Jane Eyre in English to read. Book: Bronte Sh

I had some spare time last week and my mom recommended me to read some of her favorite books. They were mainly of foreign authors and I Liked many of them. But most of all I was impressed with "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte.

It is a moving love story with the happy ending, set in the Victorian England. The author tells a simple and quite traditional story of a poor girl, Jane, having deep and sincere feelings to her married master, Edward Rochester. I think, Jane Eyre is one of the great romantic heroines of world literature. Being a penniless orphan, Jane, due to her personal talents, exceptional inner features and moral convictions, found her true love and happiness.

I admired everything in this book: the plot, the characters, the style and, especially, the author's emotional honesty. Readers can find many attractions in this novel: tender heroine, self-devotion, painful separation, dark mystery, catastrophe, happy ending Without a doubt, this book is highly-prized by readers, literary critics, and researchers.

I have learned that there are twenty-two films, nine TV versions of the novel, several ballets, an opera, and a couple of musicals based on the novel "Jane Eyre". Some people would say that this story is a little bit naive for a modern reader, who is spoiled by pragmatism of our epoch. Sometimes I was irritated by the passiveness of Jane Eyre. But such involvement the reader into the plot of the novel is the mark of a true writer's talent.

Jane Eyre

I had some free time last week and my mom recommended me to read some of her favorite books. They were mostly foreign authors and I liked a lot of them. But most of all I was impressed by "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë.

This is a touching love story with a happy ending, set in Victorian England. The author tells a simple and rather traditional story about a poor girl, Jane, who has deep and sincere feelings for Edward Rochester. I think Jane Eyre is one of the great romantic heroines of world literature. Being a penniless orphan, Jane, due to her personal talents, exceptional inner abilities and moral convictions, found true love and happiness.

I admired everything about this book: the plot, the characters, the style, and especially the emotional honesty of the author. Readers can find many attractive features in this novel: gentle heroine, dedication, painful breakups, dark secrets, disasters, happy endings. Without a doubt, this book is highly regarded by readers, literary critics and researchers.

I learned that there are twenty-two films, nine TV versions of the novel, several ballets, operas, and a couple of musicals based on Jane Eyre. Some people say that this story is a bit naive for the modern reader who is corrupted by the pragmatism of our age. Jane Eyre's passivity sometimes annoyed me. But such involvement of the reader in the plot of the novel is a sign of the true talent of the writer.

Text adaptation by O. N. Prokofieva

Compilation of a commentary and dictionary by D. L. Abragina

© Prokofieva O. N., text adaptation

© Abragin D. L., compilation of commentary and dictionary

© LLC AST Publishing House, 2016

Foreword

Jane Eyre, since its publication (1847), has been one of the most famous and widely read novels in the English language. Its author, Charlotte Bronte, was destined to become an extremely popular writer. However, she had to publish her novel under the male pseudonym Carrer Bell, as women writers were rarely taken seriously, despite the success of such famous writers of an earlier time as, for example, Jane Austen. By signing with a male name, Charlotte Brontë hoped to secure a more friendly reception for her work from readers.

When Jane Eyre went out of print, Charlotte was 31 years old, but she had actually been writing all her life. Charlotte, her brother Branwell, and sisters Emily and Anna amused themselves as children by imagining a lot and writing down the stories of the worlds created by the imagination in tiny books, some of which have survived to this day. So, Charlotte and Branwell came up with the African kingdom of Angria, and Emily and Anna created their own kingdom, Gondal. When the Bronte girls grew up, they faced the question of what to do - writing or teaching (the choice was small). Charlotte, Emily and Anna became writers.

Although the Brontes were very friendly, they had a hard life. They were the children of the local vicar and lived in Haworth, a town in the moorlands of Yorkshire (in the north of England). The family moved here in 1820, but in 1821, when Charlotte was only five years old, her mother died of cancer. Aunt Elizabeth Branwell came to take care of the children.

