Plot

Jane Eyre, an orphan, is raised in a harsh charity school. She becomes a teacher and is hired as a governess at Thornfield Hall by housekeeper Mrs. Fairfax. The plot revolves around her experiences there.

Jane Eyre is an orphan cast out as a young girl by her aunt, Mrs. Reed, and sent to be raised in a harsh charity school for girls. There she learns to become a teacher and eventually seeks employment outside of the school. Her advertisement is answered by the housekeeper of Thornfield Hall, Mrs. Fairfax.—Volker Boehm

Jane Eyre (Anna Paquin and Charlotte Gainsbourg), orphaned, is left to live under the charity of her Aunt Reed (Fiona Shaw). After living ten years of mistreatment and segregation in her Aunt's home, she is then sent to Lowood - a boarding school for young girls. Jane grows up both physically and mentally at Lowood and becomes a teacher at the age of eighteen. She then advertises for the position of a governess and is called upon by Mrs. Fairfax (Dame Joan Plowright) at Thornfield. At Thornfield, Jane falls in love with the master, Mr. Rochester (William Hurt), and he with her. However, he yields a terrible and dark secret that threatens to tear them apart for good.—Emily

Jane Eyre (portrayed as a child by Anna Paquin and as an adult by Charlotte Gainsbourg) is an independent and strong minded young woman who is hired by Mr. Rochester (William Hurt) to work as a governess. What she does not realize is that she must share the estate (and ultimately Mr. Rochester) with his wife, Bertha (Maria Schneider), who is, by this point in her life, mentally ill and kept locked away in an upstairs attic.