Jane Eyre

In Our Time

BBC

History

4.6 • 9.2K Ratings

🗓️ 18 June 2015

⏱️ 46 minutes

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Summary

The story of Jane Eyre is one of the best-known in English fiction. Jane is the orphan who survives a miserable early life, first with her aunt at Gateshead Hall and then at Lowood School. She leaves the school for Thornfield Hall, to become governess to the French ward of Mr Rochester. She and Rochester fall in love but, at their wedding, it is revealed he is married already and his wife, insane, is kept in Thornfield's attic. When Jane Eyre was published in 1847, it was a great success and brought fame to Charlotte Bronte. Combined with Gothic mystery and horror, the book explores many themes, including the treatment of children, relations between men and women, religious faith and hypocrisy, individuality, morality, equality and the nature of true love. With Dinah Birch Professor of English Literature and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of Liverpool Karen O'Brien Vice Principal and Professor of English Literature at King's College London And Sara Lyons Lecturer in Victorian Literature at the University of Kent Producer: Simon Tillotson.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Thank you for downloading this episode of In Our Time for more details about In Our Time
0:04.0	and for our terms of use please go to bbc.co.uk slash radio for.
0:08.9	I hope you enjoy the program.
0:10.7	Hello, in 1847, Jane Eyre was published with the author's name given as Carabell.
0:16.6	It was the work of Charlotte Bronte, written at the Howarth Passnidge in Yorkshire, and
0:21.1	it brought her success and a fame that long, outlived her short life.
0:25.1	It's the story of an orphan brought up by a cruel aunt, then sent to the harsh and
0:28.5	lowwood school.
0:29.5	From there she becomes a governor's at Thornfield Hall, for the ward, Mr. Rochester,
0:35.8	for the ward of Mr. Rochester, and overcomes many obstacles in life and romance, including
0:40.1	the fact that he's still married to a woman he keeps hidden away.
0:43.6	Jane Eyre quickly became one of the most popular works in English fiction and remains
0:46.8	popular.
0:47.8	For this strength of the main character Jane and the tightly bound themes of personal freedom,
0:52.0	equality for women, and the need for education and the role of religion.
0:55.6	Winmiddies, Gus Jane Eyre are Diana Burge, Professor of English Literature, and Pro Vice
1:00.6	Chancellor for Research at the University of Liverpool.
1:03.7	Karen O'Brien, Vice Principal and Professor of English Literature at King's College, London,
1:08.5	and Sarah Lyons, Lecturer in Victorian Literature at the University of Kent.
1:12.6	Diana Burge, what do we need to understand about Charlotte Bronte's family in her early
1:16.9	life?
1:17.9	Well, she was born in Yorkshire, with Yorkshire woman.
	...

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