Then new misfortunes followed. In 1824 the four eldest daughters, Elizabeth, Mary, Charlotte, and Emily, were sent to Cowan Bridge, an orphanage for the daughters of the clergy. And the next year, when an epidemic of tuberculosis broke out at the school, Elizabeth and Maria fell ill. They were sent home, but both girls died. Charlotte and Emily also returned home, and since then Charlotte has become the eldest daughter in the family.

Patrick Bronte, Charlotte's father, came from a poor Irish family, but his intelligence and hard work helped him get an education at Cambridge University. He firmly believed in the benefit of teaching for both boys and girls. His house was full of books, among which were works written by himself. He instilled in all his children a love of reading.

However, it was precisely this addiction to reading that made it difficult for the Bronte children to communicate with local children, whose parents were mostly simple farmers and workers. Charlotte often felt that the people around her were not able to understand her, not possessing an equally developed mind. This feeling is also present on the pages of Jane Eyre.

Like other novels by the writer, Jane Eyre contains many details and situations taken from her own life. Lowood, Jane's harsh and unforgiving orphanage school, has much in common with Cowan Bridge, where Charlotte herself lived for some time, and the image of Ellen Burns, Jane's friend, may be based on memories of older sisters. At the age of 19, Charlotte became a teacher at the Rowhead School, and then found herself a job as a governess. And this event is also reflected in the novel. In order to find a husband for herself, Charlotte, like her character, Jane, could not count on her appearance, believing that she was too small, thin and unattractive. When at last love came to her, passionate and reckless, a married man became its object, and her feelings remained unrequited.

Together with her sisters Emily and Anna, Charlotte intended to open her own school in Haworth. But first, Charlotte and Emily went to Brussels to improve their knowledge of foreign languages ​​by teaching English there. It was there that Charlotte fell in love with a married professor, whose name was Monsieur Héger. After the death of her aunt, Emily returned home to take care of her father, and Charlotte spent two whole years in Brussels. Obsessed with a passion for Mr. Ezhe, she carried her love through her whole life, although she did not find a reciprocal feeling from him. Most of the writer's heroines are lonely and shy women who fall in love with older men. Although in her books she, of course, was free to give any twists to love stories.

The Bronte sisters failed to succeed in establishing a school, and then they devoted themselves entirely to writing. All three sisters, who had long composed poetry, published a book in 1846 under the pseudonyms Kerrer, Ellis and Acton Bell. She was not a success with readers, but the sisters did not give up. The following year, Ellis Bell's (Emily Bronte's) novel Wuthering Heights and Acton Bell's (Anna Bronte's) novel Agnes Grey were accepted for publication. Several publishers rejected Charlotte's first novel, The Teacher, but her second novel, Jane Eyre, was immediately accepted for publication. By the end of 1847, all three novels were in print, and the Bell brothers were a national sensation.

From the very beginning, the reading public was perplexed, not knowing who was hiding under Bell's pseudonyms. Some still dared to suggest that in fact it may be women. Soon the sisters had to open up. Jane Eyre greatly outsold the other two novels, and when Anna Brontë wrote The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, the publisher suggested that it be published under the name of Kerrer rather than Acton Bell. Charlotte and Anna went to London to negotiate with the publishers and only here for the first time gave their real names.

Charlotte decided to make writing her main occupation, but soon misfortunes befell her again. In the summer of 1848 her brother, Branwell Brontë, who was addicted to alcohol and opium, fell seriously ill and died in September of that year. By mid-autumn, it became clear that Emily was also ill, possibly with tuberculosis. However, Emily, a woman with a strong will, continued to run the household and refused to see a doctor. In December 1848, she also died before reaching her 30th birthday.

To Charlotte's dismay, Anna, her only surviving sister, was also diagnosed with tuberculosis. Having tried all the methods of treatment, in May 1849 Charlotte and her sister went to the seaside town of Scarborough, where the climate was more favorable for overcoming the disease. Here Anna died, leaving another wound in Charlotte's heart.

Over the next few years, Charlotte focused on writing and published two more novels: Shirley (1849) and Willett (1853). The last novel is considered by some critics to be her best work. Several times she came to London, where she met other famous writers such as Elizabeth Gaskell and William Thackeray. Her portrait was painted in London. The fame of the writer grew.

