Jane Eyre: Charlotte Bronte

In this Focus study of Jane Eyre, the author focuses on the heroine’s journey, as she moves from unloved orphan, through brutal school days, into an adult life defined, on the one hand by the iron discipline of St John Rivers and on the other by the mystery and romantic appeal of Rochester and Thornfield Hall, where her search for acceptance is rewarded. A number of central ideas are considered, including the appeal of the Cinderella story, the conflict between nature and control and the discontent of women in a society dominated by men. Bronte was a child of the Romantic period; and the struggle of romantic writers to present feeling is touched on in this Focus Guide; as well as the uneasy relationship between realism and romance, in a novel which contains both documentary detail and one of the earliest realisations of the Byronic hero.

About the author:

Philip McCarthy studied at the University of Kent and at St John’s College Cambridge, where he took his PhD. He lectured for many years in Higher Education, teaching English and American Literature. Currently he works in Adult and Community Education.

56  pages

ISBN: 978-1-906075-60-6