Jane Eyre

Charlotte Brontë

A governess insists on being addressed as an equal soul.

BildungsromanGothicAutonomyFaithConfinementLove

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English reading edition

Full Project Gutenberg text, newly typeset—not a publisher scan. Public-domain status varies by country; check local laws. The source license is included.

Edition and source

How to read it

The first-person voice is the argument: 'Reader, I married him' claims narrative authority for a woman with neither money nor beauty. Bertha in the attic is the rage the voice cannot admit.

Complete section guide

English novel, continuous chapter numbering, 1–38. Descriptive headings are editorial. Summaries contain spoilers; descriptive headings are editorial.

Chapter 1Gateshead
John Reed attacks Jane; her resistance brings punishment in the red-room.
Chapter 2The red-room
Jane reflects on exclusion and imagines her uncle’s ghost. Terror causes her to faint.
Chapter 3An escape
Mr. Lloyd hears about Jane’s unhappiness and suggests school.
Chapter 4Jane speaks
Brocklehurst hears Mrs. Reed’s accusation that Jane is deceitful. Jane confronts her aunt’s cruelty.
Chapter 5Lowood
Jane encounters the school’s privation and meets Helen Burns and Miss Temple.
Chapter 6Helen’s patience
Helen explains forgiveness while enduring harsh discipline. Jane struggles with her principles.
Chapter 7Public shame
Brocklehurst condemns Jane as a liar before the school, displaying his hypocrisy about austerity.
Chapter 8Vindication
Miss Temple listens to Jane and obtains confirmation from Lloyd, publicly clearing her name.
Chapter 9Helen dies
Typhus spreads through Lowood. Helen, ill with consumption, dies beside Jane.
Chapter 10Departure
After eight years at Lowood, Jane advertises for work and accepts a position at Thornfield.
Chapter 11Thornfield
Jane meets Mrs. Fairfax and Adèle. An uncanny laugh is attributed to Grace Poole.
Chapter 12The rider
Jane helps a fallen rider near Hay and discovers he is Rochester.
Chapter 13Questions
Rochester questions Jane about her upbringing and examines her drawings.
Chapter 14Conversation
Jane challenges the idea that wealth and experience automatically justify authority.
Chapter 15The fire
Rochester describes Céline Varens. Jane saves him from his burning bed, and he demands secrecy.
Chapter 16Checked hopes
Grace Poole remains employed. Jane compares herself with Blanche Ingram to restrain her love.
Chapter 17The guests
Blanche’s contempt for governesses wounds Jane during Rochester’s house party.
Chapter 18New arrivals
Charades suggest Rochester’s courtship of Blanche. Mason arrives, followed by a supposed fortune-teller.
Chapter 19The disguise
The fortune-teller is Rochester. Mason’s presence alarms him.
Chapter 20The wound
Jane tends the injured Mason in secrecy while Rochester fetches a surgeon and arranges his departure.
Chapter 21Gateshead again
Mrs. Reed admits hiding John Eyre’s letter and falsely reporting Jane’s death. She dies without reconciliation.
Chapter 22Homecoming
Jane returns to Thornfield after settling her cousins’ affairs and recognizes her attachment to Rochester.
Chapter 23The proposal
Jane asserts her equal spirit and love. Rochester proposes, and lightning splits the chestnut tree.
Chapter 24Independence
Jane resists extravagant gifts and writes to her uncle about the engagement.
Chapter 25The veil
Jane describes troubling dreams and a strange woman who tore her wedding veil. Rochester delays an explanation.
Chapter 26The wedding stopped
Mason and Briggs prove Rochester is married. Bertha Mason is revealed in Thornfield’s upper rooms.
Chapter 27Departure
Rochester asks Jane to live with him abroad. She refuses despite her love and secretly leaves.
Chapter 28Destitution
Hungry and homeless, Jane reaches Moor House, where St. John secures her shelter.
Chapter 29Recovery
Jane recovers among Diana, Mary and St. John while hiding her surname.
Chapter 30Morton
St. John arranges a teaching position. Jane grows close to his sisters before they depart.
Chapter 31The school
Jane teaches village girls and meets Rosamond Oliver, noticing St. John’s attraction.
Chapter 32A rejected love
St. John admits his affection for Rosamond but says marriage would conflict with missionary duty.
Chapter 33Inheritance
Jane learns that she inherited twenty thousand pounds and that the Rivers siblings are cousins. She divides the inheritance.
Chapter 34The missionary proposal
St. John asks Jane to marry and go to India. She offers companionship as a sister, not a loveless wife.
Chapter 35The voice
St. John’s pressure nearly prevails, but Jane seems to hear Rochester calling and resolves to find him.
Chapter 36The ruins
Jane learns Bertha burned Thornfield and died. Rochester lost his sight and a hand while attempting rescues.
Chapter 37Ferndean
Jane reunites with Rochester, declares her independence and agrees to marry him.
Chapter 38Married life
After ten happy years, Jane describes their son and Rochester’s partial return of sight, while St. John approaches death in India.