1. by JUWAIRIYAH KHURRAM and AMNA NAVED

2. Introduction
 Jane Eyre is a
novel by English
author Charlotte
Bronte. It was
published
in London,
England, in
1847 with the
title Jane Eyre. An
Autobiography und
er the pen name
"Currer Bell”

3. INTRODUCTION
 Its a story about a female orphan’s life, focusing on the emotions
and experiences that accompany growth to adulthood. The novel
also contains a strong sense of morality at its core.
o Its often considered ahead of its time due to its portrayal of the
development of a passionate young woman, desiring a full life, while
also being highly moral.
o Jane is a poor and plain woman without captivating charm developing
into a compassionate and confident woman.
o Although Jane suffers much, she is never portrayed as a DAMSEL IN
DISTRESS who needs rescuing. For this reason, it is sometimes regarded
as an important early feminist novel.

4. SETTING
The setting of the story is
carefully divide into five distinct
locales:
 Her early childhood is spent in
Gateshead hall, the home of the Reeds;
 Lowood where she comes under the
influence of Mr. Brocklehurst, Miss
Temple, and Helen Burns;
 At Thornfield manor, as Adele’s
governess & where she falls in love with
Rochester.
 Moor house, the home of her cousins,
the Rivers family;
 In the conclusion of the book she
and Rochester are united at his
crumbling hunting-lodge, Ferndean
Manor.

5. CHARACTERS
 Jane Eyre: The protagonist of the novel and the title character. Orphaned as a
baby, she struggles through her nearly loveless childhood and becomes
governess at Thornfield Hall
 Mr. Reed: Jane's maternal uncle, who adopts Jane & makes his wife promise to
care for Jane.
 Mrs. Sarah Reed: Jane's aunt by marriage, who adopts Jane but abuses and
neglects her
 John Reed: Jane's cousin, who bullies Jane constantly, sometimes in his
mother's presence
 Eliza Reed: Jane's cousin.
 Georgiana Reed: Jane's cousin. Though spiteful and insolent, she is also
beautiful and indulged. She also becomes a friend of Jane's towards the end of
the novel
 Bessie Lee: The plain-spoken nursemaid at Gateshead. She sometimes treats
Jane kindly, telling her stories and singing her songs.

6.  Mr. Lloyd: A compassionate apothecary who recommends that Jane be sent to
school.
 Mr. Brocklehurst: The clergyman headmaster and treasurer of Lowood
School, whose maltreatment of the students is eventually exposed
 Miss Maria Temple: The kind superintendent of Lowood School, who treats
Jane and Helen (and others) with respect and compassion. She helps clear Jane
of Mr. Brocklehurst's false accusation of deceit..
 Helen Burns: A fellow-student and best friend of Jane's at Lowood School. She
dies of consumption in Jane's arms.
 Edward Fairfax Rochester: The master of Thornfield Manor. He is tricked
into making an unfortunate first marriage before he meets Jane, with whom he
falls madly in love.
 Bertha Antoinette Mason: The violently insane first wife of Edward
Rochester.
 Adele Varens: An excitable French child to whom Jane is governess at
Thornfield. She is Mr. Rochester's ward and possibly his daughter.
 Mrs. Alice Fairfax: An elderly widow and housekeeper of Thornfield Manor.
She treats Jane kindly and respectfully, but disapproves of her engagement to
Mr. Rochester.
 Grace Poole: Bertha Mason's keeper. Jane is told that it is Grace Poole who
causes the mysterious things to happen at Thornfield Hall.

7.  St. John Eyre Rivers: A clergyman who befriends Jane and turns out to be
her cousin. He is Jane Eyre's cousin on her father's side. By nature he is very
reserved and single-minded.
 Diana and Mary Rivers: St. John's sisters and (as it turns out) Jane's
cousins. They are governesses like her.
 Rosamond Oliver: A beautiful, wealthy, young woman who patronizes
the village school where Jane teaches, and who is attracted to the Rev. St.
John.
 John Eyre: Jane's paternal uncle, who leaves her his vast fortune of 20,000
pounds. He never appears as a character.
 Blanche Ingram: A socialite whom Mr. Rochester appears to court in
order to make Jane jealous. She is described as having great beauty, but
displays callous behavior and avaricious intent.
 Richard Mason: An Englishman from the West Indies, whose sister is Mr.
Rochester's first wife. He is spineless and is disliked by Mr. Rochester.

8. ORPHANS in the Victorian era
The “abandoned child” was society’s scapegoat- a person without a
past, without connections, without status.
Orphans were also often treated with disdain and distrust, due to their
reputation as “criminally prone” individuals.
The upper and middle classes often had a somewhat romantic
perception of them, due to their prevalence in Victorian literature.
Novels like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights made heroines/heroes out
of orphans.
Children who were adopted by their own social class were usually
treated fairly and equally but if they were adopted by a family whose
status was above and beyond their original class, they were frequently
mistreated and neglected.

