Jane Eyre

The first novel by Charlotte Brontë, one of the sisters who make up the famous English literary family, Jane Eyre tells the story of a young woman in search of a more meaningful life in 19th-century English society.

By addressing themes such as the subordination of women, abusive family relationships that generate future trauma, and the moral and spiritual growth of the main character, Jane Eyre was originally published in 1847, but it still feels very relevant today.

Jane, orphaned by both her parents, lives with relatives who despise her, and her aunt treats her very differently from her cruel and shallow cousins. At the age of 10, Jane is sent to the Lowood charity school, a strict school. Despite the numerous hardships she faces at school, the girl leads a nearly happy life and becomes strong and independent, eventually teaching at the institution that trained her. At 18, she decides to leave and gets a job as a tutor to young Adèle, a pupil of the ironic and arrogant Edward Rochester. From that moment on, Jane's life takes a different and unexpected turn, involving mystery, new friendships, different feelings, and even a love story.

Jane Eyre is considered a coming-of-age novel, chronicling the main character's physical, moral, psychological, aesthetic, spiritual, and social development from childhood to maturity. Through her protagonist, Charlotte Brontë represented the idea of female emancipation—that is, women were not obliged to marry to have a life; they could work and support themselves independently. Throughout the novel, several critiques of the inferior status attributed to women at that time are woven. The author is, therefore, considered a transgressor of the prevailing rules in her society, seen today as a woman ahead of her time.

Jane Eyre tells, in addition to a moving love story, the saga of a young woman in search of a more meaningful life than 19th-century English society traditionally allowed women.