In 1852, the Reverend Arthur Bell Nichols, a humble clergyman who worked in Father Charlotte's parish at Haworth, proposed to her. At first she refused him, but in 1854 she nevertheless married him.

Although she did not feel true love for her husband, marriage brought her some peace and tranquility. But the memory of such an early death of her sisters and brother continued to oppress her. The next year, when Charlotte fell ill with pneumonia, she did not find the strength to fight for life, although the disease was not incurable. In March 1855, while expecting her first child, she died at the age of 38.

After the author's death, Charlotte's first novel, The Teacher, saw the light of day. The novelist Elizabeth Gaskell wrote a biography of S. Bronte. It is thanks to this that the life of the Brontë sisters, as well as their novels, turned out to be so widely known to the public. Since then, the work of the Bronte sisters and their fate has invariably won the hearts of readers.

Chapter 1

It was impossible to take a walk that day. Since dinner the cold winter wind had brought with it clouds so sombre, and a rain so penetrating, that further out-door exercise was out of the question. Instead, we had to amuse ourselves indoors. I was glad of it: I never liked long walks, especially on chilly afternoons. My cousins, Eliza, John and Georgiana Reed were sitting round their mama in the drawing-room by the fire-side, but I was not allowed to join the group.

“You, Jane, are excluded from our company until I hear from Bessie that you can behave like a proper, sweet little girl,” announced Mrs. reed.

“What does Bessie say I have done?” I asked.

“Jane, I don't like questioners; don't answer me back. be seated somewhere; and until you can speak pleasantly, remain silent.”

I went into another room, with a bookcase in it. I took one of the books, Bewick's History of British Birds, and climbed into the window seat. I drew the curtain, gathered up my feet, and sat cross-legged, like a Turk. Then I immersed myself into another world. I was now discovering the shores of Lapland, Siberia, Spitzbergen, Nova Zembla, Iceland, Greenland, with ‘the vast sweep of the Arctic Zone, and that reservoir of frost and snow. Of these death white realms I formed an idea of ​​my own: shadowy, like all the half-comprehended notions that float dim through children’s brains, but strangely impressive.

The book contained pictures, and each picture told a story. These stories were as interesting as the tales Bessie sometimes narrated on winter evenings when she was in good humor and fed our attention with passages of love and adventure from old fairy tales and other ballads.

With Bewick on my knee, I was then happy: happy at least in my way. I feared nothing but interruption, and that came too soon. The breakfast-room door opened.

“Boh!” cried the voice of John Reed. Then he paused as he thought the room was empty. “Where is she? Lizzie! George! Tell Mom! Jane's run out into the rain!"

“She's in the window seat,” Eliza said at once.

I came out immediately before John could drag me out.

“What do you want?” I asked.

John Reed was a fourteen-year-old schoolboy, four years older than I. He was large and stout for his age, and he bullied me continually. I hated and feared him, I could do nothing against his menaces. The servants did not like to offend their young master, and Mrs. Reed was blind and deaf on the subject.

All at once, without speaking, John struck suddenly and strongly

“That is for your rude answer to mama, for hiding behind curtains and for the look you had in your eyes, you rat,” he said.

“What were you doing behind that curtain?”

“I was reading.”

“Show me the book.”

I gave him the book.

“You have no right to take our books. You have no money, your father left you none, you should beg, and not live with us. Now, I'll teach you a lesson. Go and stand by the door.”

I did so, then waited, flinching. He hurled the heavy book at me. It hit me and I fell, striking my head against the door and cutting it. The cut bled, the pain was sharp: suddenly my terror was gone, and I was full of anger.

“Wicked and cruel boy! You are like a murderer!”

“Did she say that to me? Did you hear her, Eliza and Georgiana? Won't I tell mama? but first -“

He grasped my hair and my shoulder. I don't very well know what I did with my hands, but he called me 'Rat! Rat!’, Eliza, and Georgiana ran for Mrs. reed.

