Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë

“I see at intervals the glance of a curious sort of bird through the close-set bars of a cage: a vivid, restless, resolute captive is there; were it but free, it would soar cloud-high.”

Jane Eyre is a profoundly important novel. It is a stalwart of feminist literature, a challenge to social hierarchy and arguably instigated the ‘inward turn’ in narrative fiction, where psychological factors became just as significant as events in the active world. From the beginning of the narrative, Jane is an interior being, brimming with anger and an acute sense of injustice. As she navigates her neglectful family, abusive school and unnerving first job as a governess, she is challenged to remain true to her convictions and follow through with what she believes. 

In our discussions we’ll cover our personal responses to Jane’s plight. What does Brontë mean by presenting these challenges to the reader, and what do we make of them? Furthermore, we might think of how characters such as Adele, Bertha Mason and Mrs Fairfax elaborate on these challenges. Issues we may dwell on include: social injustice, the lives of children, postcolonial perspectives, feminist perspectives, psychology, and notions of space and landscape. 

JOINING DETAILS:

• Eight-meeting study, live on Zoom, led by Karina Jakubowicz
• Tuesdays, 19, 26 May & 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 June & 7 July 2026, 6.00-8.00 pm (UK)
• Recommended edition: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, Penguin Classics, ISBN: 9780141441146
• £320.00 for eight two-hour meetings