The archetypal Gothic romance novel by Charlotte Brontė.
Jane Eyre is an unloved orphan sent to a grueling boarding school, Lowood, by her foster aunt who dislikes her fiery wit and sharp tongue (and the fact that her husband appeared to love his sister, Jane's mother, more than his own family). She's put through the wringer several times over there and emerges as a solemnly quiet person, but is just as free-spirited inside as she was before she went in. It is this spirit that causes her to long for adventure and new pastures, and she accepts a job as the governess of a young girl named Adele, who lives with Mrs. Fairfax and the little-seen Mr. Edward Rochester at Thornfield Hall.
But it is not until after a chance encounter with Mr. Rochester that Jane's curiosity is sparked. Mr. Rochester's bluntness and moodiness, rather than turning her off, make her even more intrigued about him, and it appears that her initial curiosity is growing into something more.
But there are also sinister shadows lurking at Thornfield Hall: in the middle of one night, after hearing spooky laughter, Jane finds that Mr. Rochester's bed curtains have been set on fire. She puts them out in time to save his life. Rochester claims that Grace Poole, a servant, was responsible, but the fact that he does not fire her suggests that there is more to the situation than he's letting Jane in on. He's also spending an awfully large amount of his time with her.
Then Mr. Rochester leaves Thornfield for several weeks, returning with a flock of rich gentlemen and women, and walking together with the comely but snobbish Blanche Ingram. Jane is distressed at the sight of Rochester with Ingram, mainly because she knows that he does not truly love the rich socialite. But it turns out that Mr. Rochester never intended to marry Ingram: he staged his courtship only to make Jane jealous and admit her feelings for him. He proposes to Jane, who readily accepts. But the shadows at Thornfield Hall are not going to let her win her love that easily, as Jane is about to find out on her wedding day.
It should go without saying that Jane Eyre has numerousfilm adaptations. There was also a critically acclaimed musical adaptation in 2000 with songs by Paul Gordon. It even was the inspiration behind Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca and an external prequel, Wide Sargasso Sea, was written by Jean Rhys that focused on the primary "antagonist's" descent into madness. There is also an external sequel, Jane Rochester, by Kimberly A. Bennett. Rochester, by J. L. Niemann, is erotica from Mr. Rochester's POV. Jane, by April Lindner, sets the story in the modern day and asks: "What if Jane Eyre fell in love with a rock star?" Jenna Starborn, by Sharon Shinn, is a science fiction retelling of the story which features "Jenna" (Jane) as a clone commissioned and then abandoned by Mrs. Reed.
Reader, I Used These Tropes:
Adaptational Attractiveness: Both main characters are supposed to be unattractive, but most adaptations don't even make a stab at Hollywood Homely. It could be justified depending on your reading of the original story. Rochester might be considered more ugly than he is because he's old, while Jane might be overly critical of her own appearance.
Bilingual Dialogue: Adele often speaks in (untranslated) French, to which Jane responds in English. Diana & Mary Rivers discuss an untranslated line of German (from Schiller's "Die Räuber", a "Sturm und Drang" play). So, while Brontė keeps the melodrama plausible, the characters read more melodramatic stuff (in multiple languages).
The Caretaker: What Grace Poole turns out to secretly be for Bertha, Mr. Rochester's living but crazy wife. Additionally, Jane herself becomes this for Mr. Rochester, who lost a hand, an eye, and the sight in the other eye for years
Changeling Fantasy: Jane's orphaned family treated her cruelly, but much later on, a blood relative bequeaths her in his will a small fortune of 20,000 pounds. She splits it up among her newfound relatives (her cousins St. John, Mary and Diana), so she ends up with 5,000 pounds, which is worth about 500,000 pounds now, or $1 million.
Dead Little Sister: Or Dead Best Friend, in the case of Helen. (Helen's modeled very deliberately on Charlotte Brontė older sister Maria, who died at the Brontė's own version of Lowood.)
Did You Think I Can't Feel?: Rochester deliberately provokes Jane into this: constantly gushing about his upcoming marriage to this woman who is not suited to him, and he knows it and Jane knows it, but Jane has no power to speak up because she's a governess, and in no way equal to Rochester's apparent intended. Jane takes this to awesome levels.
Divided For Publication: It takes the Victorian three-volume novel format where the story was split into three sections. In the 19th century, the business model was to use the first volume to get people interested in the second and third parts, and thus extract more money per story.
