Jane Eyre in Easy English: Story, Characters & How to Read It

What Jane Eyre is about

Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte Brontë is told by Jane herself, looking back on her life. She is an orphan raised by a cruel aunt, sent to a harsh charity school, and then hired as a governess at Thornfield Hall, the house of the moody, sarcastic Mr. Rochester. They fall in love across a huge gap in money and class, until a secret in the house stops everything.

What made the novel famous is Jane's voice. She is small, plain and poor, but she insists that her feelings and her conscience count as much as anyone's. When she tells Rochester "I am no bird; and no net ensnares me," she is speaking for a kind of heroine readers had rarely met before.

The main characters

• Jane Eyre: the narrator, an orphan who becomes a governess.
• Mrs. Reed and John Reed: the aunt and cousin who make Jane's childhood miserable at Gateshead.
• Helen Burns: Jane's patient, gentle friend at Lowood school.
• Edward Rochester: the master of Thornfield Hall, older, rich and full of secrets.
• Adèle: the little French girl Jane is hired to teach.
• Bertha Mason: the secret of Thornfield's third floor.

The story in seven parts

Our retelling follows the novel's most important chapters. Each part is a complete B2 reading of about 3–5 minutes, with a sentence-by-sentence Korean translation and narrated audio:

• Part 1: Gateshead (Chapter 1): ten-year-old Jane is bullied by her cousin John, fights back for the first time, and is punished. Read part 1.
• Part 2: Lowood (Chapter 5): Jane is sent to a cold, hungry charity school, where she meets Helen Burns. Read part 2.
• Part 3: Mr. Rochester (Chapter 12): on an icy lane near Thornfield, a stranger's horse slips and Jane helps the rider, who turns out to be her new master. Read part 3.
• Part 4: The Orchard (Chapter 23): on a summer evening in the garden, Rochester makes Jane believe he will marry someone else, then asks her to marry him. Read part 4.
• Part 5: The Wedding (Chapter 26): at the church, a stranger stops the wedding, and Thornfield's secret comes out. Read part 5.
• Part 6: Leaving Thornfield (Chapter 27): Rochester begs her to stay; Jane chooses her conscience and leaves before dawn. Read part 6.
• Part 7: Reader, I Married Him (Chapter 38): the famous last chapter. Read part 7.

Is Jane Eyre hard to read in English?

The original is a long novel (38 chapters) written in rich nineteenth-century English, with long sentences, formal dialogue and some French. Most learners find it hard below an advanced level. The good news is that Jane tells the story herself, directly and emotionally, so once the sentences are simplified it is very easy to follow. Our retelling is at CEFR B2 (upper-intermediate). If that is too hard, start with something from easy English books by level and come back.

When you're ready for the real thing, the unabridged novel is free from Project Gutenberg, and many parts of our retelling let you open the matching original chapter in short readings.

Useful words from the novel

• governess: a woman who lived in a family's house and taught their children.
• orphan: a child whose parents are dead.
• master: what a servant or governess called the man she worked for.
• conscience: the inner sense of what is right and wrong; it is why Jane leaves.
• attic: the room at the very top of a house, under the roof.
• "Reader, I married him.": the most famous line of the book; Jane speaks directly to you.

For Korean readers: 제인 에어

The Korean title is the same name, 제인 에어. Every part of the retelling can be read in English, in Korean, or sentence by sentence, with audio, tap-any-word meanings and vocabulary flashcards.

If you like Jane Eyre

Try Pride and Prejudice for another proud heroine and a difficult man, or Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, written by Charlotte's sister and published the same year. For something lighter, Anne of Green Gables is another orphan who talks her way into everyone's heart.