"Literature cannot be the business of a woman's life, and it ought not to be. The more she is engaged in her proper duties, the less leisure will she have for it even as an accomplishment and a recreation."                                                Robert Southey to Charlotte Brontë 

In what ways has Charlotte Brontë sought to circumvent sexist prejudice against female novelists?
How does Brontë develop Jane Eyre's character while countering the prevailing sexism of her time? 

The eldest Brontë children, Maria and Elizabeth (aged 11 and 10)--after enduring physical privations at Cowan Bridge School-- died of tuberculosis in 1825. The fictional Lowood Institute and the character of Helen Burns in Jane Eyre may be Charlotte's heartfelt tribute to her deceased siblings.   

In 1846, under the pseudonyms of Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, each of the Brontë sisters published her first novels; Charlotte wrote The Professor and Jane Eyre, Emily Wuthering Heights, and Anne Agnes Grey. As Mary Ann Evans had to invent the pen name of George Eliot, the Brontë sisters had to circumvent genderism by inventing male alter egos. 

A Haiku
​for
​Charlotte 

How Charlotte Brontë,
With pure penetrating eyes,
Bore all with such grace!

Which Victorian novels feature a governess?
Why are there numerous governesses in the Victorian literature?
How do gender and class affect the precarious position a governess may occupy? 
What social perception or personal challenges did those genteel, semi-educated women face? 
If you were born a woman without means in the Victorian world, what occupation would you endeavor to hold and how would you secure a paying position? 

Synchronous Reading with Lit2Go: 
Jane Eyre full text: etc.usf.edu/lit2go/69/jane-eyre/

Jane Eyre PDF full text: 

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Unit 1
​
EXPOSITION
Chapters 1-10

​Chapters 1-4: 
Jane (aged 10) in 
Gateshead Hall

Chapters 5-10:
Jane (10-18 years old) at Lowood School

 Ch. 1
    👉 Share your choice of three adjectives that capture Jane Eyre's character the best. 
    👉 Imagine yourself a tutor or teacher to John Reed; how would you teach him right from wrong? 
    👉 What provokes the sense of injustice in Jane? 
    👉 Why do you think Chapter 1 begins with Jane being locked up in the Red Room?

Ch. 2
    👉 According to Bessie, what is Jane's standing in the Reed household? 

Ch. 3
    👉 What rare treats are allowed to Jane after she suffered the ordeal in the Red Room? 
    👉 What prompts Mr. Lloyd to suggest that Jane go to a school? 

Ch. 4
    👉 Analyze the direct characterization of Mr. Brocklehurst by identifying explicit descriptions provided in the text. Focus on how his physical appearance, speech, and stated values reveal his character. Then, develop an indirect characterization of Mr. Brocklehurst by making inferences from his actions and interactions with others. Consider how his behavior, treatment of the students, and dialogue with figures like Miss Temple or Jane highlight his hypocrisy, rigidity, or misuse of authority.

Ch. 5
    👉 Superintendent Temple leaves a strong impression on Jane with her person and action. Describe her physical appearance and her action when breakfast was inedible.
    👉 What does the dry cough foreshadow?

Ch. 6
    👉 What are the two extreme examples of religious piety that Helen Burns and Mr. Brocklehurst represent? What do you think is Jane's view of religious redemption? 

Ch. 7
    👉 Why is Mr. Brocklehurst so repulsed by girls with curls?
    👉 Why does Mr. Brocklehurst order Jane to be placed on a high stool? What purpose does this punishment serve? 

Ch. 8
    👉 How does Jane live down Mr. Brocklehurst's attempt at character assassination? Who provides her with moral support?

Ch. 10
    👉 Why and how does Jane secure her first employment outside Lowood?
    👉 Read carefully Bessie's direct and indirect characterization of Jane and provide your evaluation of how Jane bore the weight and worth of the last eight years at Lowood. 
​

By 1849, Charlotte endured the loss of all her surviving siblings: Patrick "Branwell," Emily, and Anne all perished within half a year.

Read this elegy on the left that Charlotte wrote when Anne passed away. (Elegy is a poem of serious reflection, usually a lament for the dead.) What is the main idea of this poem and what details reveal the speaker's mood and attitude? 
​
Shown below are some portraits of Anne Bronte. The pencil drawing in the top left quadrant is done by Charlotte. 

                        Unit 1 Assessments
1. Identify and Summarize a Victorian Bildungsroman Research Victorian novels and select one example of a bildungsroman—a coming-of-age story. Write a 250-word summary of the protagonist’s journey to self-discovery, detailing the inciting incident, the obstacles they face, and their epiphany and acceptance. Include a visual representation that illustrates the protagonist’s journey to self-realization.

