Jane Eyre is an exquisite and impassioned work of English literature. Set in the nineteenth century, Charlotte Bronte writes of a woman's continuous journey through life in search of acceptance and inner peace. Each of the physical journeys made by the main character, Jane Eyre, have a significant effect on her emotions and cause her to grow and change into the woman she ultimately becomes. Her experiences at Lowood School, Thornfield Hall, Moor house, and Ferndean ingeniously correspond with each stage of Jane's inner quest and development from an immature child to an intelligent and sophisticated woman. .
Ten-year-old Jane, orphaned by the death of her parents and uncle, led a discontented life under the care of her aunt, Mrs. Reed. Due to the harsh treatment she was subject to by both her aunt and cousins, Jane had severe outbursts of retaliation, which resulted in her departure from Gateshead and enrollment at Lowood School. At Lowood, Jane met Helen Burns, a girl who becomes Jane's friend and first confidante. With her tender, ethereal qualities, Helen preached to Jane the importance of patience and fortitude. Because of Helen's Christian lessons of endurance, forgiveness, and meekness, Jane accepted her situation at Lowood and made progress in both her studies and her character. Jane admits, "[she] would not now have exchanged Lowood with all its privations for Gateshead and its daily luxuries"(67). She became an ardent student and simple person gaining the respect of her teachers, which pleased Jane and gave her a bit of self-confidence.
Jane decided to broaden her horizon after eight years of both attending and teaching at Lowood School. Jane remarks, "A new chapter in a novel is something like a new scene in a play."(85). She finally finds some direction in her life and acts on it. After accepting a job as a governess for a little French girl, she journeyed to Thornfield Hall with excitement about her "new duties" and her "new life".
