Jane Eyre(简·爱)tells the story of a good andindependentwoman, who does not depend on others and does not give up even facing many difficulties. Jane is poor and an orphan(孤儿)and is treated badly by her rich aunt and cousins. She is sent away to a school where the pupils are treated very badly. Jane remains strong, because she knows she is good. And when she had the chance to run away, she does. Jane takes a job in the house of a rich man called Mr Rochester.
Jane falls in love with Mr Rochester who is twenty years older than her. Jane is sad when Rochester brings a beautiful woman Blanche to his house. Jane thinks Rochester will marry Blanche. So she decides to leave. Rochester asks her to stay but she will not. She tells him she loves him and says that she is poor and not beautiful, but it does not mean that she has no feelings. She speaks to Rochester as a 'spiritual equal'.
Rochester asks Jane to marry him and she agrees, but on the day of the wedding she finds out that Rochester is already married. Jane decides to leave and even though Rochester says his wife is mad and begs Jane to stay, she cannot. Jane will not stay with a man who is already married. She has no family to protect her and no money, but she is proud and she wants to do the right thing.
WhenJane Eyreby Charlotte Bronte was first published, it was called an autobiography(自传). InJane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte, like Charles Dickens, shows thedouble-standardsin Victorian Britain. The poor and especially orphans were not given any protection by the law, they were seen as animals not humans. The rich lived a life of luxury(奢侈) and by giving a little money to charity they thought they had done their best.
