Jane Eyre

This volume of Jane Eyre includes the classic novel alongside documents and illustrations that place the work in its historical context.

Charlotte Brontë was born in Thornton, Yorkshire, in 1816. She published Jane Eyre under the pen name Currer Bell and wrote three other novels, Shirley, Villette and The Professor (published posthumously).   

*New to this edition

PART ONE: THE COMPLETE TEXT IN CULTURAL CONTEXT

Introduction: Biographical and Historical Contexts

The Complete Text of Jane Eyre

*Cultural Documents and Illustrations

PART TWO: A CASE STUDY IN CONTEMPORARY CRITICISM

A Critical History of Jane Eyre

Marxist Criticism and Jane Eyre

     *Terry Eagleton, "Jane Eyre"

Feminist Criticism and Jane Eyre

     Sandra M. Gilbert "Plain Jane’s Progress

Combining Marxist and Feminist Criticism

     Susan Fraiman, "Jane Eyre’s Fall from Grace,"

Combining Feminist Criticism with Disability Studies

     *Elizabeth J. Donaldson, "The Corpus of the Madwoman: Toward a Feminist Disability Studies Theory of Embodiment in Mental Illness

Postcolonial Criticism and Jane Eyre

     *Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, from "Three Women’s Texts and a Critique of Imperialism"

     *Erin O’Connor, from "Preface for a Postcolonial Criticism"

     *Deidre David,, "She Who Must Be Obeyed: A Response to Erin O’Connor"

Glossary of Critical and Theoretical Terms