​ 2. Analyze Jane Eyre’s Growth and Independence Compose three detailed body paragraphs (minimum 500 words total) that examine how Jane Eyre builds her character and achieves independence. Use three specific anecdotes or textual quotations to support your analysis, emphasizing key moments in her personal development and resilience. 
 ​

Unit 2
Chapters 11-22

​Rising Action while the plot thickens 
​
Setting:
Thornfield Hall when Jane is 18

Ch. 11
     👉Mrs. Fairfax is effusive upon meeting Jane. What does this reveal about life in Thornfield? 
     👉Contrast the impression of the third floor and that of the first floor as Jane surveys Thornfield. In what ways does the third floor resemble the Red Room? 

Ch. 12
     👉What aspects of Jane's musings share (proto)feminist claims? Is Jane a (proto)feminist? 
     👉While absorbed in solitary quietude, Jane encounters a mysterious horseback rider. What is unsual               about this Victorian "meet cute"? How does this scene deviate from the Victorian gender   
           expectations?

Ch. 13
     👉What "gift" does Jane receive from Mr. Rochester?
     👉Why do you think Rochester singled out three paintings from Jane's portfolio?
     👉What do these paintings reveal about Jane and Rochester, respectfully, and their developing relationship? 

Ch. 14
     👍 Rochester finds a confidante in Jane; after intimating his past indiscretions, Rochester hopes for reformation. Yet, temptations of "sweet fresh pleasure" still hamper his will to redeem himself.   

Ch. 15
​     👉 Focus on the symbolism of the fire, the bed, and the water while annotating.

Ch. 16
     👉 Jane draws two starkly differing portraits of herself and the renowned beauty, Miss Ingram. What is her purpose in doing so? 

Ch. 17
     👉 What personality traits does Miss Blanche Ingram share with Celine Varens?
     👉 Jane draws many character sketches of the leisure class--this time, using verbal description only. What specific diciton words, imagery, and comparisons does she use to characterize them?  

Chs. 18-19
     👉 Why do you think Edward Rochester stages the charades of "Bridewell" and disguides as a gypsy woman? 
     👉 Richard Mason's presence in Thornfield unnerves Rochester so much that Jane lends him her shoulder to lean on, and Rochester warms his nerves by holding Jane's hands.  Jane also provides him moral support--even when the entire world mocks him, Jane will stay by his side. How would you characterize the gender roles Edward Rochester and Jane Eyre play in their relationship? 

Ch. 20
    👉 In what ways do the first four paragraphs set the tone and mood for the grotesque, mysterious, and macabre event that happens to Richard Mason? 

Ch. 21
     👉Focus on the dialogue and interaction between Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester while they discuss Jane’s visit to Gateshead and the expenses necessary for the journey: what does this interaction reveal about Jane’s relationship with her employer? Include at least three direct quotations and two insightful commentaries.
 
     👉How do Eliza and Georgiana represent the Victorian ladies of the leisure class? Do they remind you of any other character portrayed in this novel?
 
     👉Share your definition of a literary foil and provide one example, whether that be from popular culture, literature, or movies.
 
     👉Why are there many interspersed references to, and recurring appearances of, the name of John Eyre throughout the novel? What prediction does it anticipate in the perceptive reader?

Ch. 22
     👉How does Jane describe the perfect home for her? Single out at least three quotations from Jane’s description of Thornfield and develop two commentary sentences based on them. 

Bad, Mad, Brooding Byronic Heroes

1. Who was the eponymous George Gordon Byron? 

​2. Visit this website, the-artifice.com/byronic-hero/, and come back with three telling descriptors of a Byronic hero. 

In what ways is Mr. Rochester a Byronic hero? How does this introduction characterize him? 

His figure was enveloped in a riding-cloak . . .  He had a dark face, with stern features and a heavy brow. He was past youth, but had not reached middle age; perhaps he might be thirty-five . . . I felt no fear of him. Had he been a handsome, heroic-looking young gentleman, I should not have dared to stand thus questioning him against his will, and offering my services unasked . . . If even this stranger had smiled and been good-humoured to me when I addressed him, if he had put off my offer of assistance gayly and with thanks, I should have gone on my way and not felt any vocation to renew inquiries. But the frown, the roughness of the traveller, set me at my ease . . . (excerpted from Chapter 12). 

Unit 2 Assessment: three body paragraphs 
In what ways does the text portray different social classes and classism in Chapters 11-22? Although Jane is not a member of the manor’s family, her genteel birth and education elevate her above the working class. However, her position as a governess simultaneously aligns her with the working class, creating a complex social standing. By examining her interactions with upper-class characters, such as Edward Rochester and the Ingrams, as well as with working-class individuals, including Mrs. Fairfax and the household staff she supervises, explore how social class and economic disparities influence Jane’s life at Thornfield.

