Complete Summary of "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte

Young Jane Eyre was orphaned and sent to live with her uncle, who dies shortly after her arrival. Her step-aunt despises her and sends her to Lowood School so that she can become a governess. She wins the friendship of everyone there, but her life is difficult because conditions are poor at the school. Not until typhus kills many of the students do conditions improve. Jane completes her education there and obtains a position as …

…in her home. Unlike most women, she retaliates, trying to kill Rochester and ruining his home and name. The section on Lowood shows how medical and social conditions are tightly tied. As a whole, the novel tries to balance reason and passion. Too much passion and one ends up like Bertha or Rochester, too little and one becomes like St. John Rivers. Jane Eyre is a thrilling read that goes over well with modern audiences.