We were parted, and Mrs. Reed was standing over me.

“Dear, dear,” said Abbott, shaking her head. “What a fury, to fly at master John!”

“Take her away to the red-room,” said Mrs. Reed, “and lock her in there.”

The red-room was the biggest bedroom in Gateshead Hall, with a red carpet, red damask drapery, red velvet curtains, and a dark mahogany bed in it. Nobody slept there. Nobody wanted to. It was here, nine years before, in that very bed that Mr. Reed had died. Ever since I had often heard the servants whispering that it was haunted.

I resisted all the way. Bessie and Abbott had to force me through the door. I only stopped struggling when they threatened to tie me to a chair.

“What a shocking conduct, Miss Eyre, to strike a young gentleman! Your young master.”

“Master! How is he my master? Am I a servant?”

“No; you are less than a servant, for you do nothing for your keep,” said Miss Abbot.

“Miss Eyre, you should be grateful to Mrs. Reed for keeping you,” said Bessie, in a kinder voice. “If you don’t behave, she might send you away, and then where would you be?”

“You’d better say your prayers, Miss, and ask for forgiveness,” said Abbott.

They left and locked the door behind them.

Left alone, holding furiously onto the chair I had been pushed into, I turned the afternoon's events over and over in my mind. Why did everyone adore selfish, rude John, Georgiana and Eliza, and hate me, even though I tried to be good? Why could I never please? Was it because they were pretty, with their golden curls and silk dresses, and I was poor and plain? “Unjust! – unjust!” said a voice in my head.

The room was silent as it was far from the nursery and kitchen. It was getting dark as the daylight faded and I had no candle. It was cold too as there was no fire. I thought about Mr. reed. He had been my uncle - my mother's brother. When my parents had died, I was a baby, and my uncle Reed had brought me to live at Gateshead Hall. Bessie had told me that Mrs. Reed only continued to look after me because, just before his death, Mr. Reed had made her promise that she would.

He had always been kind to me. Perhaps now his spirit was watching, and was angry about the way they treated me. Perhaps – I gripped the chair more tightly, and felt frightened – perhaps his ghost really lived in this room.

The thought of seeing a ghost, even kind Reed's ghost filled me with terror. I was not quite sure whether Abbott and Bessie had locked the door; I got up and went to see. Alas! yes. I stared into the darkness in panic, convinced a phantom was about to appear.

At this moment a light gleamed on the wall and began to glide slowly across the ceiling towards me.

Looking back, I know it was probably nothing more than a footman carrying a lantern across the lawn. But, in my terrified state of mind, I believed it was the ghost. My head grew hot, something seemed near me. I rushed to the door and shook the lock in desperate effort screaming.

I heard footsteps, the key turned, Bessie and Abbot entered.

“Take me out! Let me go into the nursery!” I cried.

“What for? Are you hurt? Have you seen something?” demanded Bessie.

“I saw a light, and I thought it was a ghost…”

“What is all this?” It was Mrs. reed. “Bessie, I told you to leave Jane alone.”

“Miss Jane screamed so loudly, ma’am…”

“You cannot get out by these means, child,” Mrs. Reid said. “It is my duty to show you that tricks will not work. You will now stay here an hour longer.”

“O aunt! have drink! Forgive me!"

But I was only an actress in her eyes. Bessie and Abbot left first, Mrs. Reed pushed me back into the room and locked me in.

Left alone once more, I fell unconscious, as that was the last thing I remembered.

Chapter 2

When I woke up, I was somewhere warm and soft. There was a red glow and muffled voices around me. Someone lifted me, and then I rested my head against a pillow or an arm, and felt easy.

When I opened my eyes, I saw that I was in my own bed. The glow came from the fire. It was night. Bessie stood beside me, looking anxious, and a gentleman sat in a chair near my pillow. I knew him. It was Mr. Lloyd, an apothecary. Mrs. Reed called him sometimes when the servants were ill.

"Who am I, Jane?" he asked.

“Mr. Lloyd,” I said, offering him at the same time my hand. He took it and smiled.

