcoming party is simply darkness, winds, and rain. It is completely unlike what Jane had expected to
experience when she left her old life behind. Instead of being welcomed into a safe and warm
environment, Jane spends much of her time cold, hungry, and miserable. It is not hard to imagine that
the horrid conditions described could have been the cause of Charlotte’s sisters’ deaths in the real
world.

Chapter 6: Helen Burns is a famous character from Jane Eyre despite her brief appearance in these early
chapters. Is she a goody-goody who should have stood up for herself or an important model of Christian
forbearance? Biographical critics would remind us that Charlotte purportedly modelled Helen after her
sister Maria: is this useful to know? Respond to either questions, using details.
After reading this novel and reflecting upon it, I could definitely see the character of Helen being
modeled after Charlotte’s sister Maria. From pretty much the moment that they meet, Helen and Jane
are comfortable and close with one another; they just get each other and there is an immediate trust
between them. Beyond that, Helen gets sick similarly to how Maria got sick, and the two lie together as
she passes away. I saw that as a projection; maybe Charlotte wishes she could have been with Maria in
the same way that Jane was with Helen.

Chapter 8: What is your impression of Miss Temple? How does she inspire Jane, as a teacher but also a
mother-figure?
I really liked the character of Miss Temple! She was arguably one of the only genuinely good people who
worked at Lowood Institution and she serves as a mother-figure to Jane when she doesn’t really have
any other adults to lean on. And she doesn’t even just serve as a mother figure to Jane; she also looks
after Helen as well and makes sure that both of them are doing well and eating enough. I feel like Miss
Temple gives Jane the faith that she needs to continue on because she shows her that there are still
good people in the world around her.

Chapter 9: Helen’s death-statement is, arguably, Charlotte’s religious philosophy, particularly of heaven,
though she does not name it. Discuss her avowals: “I believe; I have faith: I am going to God [who] is My
Maker and yours, who will never destroy what He created. I rely implicitly on His power, and confide
wholly in His goodness: I count the hours till that eventful one arrives which shall restore me to Him,
reveal Him to me….I am sure there is a future state; I believe God is good; I can resign my immortal part
to Him without any misgiving. God is my father; God is my friend; I love Him; I believe He loves me.”
In my opinion, this is one of the most moving parts of this novel; imagining a young woman saying this
as she stares death in the face without fear fills me with an emotion that I don’t quite know how to
name. I definitely agree with your statement that this artfully sums up Charlotte’s own religious
philosophy; I think that with all she has suffered in her personal life and with all of the family that she
has lost she has to hold onto something such as this to keep on living each day.

Chapter 10: Bessie returns to reunite with Jane, and interrogates Jane on her “lady-like”
accomplishments. Discuss which these are, as exemplifying the era.
When Bessie sees Jane again for the first time, she attempts to “quiz her” to measure how much of a
lady that Jane has become. Bessie asks her things such as: can she play the piano, can you draw, have
you learned French, and can you work on muslin and canvas? While these things may not signify being a
lady in our modern day, these were all skills that women were expected to know if they were of a
certain social standing.

Chapter 13: What do the 3 paintings Jane Eyre drew that Mr. Rochester analyzes say about her
character?
Mr. Rochester says that in Jane’s first painting, the arm, mast, and hill are representative of Jane’s own
consciousness. In her second painting, he states that her eyes are wild and dark and that her forehead is
crowned with a star because the sky is dark blue and the heads and shoulders are rising into it. In her
third painting, he says that it illustrates an ice-bound landscape of Jane’s despair.

Chapter 14: React to Mr. Rochester, his manners, opinions, speeches, etc. Be specific.
Honestly, I felt really awkward when reading the interactions in this chapter between Mr. Rochester and
Jane; it was almost bad enough to feel like secondhand embarrassment. When he is drunk his traditional
manners go out the window; he has no shame in asking Jane personal questions (i.e. when he asks her if
she finds him handsome) and reacting authentically to her responses – something that wouldn’t
typically slip away from him with a sober mind. I find him interesting though; he is not my favorite
character but there is an obvious depth to him.

Chapter 16-17: React to the party and party guests. Who do you like and not like, and why?
I really enjoyed reading the party scenes in these two chapters and really getting a different look into
the dynamic between Jane and Mr. Rochester. Out of all of the party guests, I really have the most
disdain for Blanche Ingram and her mother. The way that they treat Jane throughout chapter 17 really
irked me; at this point, Jane still is childish and whimsical and younger than almost everyone else there,
and I didn’t feel like she deserved their cruelty.

Chapter 18: Though the party continues, much of the chapter takes place in Jane’s head, an interior
monologue of sorts, of her growing feelings of love and jealousy. Find a favorite passage to exemplify
this.
"I have told you, reader, that I had learnt to love Mr. Rochester: I could not unlove him now, merely
because I found that he had ceased to notice me -- because I might pass hours in his presence, and he
would never once turn his eyes in my direction -- because I saw all his attentions appropriated by a great
lady, who scorned to touch me with the hem of her robes as she passed; who, if ever her dark and
imperious eye fell on me by chance, would withdraw it instantly as from an object too mean to merit
observation. I could not unlove him, because I felt sure he would soon marry this very lady -- because I
read daily in her a proud security in his intentions respecting her -- because I witnessed hourly in him a
style of courtship which, if careless and choosing rather to be sought than to seek, was yet, in its very
carelessness, captivating, and in its very pride, irresistible.