Unit 3
​Climax
Thornfield as the Garden of Eden
​
​Chapters 23-27

Ch. 23
     👉 Despite their mutual passion and companionship, Edward Rochester and Jane Eyre cannot "pass through life" as a couple, a fact the chesternut tree sundered by a thunder foreshadows. Focus on diction, visual imagery, and allusion that Bronte employs to  

Ch. 27
     👉 Why do you think Jane leaves Rochester? Is there any other viable options than leaving? 
In what ways and to what extent is Bertha Mason similar to Jane Eyre? 
​

 Unit 3 Assessment: A Literary Analysis of a Mad, Bad, and Crazy Character
    1. A graphic organizer that you will use as the notes for the oral presentation (100 points)
     This graphic organizer should clearly evince the lists of direct and indirect characterization of the focal character, the conflicts and desires that affect the character, and the focal characcter's interaction with another character. 
    2. A four-minute oral analysis essay that is saved as an MP 3 file (100 points)
     Introduce yourself and deliver your character analysis before wrapping up your oral essay. 

 Text Options:
    1. Edgar Allen Poe, "Tell-tale Heart"
    2. Charlotte Perkins Gilman, "The Yellow Wall-paper"
    3. Toy Story 3 and Lotso
​    4. The Lord of the Rings and Gollum
    5. Avengers: Endgame and Thanos 
  

Picture

Unit 4

Falling Action: Chs. 28-35
Moor House

​Denouement:
Chs. 36-38
​Thornfield and Ferndean

Chapters 28-29:
👉What do you think has guided Jane to Moor House, serendipity or Providence?

👉In what ways does St. John differ from Mr. Brocklehurst and Helen Burns?

👉St. John is a fair, handsome, young man while Rochester is a dark, wide-set, middle-aged man; yet, both of them give Jane an employment and a home and significantly affect Jane's mind and emotions. In what ways are they similar to each other? What does each man desire in Jane? How does Jane respond to their compelling demand for partnership?

Chapter 34
👉Is St. John a Machiavellian? Check out this website to learn about the Machiavellian personality profile: www.verywellmind.com/machiavellianism-origins-signs-scale-and-coping-7377514

​

Unit 4 Assessment: Respond to one of the following prompts by using Jane Eyre as your text.

1) In many novels and plays, minor characters contribute significantly to the total work. They often have particular functions, e.g., as instruments in the plot, foils to the main characters, commentators on the main action and theme, and the like. Write a well-organized essay showing how three minor characters function in the work in which they appear.

2) Many works of literature contain a character who intentionally deceives others. The character’s dishonesty may be intended either to help or to hurt. Such a character, for example, may choose to mislead others for personal safety, to spare someone’s feelings, or to carry out a crime. Choose a novel or play in which a character deceives others. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze the motives for that character’s deception and discuss how the deception contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

3) It has often been said that what we value can be determined only by what we sacrifice. Consider how this statement applies to a character from a novel or play. Select a character that has deliberately sacrificed, surrendered, or forfeited something in a way that highlights that character’s values. Then write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how the particular sacrifice illuminates the character’s values and provides a deeper understanding of the meaning of the work as a whole.

4) A bildungsroman, or coming-of-age novel, recounts the psychological or moral development of its protagonist from youth to maturity, when this character recognizes his or her place in the world. Select a single pivotal moment in the psychological or moral development of the protagonist of a bildungsroman. Then write a well-organized essay that analyzes how that single moment shapes the meaning of the work as a whole.

5) Palestinian American literary theorist and cultural critic Edward Said has written that “Exile is strangely compelling to think about but terrible to experience. It is the unhealable rift forced between a human being and a native place, between the self and its true home: its essential sadness can never be surmounted.” Yet Said has also said that exile can become “a potent, even enriching” experience. Select a novel, play, or epic in which a character experiences such a rift and becomes cut off from “home,” whether that home is the character’s birthplace, family, homeland, or other special place. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the character’s experience with exile is both alienating and enriching, and how this experience illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

6) A symbol is an object, action, or event that represents something or that creates a range of associations beyond itself. In literary works a symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning. Select a novel or play and, focusing on one symbol, write an essay analyzing how that symbol functions in the work and what it reveals about the characters or themes of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

7) In many works of literature, a physical journey–the literal movement from one place to another–plays a central role. Choose a novel, play, or epic poem in which a physical journey is an important element and discuss how the journey adds to the meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.

8) In many works of literature, past events can affect, positively or negatively, the present activities, attitudes, or values of a character. Choose a novel or play in which a character must contend with some aspect of the past, either personal or societal. Then write an essay in which you show how the character’s relationship to the past contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.