“I think she'll be alright. I'll come back tomorrow.”

He departed to my grief. I felt so sheltered when he sat in the chair, and then all the room darkened.

“Would you like to sleep, Miss Eyre?” asked Bessie, rather softly.

“I'll try.”

“Would you like something to eat or drink?”

“I would love to go to school.”

“Well then,” he said. “I will speak to Mrs. Reed.”

Chapter 3

After that day a change seemed near, I desired and waited it in silence. Mrs. Reed dropped no hint about sending me to school but I felt she would no longer endure me under the same roof. I ate my meals alone, and Mrs. Reed told John, Eliza and Georgiana not to speak to me. I spent more time with the servants than with the Reeds. Sometimes Bessie let me dust and tidy the rooms to keep me busy.

November, December, and half of January passed away. During all Christmas and New Year parties I waited in my room, listening to the sound of the piano, the clink of glasses and the hum of conversation below. Once or twice Bessie brought me a cake from the feast.

It was the fifteenth of January, about nine o'clock in the morning. Bessie came running into the nursery. “Miss Jane! What are you doing there?” she said. “Have you washed your hands and face this morning?” She hurried me up to the washstand, scrubbed my face and quickly brushed my hair. I wanted downstairs.

I slowly descended and stopped in front of the breakfast-room door trembling. I feared to return to the nursery, and feared to go forward. Ten minutes I stood in hesitation till I finally decided: I MUST enter.

Mrs. Reed was in her usual seat be the fireside, she made a signal to me to approach and introduced me to a tall gray-eyed gentleman with the words: “This is the little girl I wrote to you about.”

“She is so small. What is her age?” he said in a bass voice.

“Ten years.”

“So much? What is your name, little girl?”

“Jane Eyre, sir.”

“Well, Jane Eyre, are you a good child?”

It was impossible to answer. I thought I was good, but I knew no one else in the house would say so. I was silent. Mrs. Reed answered for me by shaking her head and adding: “The less said about that, the better.’’

“Sorry indeed to hear! She and I must talk. Come here.”

I came up to him. He placed me straight before him. What a face he had! What a great nose! And what a mouth!

“No sight so sad as that of a naughty child. Do you know where wicked people go, Jane, after they die?”

“They go to hell,” was my ready answer.

“Is that what you want to happen to you?”

“No, sir,” I said.

“What must you do to avoid it?”

I was at a loss. I knew I couldn't try any harder to be good. “I must take care not to die, sir.”

“Do you say your prayers night and morning?”

“Do you read your Bible?” continued my interrogator.

“Sometimes.”

“Are you fond of it?”

“I like Revelations, and the book of Daniel.”

“And the Psalms?”

“I don't like them.”

“Oh, shocking! I know a little boy, younger than you, who knows six Psalms by heart. When asked what he would prefer, a nut or a Psalm to learn, he says, ‘Oh, the verse of a Psalm, please. Angels sing Psalms. I wish to be like a little angel.’ He then gets two nuts as a reward for his goodness.”

“Psalms are not interesting.”

“You must pray to God to change your wicked heart and give you a new and clean one.”

I wanted to ask him how when Mrs. Reed broke the silence.

“Mr. Brocklehurst,” she said. “If you admit her into Lowood schoold, I want the superintendent and teachers keep a strict eye on her. Deceit is, indeed, a sad fault in a child.” Uttered before a stranger, the accusation cut me to the heart.

“Deceit is, indeed, a sad fault in a child. She will be watched, Mrs. reed. I will speak to Miss Temple and the teachers,” said Mr. Brocklehurst.

“I wish her to be made useful and humble. She will, with your permission, spend all vacations at Lowood.”

“I approve of your decisions, madam.”

“I will send her, then, as soon as possible, Mr. Brocklehurst.”

“I will send Miss Temple notice about a new girl, so that there will be no difficulty about receiving her. goodbye.”

“Good-bye, Mr. Brocklehurst.”