Drama Bomb: Jane and Mr. Rochester's wedding, take one.
Fair for Its Day: The novel is often taught as a proto-feminist work. This trope combines with Seinfeld Is Unfunny when modern readers react unfavorably to Jane's behavior, finding it not assertive enough.
Hollywood Homely: Rochester and Jane are described as "unattractive" and "plain", respectively, but both pass up on more attractive potential mates to be with each other. Most adaptations cast attractive actors anyway, with Rochester played by dashing older gentlemen and Jane played by attractive women in somber attire.
I Am What I Am: From Jane, after walking away from her best (and only) friend in the world: "I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself."
I Got Better: Rochester is blinded in the fire, but somehow recovers part of his sight (with Doctor's help) once Jane comes back to him over the course of 12 years. Though to be fair, it's implied to healed gradually.
I Just Want to Have Friends: Jane is so desperate for love and affection that she tells Helen Burns she'd happily let herself be kicked in the chest by a horse if it meant Helen and the Headmistress would care for her. Helen then shushes Jane and tells her to put more faith in God than in human companions.
I Should Write a Book About This: Not actually said, but the book's subtitle is "An Autobiography." Jane addresses the reader several times.
Otherwise known as Tuberculosis (or Consumption in Victorian Times), a particularly gruesome way to die in pre-antibiotic days as your lungs slowly fill with fluid and you literally drown to death.
In the Blood: Bertha's insanity is implied to run in the family.
Kick the Dog: The Hon. Miss Blanche Ingram, in addition to all her snubs against Jane, truly puts herself on the despicable list by the spiteful and mocking way she treats Adele, Mr. Rochester's ward.
Kissing Cousins: St. John proposes to his first cousin Jane that they get married and become missionaries in India. At the time, marriage between first cousins was not considered incestuous. John is handsome, but neither he nor Jane find each other desirable in the least.
Loved I Not Honor More: Jane refusing to be Mr. Rochester's mistress if she can't become his wife.
Love Redeems: Subverted. Rochester thinks that loving Jane will make up for the minor matter of the inconvenient wife in the attic. As he quickly finds out, it doesn't.
Played straight in that it is Rochester's love for Jane that turns him away from the dissipation of his Mysterious Past.
Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Rochester seems to see Jane as this, constantly calling her a pixie, sprite, etcetera, but her actions and personality are pretty much the exact opposite.
Maximum Fun Chamber: The Red Room at the Reeds' estate is the bedroom where Mr. Reed died. Jane gets locked in there for "misbehaving," and she passes out out of sheer terror.
No Celebrities Were Harmed: Mr. Brocklehurst, based on William Carus Wilson. Carus Wilson ran Cowan Bridge, the inspiration for Lowood.
One Gender School: Lowood Academy - all girl, "charity" (meaning everything is funded by donations) boarding school.
Operation Jealousy: Rochester's "engagement" with Blanche. (Although it could be said that it was a real attempt at marriage that was broken up only when Mason arrived from the West Indies, and Rochester lied when telling Jane it was an attempt to make her jealous.)
Perspective Flip: Wide Sargasso Sea sort of qualifies. Parts 1 and 3 are narrated by Bertha. Part 2 is narrated by an unnamed Englishman. Reading the two together is a pretty awesome experience.
Primal Stance: Rochester's first wife, described as "it" when Jane lays eyes on her.
Suddenly Suitable Suitor: Before Jane can marry Mr. Rochester, she has to inherit twenty thousand pounds from her uncle (which, even after she splits it up, makes her financially independent). Of course, Rochester himself has to lose his Big Fancy House, his living-but-insane wife, his eyesight, and a hand. Now they can get married!
The Missionary: St. John aspires to be this. Jane doesn't.
The Spock: Eliza Reed, by the the time we come back to her. Better that than what her sister became...
Throwing Off The Disability: Rochester is blinded by the fire that his wife set in Thornfield - one eye is knocked out entirely, but the other one heals over time. His severed hand never grows back, though.
The Unfavorite: Jane in her childhood at Gateshead. Mr. Rochester also claims to have suffered this, his father showing a clear preference for his older brother.
What Measure Is a Non-Cute?: Jane's entire childhood with the Reeds carries this trope in spades. Jane is not doted on because, in addition to being a friendless dependent, she is neither pretty nor does she act like a child "should," that is to say, in a cute fashion.
