Jane Eyre: Read or Toss? | September 5th, 2026

A book written in the 1800s centering a young female character leaves a lot of room for error; however, Jane Eyre is a great example of a strong protaganist!

A Synopsis

Jane Eyre is a mistreated orphan living with her late uncle's cruel family. She is sent off to boarding school, where she is fed meager meals and is again mistreated by the Headmaster. After leaving, she works for a man in his late 30s and his ward, Adele. She falls in love with him only to find a terrifying truth at the alter. The book spans nearly her entire life, and is an exploration of her journey in finding independence and self-worth.


SPOILERS!!!!

The twist comes when Mr. Rochester and Jane are at the alter, about to be married, when someone protests, claiming the marriage would be invalid due to adultery. Mr. Rochester had been keeping his wife in his attic for the last 20 years! He takes everyone: the clergman, the lawyer, and Jane, into the attic to meet her, while he pleads with Jane to run away with him and be his mistress; in another twist, she refuses.

Despite her love for him, she slips out of Thornfield Hall only to end up penniless and begging for food. She is then taken in by a family, who we later learn are her cousins, which, is really weird for the next part where St. John Rivers asks her to marry him (although lovelessly) and be a missionary in India. She also refuses; meanwhile, we find out she inherited 20,000 pounds, that of which she shares with her newly found cousins.

After this, she realizes that she must go find her beloved Mr. Rochester again, but she finds Thornfield Hall dilapidated and in disrepair. Jane later learns his wife, Bertha, has lit the house on fire and jumped to her death, causing Mr. Rochester to lose both sight and hand in the ruin. She cares for him, and agrees to marry, taking care of him for the rest of his life.

Thoughts and Disclaimers

Right off the bat, the age gap is crazy. Jane Eyre leaves the Lowood Instituion at 18, with 2 years of teaching under her belt. Her and nearly 40 year old Rochester immediately fall in love. The book speaks about how weird the age gap is multiple times, with other characters calling Jane a "governess not twenty," and Rochester a "almost fourty". This allegedly stems from Charlotte Bronte's unrequited love for an older man, and is meant to be a happier ending.

Despite this, the book does relativly well with power dynamics in the story. Rochester and Jane are meant to be opposites, rich, poor, old, young, connected, unknown, ect. Jane Eyre only ends up marrying him after she gains more life experience, more wealth, and he loses property and is physically disabled. Although, Jane constantly sees herself as equal in intellect and EQ, despite blatant social inferiority. That's why she so bluntly stands up toward him.