Mrs. Reed and I were left alone: ​​some minutes passed in silence; she was sewing, I was watching her with rage in my eyes. Mrs. Reed looked up from her work

“Return to the nursery,” she ordered with irritation. But first I wanted to talk with her.

“I am not decadent,” I said. “If I were, I would lie and say I love you, and I declare I do not love you. I dislike you, and your son, and the girls. They tell lies, not me.”

“Have you anything more to add?” she asked coldly, as if she were speaking to an adult, not a child. Her tone made me even more furious. Shaking from head to foot, I continued: “I am glad you are no relation of mine. I will never call you aunt again as long as I live. People think you are a good woman, but you are bad, hard-hearted. YOU are decadent!”

“‘Jane, you are under a mistake: what is the matter with you? I assure you, I desire to be your friend.”

“Not you. You told Mr. Brocklehurst I had a bad and decadent character; and I'll let everybody at Lowood know what you are, and what you have done. Send me to school soon, Mrs. Reed, for I hate to live here.”

“I will indeed send her to school soon,” murmured Mrs. Reed and left the room. I won't.

“All at once I heard a clear voice call, ‘Miss Jane! where are you? Come to lunch!”

It was Bessie, I knew well enough, but I did not move. She came and her presence seemed cheerful. I put my two arms round her.

“You are going to school, I suppose?” she asked.

“And won’t you be sorry to leave poor Bessie?”

“Not at all, Bessie; indeed, I'm rather sorry."

She laughed at my words and we embraced.

Bronte Sh.

Charlotte Bronte
Charlotte Brontë
Aliases:	Currer Bell
Date of Birth:
Place of Birth:
Date of death:
A place of death:
Citizenship:	Great Britain
Occupation:
Art language:

A crater on Mercury is named after Charlotte Bronte.

Links

• Bronte, Charlotte in the library of Maxim Moshkov

Other books on similar topics:

Charlotte Brontë "Jane Eyre" in English

The novel begins with the titular character, Jane Eyre, aged 10, living with her maternal uncle's family, the Reeds, as a result of her uncle's dying wish. It is several years after her parents died of typhus. Mr. Reed, Jane's uncle, was the only one in the Reed family who was kind to Jane. Jane's aunt, Sarah Reed, dislikes her, treats her as a burden, and discourages her children from associating with Jane. Mrs. Reed and her three children are abusive to Jane, physically, emotionally, and, as the reader is quick to realize, spiritually. The nursemaid Bessie proves to be Jane's only ally in the household, even though Bessie sometimes harshly scolds Jane. Excluded from the family activities, Jane is incredibly unhappy, with only a doll and books in which to find solace.

One day, after her cousin John knocks her down and she attempts to defend herself, Jane is locked in the red room where her uncle died; there, she faints from panic after she thinks she has seen his ghost. She is subsequently attended to by the kindly apothecary, Mr. Lloyd, to whom Jane reveals how unhappy she is living at Gateshead Hall. He recommends to Mrs. Reed that Jane should be sent to school, an idea Mrs. Reed happily supports. Mrs. Reed then enlists the aid of the harsh Brocklehurst, director of Lowood Institution, a charity school for girls. Mrs. Reed cautions Brocklehurst that Jane has a "tendency for deceit", which he interprets as her being a "liar". Before Jane leaves, however, she confronts Mrs. Reed and declares that she'll never call her "aunt" again, that Mrs. Reed and her daughter, Georgiana, are the ones who are deceitful, and that she'll tell everyone at Lowood how cruelly Mrs. Reed treated her.

At Lowood Institution, a school for poor and orphaned girls, Jane soon finds that life is harsh, but she attempts to fit in and befriends an older girl, Helen Burns, who is able to accept her punishment philosophically. During a school inspection by Mr. Brocklehurst, Jane accidentally breaks her slate, thereby drawing attention to herself. He then stands her on a stool, brands her a liar, and shames her before the entire assembly. Jane is later comforted by her friend, Helen. Miss Temple, the caring superintendent, facilitates Jane's self-defence and writes to Mr. Lloyd, whose reply agrees with Jane's. Jane is then publicly cleared of Mr. Brocklehurst's accusations.

