Jane Eyre

In her preface, Brontë writes: “Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last” (6). How does Brontë’s novel critique “conventionality” and “self-righteous” hypocrisy while upholding “morality” and “religion”? 

Jane Eyre is depicted as a strong-minded woman, speaking her mind, challenging opinions she disagrees with, and insisting on equality in her relationships with men. Jane is also plagued by insecurity and self-doubt. Is Jane a feminist character—meaning, she seeks equality for all women—or an individual example of coming into one’s own? Why? 

How do you interpret Bertha Mason’s character? Do you see her as a monster, or a person who has been greatly misunderstood? What would be a fair resolution for her character?

Jane Eyre has been widely adapted into films, television series, plays, operas, ballets, comics, and literary revisions (such as Jean Rhys’s novel Wide Sargasso Sea). Choose at least one adaptation and compare it with the original. Which details and elements of the original novel did they change and why? 

Jane gets two very different marriage proposals from two very different men: an immoral, impassioned proposal from Mr. Rochester and a highly moral but passionless proposal from St. John Rivers. How does the novel compare these two proposals? What tools does Jane use to evaluate them? 

Jane Eyre presents numerous situations of class prejudice, tension, and conflict. Compare and contrast at least three different moments wherein Jane Eyre addresses the theme of class.

Edward Rochester begins the novel as a “Byronic hero”: a romantic archetype characterized by dark secrets, a brooding personality, and a capacity for deep affection. He then becomes an eccentric playfully courting Jane, a doomed man trapped in a miserable marriage, and a disabled and emasculated “ruin” (1,115). Does Mr. Rochester remain a Byronic hero through these transformations? Why or why not? 

Choose at least two different “homes” Jane occupies in the novel and analyze the ways they support her development as a character (and the evolution of “home” in her imagination).