Charlotte Bronte

1
Charlotte Bronte

• Jane Eyre

2
Biographical Background

• Born in 1816, the third daughter of the Rev.
  Patrick Bronte and his wife Maria.
• Brother Patrick Branwell was born in 1817
• Her sisters Emily and Anne were born in 1818 and
  1820.
• In 1820, the Bronte family moved to Haworth.

3
Clergy Daughters School

• In 1824 the Bronte girls were enrolled at Clergy
  Daughters Bridge at Cowan Bridge.
• In 1825, Maria and Elizabeth, the two eldest
  daugthers, became ill, left the school, and died.
• Charlotte and Emily were brought home.

4
Roe Head

• In 1831 Charlotte became a pupil at the school
  at Roe Head, but left school the following year
  to teach her sisters at home.
• She returned to Roe Head School in 1835 as a
  governess.
• She left Roe Head in 1838 to become a governess
  to a family.

5
Brussels

• The three sisters decided toopen their own
  school.
• In 1842 Charolotte and Emily went to Brussels to
  ocomplete their studies.
• After a trip home to Haworth, Charlotte returned
  alone to Brussels where she remained until 1844.
• She became infatuated with a married school
  headmaster.

6
Bronte Sisters Publications

• Upon her return home from Brussels, Charlotte
  discovered Emilys poems. They decided to
  publish a selection of the poems of all three
  sisters. In 1846, they published Poems, written
  under the pseudonymns of Currer, Ellis and Acton
  Belle.
• Charlotte completed The Professor which was
  rejected for publication.
• In 1847, Charlottes Jane Eyre, Emilys
  Wuthering Heights, and Annes Agnes Grey were
  published under the Bell pseudonyms.

7
London

• In 1848, Charlotte and Ann visited their
  publishers in London and revealed their true
  identities.
• In 1849, Charlotte visited London and began to
  move in literary circles. She met Elizabeth
  Gaskell and Thackery. Gaskell published The Life
  of Charlotte Bronte in 1857. Bronte dedicated
  Jane Eyre to Thackery.
• In 1848, her brother Patrick and her sisters
  Emily and Anne died.

8
Marriage

• The Rev. A.B. Nicholls, curate of Haworth,
  proposed marriage to Charlotte in 1852. Her
  father opposed the marriage, and in 1854 they
  were married.

9
Illness and Death

• In 1854 Charlotte, expecting a child, caught
  pneumonia.
• She died on March 31, 1855.

10
Jane Eyre

• Themes
• Love vs. Autonomy- The quest to be loved and the
  search for identity
• Religion Throughout the novel Jane struggles to
  find the right balance between moral duty and
  earthly pleasure
• Social Class Jane Eyre is critical of
  Victorian Englands strict social hierarchy.
  Bronte explores this theme through Janes
  position as a governess.
• Gender Relations Jane struggles to achieve
  equality and overcome oppression.

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Motifs

• Fire and ice Fire represents Janes passions
  ice represents the oppressive forces trying to
  extinguish Janes vitality.
• Substitute mothers Jane encounters a series of
  nurturing and strong women on whom she can model
  herself
• Bessie
• Miss Temple
• Helen Burns
• The moon
• Diana and Mary Rivers

12
Symbols

• Bertha Mason a manifestation of Janes
  subconscious feelings
• The Red Room a symbol of what Jane must
  overcome in her struggles to find freedom,
  happiness and a sense of belonging

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Conclusion

• Jane becolmes an independt woman in a world of
  inevitable struggle.
• The conclusion of the novel chronicles the
  totality of Janes triumph over all that
  threatened her will society, St. John,
  Rochester, and religion.
• At the end of the novel, Jane is a fully realized
  psychological entity.

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