The 80 pupils at Lowood are subjected to cold rooms, poor meals, and thin clothing. Many students fall ill when a typhus epidemic strikes, and Jane's friend Helen dies of consumption in her arms. When Mr. Brocklehurst’s maltreatment of the students is discovered, several benefactors erect a new building and install a sympathetic management committee to moderate Mr. Brocklehurst's harsh rule. Conditions at the school then improve dramatically.

The name Lowood symbolizes the "low" point in Jane's life where she was maltreated. Helen Burns is a representation of Charlotte's elder sister Maria, who died of tuberculosis after spending time at a school where the children were mistreated.

After six years as a student and two as a teacher at Lowood, Jane decides to leave, like her friend and confidante Miss Temple, who recently married. She advertises her services as a governess and receives one reply, from Alice Fairfax, housekeeper at Thornfield Hall. Jane takes the position, teaching Adèle Varens, a young French girl.

One night, while Jane is walking to a nearby town, a horseman passes her. The horse slips on ice and throws the rider. Despite the rider's surliness, Jane helps him to get back onto his horse. Later, back at Thornfield, she learns that this man is Edward Rochester, master of the house. Adèle is his ward, left in his care when her mother abandoned her.

At Jane's first meeting with him within Thornfield, Mr. Rochester teases her, accusing her of bewitching his horse to make him fall. He also talks strangely in other ways, but Jane is able to give as good as she gets. Mr. Rochester and Jane soon come to enjoy each other's company, and spend many evenings together.

Odd things start to happen at the house, such as a strange laugh, a mysterious fire in Mr. Rochester's room (from which Jane saves Rochester by rousing him and throwing water on him and the fire), and an attack on a house guest of Rochester's, a Mr. mason. Then Jane receives the word that her aunt Mrs. Reed is calling for her, after suffering a stroke because her unruly son John has died in sad circumstances. Jane returns to Gateshead and remains there for a month, attending to her dying aunt. As she lies dying, Mrs. Reed confesses to Jane that she has wronged her, and gives Jane a letter from Jane's paternal uncle, Mr. John Eyre, in which he asks for her to live with him and be his heir. Mrs. Reed admits to telling Mr. Eyre that Jane had died of fever at Lowood. Soon afterward, Jane's aunt dies, and Jane helps her cousins ​​after the funeral before returning to Thornfield.

Back at Thornfield, Jane broods over Mr. Rochester's rumoured impending marriage to the beautiful and talented, but snobbish and heartless, Blanche Ingram. However, one midsummer evening, Rochester baits Jane by saying how much he will miss her after getting married, but how she will soon forget him. There then follows one of the most stirring speeches in the whole book, when the normally self-controlled Jane opens her heart to him. Rochester is then sure that Jane is sincerely in love with him, and he proposes marriage. Jane is at first sceptical of his sincerity, but eventually believes him and gladly agrees to marry him. She then writes to her Uncle John, telling him of her happy news.

As she prepares for her wedding, Jane's forebodings arise when a strange, savage-looking woman sneaks into her room one night and rips her wedding veil in two. As with the previous mysterious events, Mr. Rochester attributes the incident to Grace Poole, one of his servants. During the wedding ceremony, Mr. Mason and a lawyer declare that Mr. Rochester cannot marry because he is still married to Mr. Mason's sister, Bertha. Mr. Rochester admits this is true but explains that his father tricked him into the marriage for her money. Once they were united, he discovered that she was rapidly descending into madness, and so he eventually locked her away in Thornfield, hiring Grace Poole as a nurse to look after her. When Grace gets drunk, his wife escapes and causes the strange happenings at Thornfield.

It turns out that Jane's uncle, Mr. John Eyre, is a friend of Mr. Mason's and was visited by him soon after Mr. Eyre received Jane's letter about her impending marriage. After the marriage ceremony is broken off, Mr. Rochester asks Jane to go with him to the south of France, and live with him as husband and wife, even though they cannot be married. Refusing to go against her principles, and despite her love for him, Jane leaves Thornfield in the middle of the night.

