In the following essay, Markley, an assistant professor of English at Pennsylvania State University   provides an general overview of the many aspects of Jane Eyre, portraying the novel as unique, both for its time and even for contemporary literature

Charlotte Brontë 's Jane Eyre was first published in England in October, 1847, and it made a huge splash among the Victorian reading public

The novel was subtitled, "An Autobiography," and readers through the years have been charmed by the strong voice of the heroine who tells the story of her life. The narrator's habit of addressing the reader directly throughout the book, making statements such as "Gentle reader, may you never feel what I then felt," and "reader, forgive me for telling the plain truth!" are quite effective in drawing the reader into the action of the novel.

Jane Eyre is a character whose strength and...