9. Orphanages and schools for orphans
Many philanthropists donated money to these “schools” for the express
purpose of boarding and educating orphans.
Their education was rarely as good as those whose families paid for it.
Most of these programs were designed specifically to train children to a
lower-middle class occupation, such as becoming a governess.
Food, education, and lodging were provided until the orphan turned 17;
then they were expected to begin working
Many were underfunded, crowded, and unsanitary. Disease spread
rapidly in such close quarters, and poor nutrition and excess
punishment didn’t help matters much.

10. Class divisions in the Victorian society
Working class - men and women who performed
physical labor, paid daily or weekly wages
Middle class - men performed mental or "clean" work,
paid monthly or annually.( doctors, bankers etc)
Upper class - did not work, income came from
inherited land and investments

11. “Women” in the Victorian society
Two hundred years ago, the barriers of the Victorian
class system rigidly defined the role of a woman.
Divided into distinct classes, Nobility and Gentry,
Middle Class, Working Class, these women each had
their own specific standards and roles. They were
expected to adhere to these standards alone.

12. Women of the upper class
They inherited their land, titles, and
wealth. It might seem as if women of this
class did very little but their work was very
important as they were expected to manage
the home and the household.
Social parties and balls were held often &
dancing was a favorite pastime among most
upper-class women and men. An evening
party often would end with a few sets
among the four or five couples present.
Unmarried women spent a great deal of
time with other unmarried women
Like: Blanche and Mary Ingram

13. Woman of the middle class
Women of the middle class depended on marrying
into the upper classes, to gain social prestige & worldly
goods.
The roles of middle class women varied from family to
family; some might have a place in the family shop,
while others might live very much as a genteel woman,
with little work and much leisure.
A many of these women became governesses, relaying
their own high-class tutoring to upper class children.
i.e. Jane Eyre, Diana & Mary Rivers.

14. Women in the lower class
 This included the desperately
poor, typically single women of
the Victorian era
 working class men in the
factories and other places offering
jobs of taxing physical labor.
 Another popular employment for
working class women was
domestic service.
 i.e. Bessie, Leah, Mary

15. Role of governesses in the Victorian era
 A governess was in an awkward position in
the Victorian household, neither quite a servant nor a member
of the family.
 Being a governess was one of the few legitimate ways an
unmarried middle class woman could support herself in that
society.
 Her position was often depicted as one to be pitied, and the
only likely way out of it was to marry.
 Once her charges grew up, she had to seek a new position, or,
exceptionally, might be retained by the grown-up daughter as a
paid companion.
 This position was a deplorable one, as the governess was found a
worthy scapegoat in the eyes of everyone, from the master and
mistress to the house-maid .

16. Job of a governess:
The ideal governess had a good temper and good manners and was very
well-educated and accomplished. She had a broad range of skills and
knowledge, and had to teach
 ‘the three Rs’,
 French and Italian,
 teach arithmetic, science and geography,
 instruct young ladies in drawing and needlework.
 at least two musical instruments (preferably the pianoforte and harp),
 the rudimentary dance-steps
 She taught essential etiquette,
 Gave religious and moral instruction
Under her tutelage, her female charges became accomplished ladies,
while their brothers were prepared for the best preparatory schools in
the country.

17. governesses:

18. Christianity in the era
 On Sunday’s the family would get up, wash and dress to go to the
church.
 For many families the church was a source of entertainment and
friends.
 Festivals like Easter, Christmas and harvest marked the year.
 Christian beliefs inspired many to help others and to work to improve
our society.
 Church schools brought education for all; people like William
Barnardo and George Müller cared for orphans. William Booth helped
the homeless, poor and unemployed.
 Christian politicians like Shaftesbury and Gladstone cared deeply
about social justice and tried to change what they could.

19.  Christian missionaries took great risks to help people
in other countries, building hospitals, schools and
orphanages as well as churches.
 The Christian faith was the reason for much of what
happened in Victorian Britain
 The main belief of the christians is the “Holy Trinity”;
which means the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
 They follow the teachings of Jesus (Hazrat Esa)

20. Christian festivals
 Church year
 Lent and Holy week
 Mothering Sunday
 Good Friday
 Easter
 Pentecost
 Harvest
 All Saints’ Day

21.  Remembrance Sunday
 Christmas
Right: Christmas celebrated in
Pakistan.

22. Lent and Holy week

23. Bibliography
 http://www.request.org.uk/main/history/victorians/vi
ctorians01.htm
 http://www.english.uwosh.edu/roth/VictorianEnglan
d.htm
 Wikipedia
 “Orphans In The 19th Century Victorian England” by
Jodi Greig
 Google Images