Contents introduction The role of critical realism in english literature of 19 century

"Jane Eyre" (1847) contains all the elements that make up Charlotte's conception of life. On the first pages of the book the reader meets Jane Eyre as a small girl at her aunt's house and later at a charity school. She is an orphan, a plain and penniless girl, but a proud rebel, who possesses her own feelings of right and wrong. The first part of the book is a moving rendering of Jane's childhood.
The other part of the book is one of the most romantic love stories in English literature. When Jane grows up she becomes the governess of Mr. Rochester's foster daughter. Mr. Rochester is a strong, noble, proud, manly and tragic figure. He is a victim of his class and therefore at war with it. He is much older than Jane. His life has been miserable. He has been wandering here and there seeking rest and dulling his intellect. Heart-weary and soul-withered Mr. Rochester meets Jane. He finds in her many of the good and bright qualities which he has sought for twenty years. He proposes to Jane. She is in love with her master and agrees to become his wife. The young woman does not know the truth: for years Mr. Rochester has kept a lunatic wife in his house in charge of a servant. Nobody suspects her existence. On the eve of Jane's marriage the lunatic enters Jane's room and tears her bridal veil in half. Jane is terrified. In the church she learns Mr. Rochester is married. Her confidence is destroyed. Her hopes are all dead. She thinks she must leave Thornfield, though she still loves Mr. Rochester.
Half-starved, worn-out and soaked to the skin Jane drops at the-door of her cousin's house. There she gets to know that she is the heiress of some £ 20,000 that her uncle has left her. Jane shares the money with her cousins. One of them, John Rivers, is going to India as a missionary and asks Jane to accompany him as his wife. Jane agrees to go with him, but not as his wife, because they do not love each other. J. Rivers insists on marriage. Just as Jane is on the point of yielding she seems to hear Mr. Rochester's voice calling her out of the night, "Jane, Jane." She hurries back to Thornfield and learns that the madwoman fired the mansion house, jumped off the roof and killed herself. A burning beam blinded Mr. Rochester and crushed his hand. He is now quite broken down. Jane comes to him and becomes his right hand and the apple of his eyes. They marry and their union is very happy.
"Jane Eyre" depicts a poor girl's rebellion against cruelty, in­justice, the division of people into the poor and the rich, the inhuman educational system in English charity schools and her struggle for Woman's emancipation. The author's wish to show that women are not inferior to men has led her a little astray — her heroine is too good to be true to life. Ch. Bronte presents things in a realistic and satirical way. In Mr. Rochester's house Jane meets the county gentry — uncultured, calculating, ambitious, cold and vulgar. They are contrasted with Jane, a poor orphan. She is honest, intelligent, brave, strong-willed and clever.
The structure of the book is simple. Events follow one another in quick succession. There are a lot of emotional and thrilling episodes in the novel. Ch. Bronte has also a fine knowledge of the English language and she employs it masterfully.