There was nothing to cool or banish love in these circumstances, though much to create despair. Much
too, you will think, reader, to engender jealously: if a woman, in my position, could presume to be
jealous of a woman in Miss Ingram's. But I was not jealous: or very rarely...." (Brontë, 188).

Explanation: I really enjoyed reading this section of the book and felt as if this particular passage really
exemplified Jane's feelings throughout the entirety of this chapter. Within this passage you can see Jane
confront her own feelings of love for Mr. Rochester and jealousy towards Miss Ingram: yet while she
fully accepts the love that she feels, she denies the jealousy and denies its existence within her. Jane can
barely focus on the rest of the happenings of the evening because she is so wrapped up in sorting
through her own feelings; she finds a way through her inner monologue to take every action that the
other characters partake in and twist them in such a way that she can tie them back to her own feelings
towards Mr. Rochester and Miss Ingram, which I think truly showcases how wrapped up in love Jane
truly is.

Chapter 19: The gypsy! Why does Mr. Rochester choose this bizarre play-acting, and does it work?
I found this to be such an odd part of the book. When we were first introduced to Mr. Rochester, I didn’t
really pin him as a man who could play pretend and be anything other than what he is; yet in this part he
shakes his intensity and falls into a character in order to get to know Jane better. He has to use this
disguise in order to get Jane to truly open up to him.

Chapter 23: Ahh…everyone’s favorite chapter. Discuss anything you like: dialogue, setting details,
symbols.
I loved this chapter; it is the ultimate feel of romance (once you get past Mr. Rochester telling Jane that
he has decided to marry Blanche). From Jane finally confessing her feelings to Mr. Rochester proposing
to the sudden downpour of rain to their stolen kiss, there are so many amazing moments that are each
painted so vividly. I think that the lightning strike is very telling though; there is something waiting to
split up their love soon.

Chapter 24: This is a lovely after-engagement postscript…and yet anxiety and omens intervene. Discuss
Jane’s concerns for Rochester’s behavior, Mrs. Fairfax’s concerns, Rochester’s fairy story to Adele,
Rochester’s song to Jane, or Jane’s final paragraph.
This chapter made me feel uneasy regarding Jane and Mr. Rochester’s impending marriage; it is clear
that he sees her as a form of property as opposed to a partner. His intensity throughout this chapter and
his insistence on doing this his own way frightens Jane, and as she retreats from him his loving nature
turns colder. The entirety of their interactions makes me wonder who he really is, because it is clear that
he is not as nice as he has tried to appear to be throughout the novel.

Chapter 26: Wow! This is the climax. React.

Wow. That is really all that went through my mind when everything in this novel reached its boiling
point. I felt beyond furious at Mr. Rochester; I can understand why he was unable to divorce his first
wife, but dragging Jane into this mess when she has already been through so much really put him on my
hit list. It also made me wonder if he is still lying; did he really lock her up because she was mad, or has
the madness been forced upon her after being caged for years? All in all this chapter made me want to
give Jane a hug; she did not deserve any of the heartache that she received in this chapter.

Chapter 27: Here we get Rochester’s side of things. Do you blame him or empathize with him?
Somewhere comment on his descriptions of the Masons and Bertha, as this is where 20 th and 21st
century postcolonial critics condemn the book for its racism.
Quite honestly, I don’t feel like I can fully empathize with Mr. Rochester even after his explanations
because there is a whole other side to the story that is left unknown. I think that if I were to take what
he said at face value, I would feel bad for him; feeling as if he had no other choice but to lock up his
spiraling wife. Beyond this, he also makes a lot of racist comments regarding Bertha’s behavior and its
connection to her race, going as far as to blame her behavior directly on it.

Chapter 34: St. John’s true nature and ambitions come out in this chapter. What do you think of him?
Note that this might be Charlotte’s comment on a certain sort of religious type, not Christianity at large,
and discuss.
I don’t particularly feel anything towards St. John; I don’t think that he is a bad guy, but I also don’t really
see him as a great man either. He is just neutral. I think that Jane feels similarly because she is willing to
travel with him on his missions, but is not willing to marry him and to be in a loveless arrangement.

Chapter 35: Compare St. John with Rochester.

It is very obvious to see that neither of these men are perfect. Where Mr. Rochester is brash,
opinionated, open to hearing Jane’s thoughts, and not put off by her boldness, St. John is more quiet
and reserved, and often talks at Jane instead of talking to her. Mr. Rochester is more willing to see Jane
as a person rather than just a woman, and I don’t believe that St. John functions in the same way.

Chapter 38: Give your thoughts on how this novel ends, for Jane and all the other characters.
I really did enjoy the ending of this novel, even if I didn’t necessarily love the character of Mr. Rochester.
I think that Jane truly deserved all of the love and happiness in the world after all that she suffered
through, and I am happy that she ended up with someone that she genuinely loved and felt like she was
meant to be with. It feels like pretty much everyone got their perfect storybook ending – they found the
love or the piece of happiness that they had been searching for all of this time.