Jane travels as far from Thornfield as she can using the little money she had previously saved. She leaves accidentally her bundle of possessions on the coach and has to sleep on the moor, and unsuccessfully attempts to trade her handkerchief and gloves for food. Exhausted and hungry, she eventually makes her way to the home of Diana and Mary Rivers, but is turned away by the housekeeper. She collapses on the doorstep, preparing for her death. St. John Rivers, Diana and Mary's brother and a clergyman, saves her. After she regained her health, St. John finds Jane a teaching position at a nearby village school. Jane becomes good friends with the sisters, but St. John remains aloof.

The sisters leave for government jobs, and St. John becomes somewhat closer to Jane. St. John learns Jane's true identity and astounds her by telling her that her uncle, John Eyre, has died and left her entire fortune of 20,000 pounds (equivalent to over £1.3 million in 2011 ). When Jane questions him further, St. John reveals that John Eyre is also his and his sisters' uncle. They had once hoped for a share of the inheritance but were left virtually nothing. Jane, overjoyed by finding that she has living and friendly family members, insists on sharing the money equally with her cousins, and Diana and Mary come back to Moor House to live.

Proposals

Thinking Jane will make a suitable missionary's wife, St. John asks her to marry him and to go with him to India, not out of love, but out of duty. Jane initially accepts going to India but rejects the marriage proposal, suggesting they travel as brother and sister. As soon as Jane's resolve against marriage to St. John begins to weaken, she mysteriously hears Rochester's voice calling her name. Jane then returns to Thornfield to find only blackened ruins. She learns that Rochester's wife set the house on fire and committed suicide by jumping from the roof. In his rescue attempts, Mr. Rochester lost a hand and his eyesight. Jane reunites with him, but he fears that she will be repulsed by his condition. "Am I hideous, Jane?", he asks. “Very, sir: you always were, you know”, she replies. When Jane assures him of her love and tells him that she will never leave him, Mr. Rochester again proposes, and they are married. He eventually recovers enough sight to see their first-born son.

Book review by Jan Eyre

The story of the suffering and deprivation of the poor English orphan Jane Eyre, for almost three centuries, arouses keen interest and compassion from readers around the world. The author of the work is Charlotte Bronte, a wonderful English writer. She chose an easy and accessible storytelling style in order to tell the difficult story of Jen's life. The events described in the novel take place in England in the Victorian era and reflect the realities of the life of the writer herself.

The novel was published in 1847 and literally immediately won the recognition of readers. Jen is an orphan, penniless, dependent on her aunt who hates the poor girl and eventually sends her to an orphanage. Strength of mind, courage and a sharp mind help Jen to endure all the hardships and hardships that befell the unfortunate orphan. The girl went through incredible hardships and was finally rewarded by fate. She gets a place as a governess in the family of a wealthy landowner, Mr. Rochester. Jen is very happy with her new status, she has her own room. The girl really likes the quiet village life, beautiful gardens, a large mansion, the libraries of which are filled with books. It seems that nothing can disturb the calmness of her new life, but this is where the real trials for Jen and the most exciting and mysterious events begin.

The caustic temperament of the owner of the house repels Jen at first, but the hostility gradually develops into something completely different. A strong and deep feeling arises between young people, which, it would seem, nothing can interfere with. But even here an unpleasant surprise awaits the girl - a terrible secret that Jen's beloved keeps is revealed at the moment of the highest happiness for her and turns the girl's whole life upside down. Fate puts the girl before the most difficult choice - to be with her beloved no matter what, or to leave and forget about her love forever. What will Jen choose?

Jane Eyre is considered one of the most romantic novels of all time. With characters that are as unforgettable as their story itself, the work has become one of the most significant in English literature.

The novel's gripping plot and uncomplicated language make it easy to read the novel in its original language. For those looking to improve their English, this novel is the perfect choice. On our website, we are pleased to provide you with this opportunity and publish the novel "Jane Eyre" in two languages ​​- the original language and translation into Russian.