Born in 1816, Charlotte Brontë is considered to be one of the greatest English writers of the 19th century. She was born into a modest family from Yorkshire. After her mother’s death in 1821, she was raised by her father, an educated pastor, with her brother and four sisters. In 1846, she and her sisters began to publish poems under male pseudonyms. Anne and Emily then published Agnes Grey and Wuthering Heights respectively, but Charlotte’s first novel, The Professor, was rejected. In 1847 Jane Eyre was published and achieved great success, and was soon followed by Shirley (1849) and Villette (1853). The last survivor of the Brontë family, she died in 1855 shortly after her marriage.
Jane Eyre was published in 1847 under the male pseudonym of Currer Bell. The novel shocked audiences with its determined and unconventional heroine, but became considerably successful. In the form of a fictitious autobiography, it presents the story of Jane Eyre, a poor and unattractive young orphan who tries to find her place in a society that places little importance on women. She becomes a governess and defies convention by falling in love with her master, Mr. Rochester. Jane Eyre is an emblematic work of English literature, as shown by the number of TV and cinema adaptations that have arisen from the novel.
Jane Eyre is 10 years old and has lived at Gateshead Hall with Mrs. Reed, her aunt by marriage, since the death of her parents and her uncle. Orphaned and poor, she is unwelcome and mistreated by her guardian and her cousins, including the cruel John Reed. After yet another argument with him, Jane is locked in the red room where she experiences hallucinations. Traumatized, the little girl is unhappy and isolated. Only the nurse, Bessie, feels any sympathy for her. Mrs. Reed soon decides to get rid of her rebellious niece by sending her to a boarding school run by Mr. Brocklehurst, a tyrannical pastor.