Life for a woman in Victorian England is difficult enough, but young Jane Eyre has neither wealth nor beauty. She has only strenghth of spirit to get her through the challenges she faces.
Orphaned, Jane lives with her widowed Aunt Reed, who is dreadful to Jane.
To punish Jane, her aunt locks her in the room where her uncle died. Frightened and alone, Jane believes she sees the ghost of the dead uncle. She passes out and awakens in a doctor’s care. The doctor tells her aunt to send her to the Lowood School for orphaned girls.
School seems like the perfect escape for Jane. However, §things do not turn out as happily as she might wish. The headmaster, §Mr. Brockelhurst, is nearly as cruel as her aunt. In spite of this, Jane finds friendship with a student named Helen Burns.
Tragedy strikes when Helen dies of a sickness that sweeps through the school.
This exposes the terrible conditions at Lowood, and Mr. Brockelhurst is replaced. Jane eventually becomes a teacher there, and it seems that she has found the sense of belonging she has looked for all her life.
But she also wants to see more of the world, so she takes a job §as a governess at Thornfield, the manor of a wealthy landowner.
At first, Jane hardly ever sees the landowner, Edward Rochester. She spends her time teaching the girl Edward is caring for. As time passes, Edward becomes interested in the courageous and intelligent governess and spends more time at home. He and Jane form a shaky relationship, and soon Jane falls for him.
§Although happy, Jane is aware of ssecrets at Thornfield. Occasionally she hears crazy laughter coming from the third floor. She is told a drunken servant, Grace Poole, is to blame.
One night, a fire breaks out, and Jane has to save Edward. When he tells her that Grace Pool started the fire, she senses he is hiding something from her.
Awoman named Blanche Ingram comes home with Edward one evening. Jane is heartbroken that Edward plans to marry Blanche. In a panic, she tells Edward she loves him. But Edward only wanted to trick Jane into confessing her feelings for him.
Jane’s life seems full when she and Edward are engaged. She is in for a terrible surprise. At their wedding, she discovers that Edward is already married! His wife went mad years ago and has been hidden in the attic. She was the source of the strangew laughter, and §it was she who started the fire!
Jane runs from Thornfield. Huungry and penniless, she begs for food and sleeps outdoors through the winter. She is so cold she begs a servant to let her warm up inside, and the homeowner, St. John Rivers, allows her in. To disguise her past, she tells him her name is Jane Elliot. St. John and his two sisters soon befriend the likable Jane.
One day, a lawyer informs St. John that his uncle, John Eyre, died. Eyre left his fortune to his niece Jane, but she can’t be found. St. John suspects it is Jane and confronts her.
Jane confesses, and St. John reveals his full name—St. John Eyre Rivers. They are cousins! Jane shares her inheritance to repay him for his kindness. St. John wants to protect Jane and suggests they wed.
But Jane’s heart belongs to another.
Jane goes looking for Edward only to find that Thornfield has burned to the ground. Edward’s wife started another fire and died in the flames. Edward was blinded and lost his hand trying to save her.
Jane still doesn’t give up what she believes in. Because of her determination, she reunites with Edward. Years later, the careworrn couple are rewarded for their courage. Edward regains sight in one eye and is finally able to see their firstborn son.
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