I stopped: I could not trust myself to entertain, much less to express, the thought that rushed upon me—that embodied itself,—that, in a second, stood out a strong, solid probability. Circumstances knit themselves, fitted themselves, shot into order: the chain that had been lying hitherto a formless lump of links was drawn out straight,—every ring was perfect, the connection complete. I knew, by instinct, how the matter stood, before St. John had said another word; but I cannot expect the reader to have the same intuitive perception, so I must repeat his explanation.
Jane Eyre
By Charlotte Brontë
The novel is set somewhere in the north of England. Jane's childhood at Gateshead Hall, where she is emotionally and physically abused by her aunt and cousins; her education at Lowood School, where she acquires friends and role models but also suffers privations and oppression; her time as the governess of Thornfield Hall, where she falls in love with her Byronic employer, Edward Rochester; her…
Edition record
Why this edition is available
Bite reviewed this specific edition as public domain using the source, jurisdiction records, and dated evidence below. Public domain is a legal status rather than a licence, and it may differ by country or edition.
- Edition
- Project Gutenberg eBook #1260 — English text of the 1847 novel; use text-only body
- Source text
- Open the source edition
- Review coverage
- 44 jurisdictions · latest check 31 Aug 2026
Review all jurisdiction evidenceauthor; writer of the Preface and the "Note to the Third Edition" that appear in the plain-text file Charlotte Brontë (pseudonym: Currer Bell) died 1855. All identified copyright-relevant edition contributors are beyond the conservative expiry cutoff applied from the cited jurisdictional duration rule as of 2026-08-31.
Review basis for AU
A look inside
3441 / 4108Explore public samples
Read passages from Jane Eyre. Each sample opens without an account.
- Sheets Aflame
- A Night's Awakening
- Behind the Second Door
- A Sheltering Strength
- Saved, Yet Ignored
- He Loves What Burns
- The London Veil
- Seeing for Him
- The veil and the truth
- The voice that won't be silenced
- The Red-Room's Secret
- When life's stream breaks
- Poverty is not a crime
- The poisoned well of desire
- Wealth to the Heart
- An Instant of Knowing
- The White Road to the Peaks
- The imprisoned flame
- A Creed That Calms Anger
- From charnel to shrine
- Conscience and companionship
- When She Began to Think
- The Cost of Truth
- A Last Confession
- Alone, Cut Adrift
- I Am Not Deceitful
- The Ocean Between Us
- A Dangerous Gratitude
- The Caged Bird
- An ultimatum at Thornfield
- Two Lives, One Choice
- The Torn Veil
- Leaving Thornfield
- A quiet wedding
- Love Without a Look
- Branded a Liar
- Scorn and warning
- Offered a Life of Duty
- A perfect concord
- When Weather Closes a Day
- Passion Versus Partnership
- Daring the world's opinion
- The Thread Between Us
- You Are Killing Me
- The Sting That Heals
- A love that floods
- A coldness that kills
- Conventionality Is Not Morality
- I Am No Bird
- A perilous proposal
- I Care for Myself
- Called a Prize
- Red-Room Accusation
- Eyes Turned Inward
- Conquered by Pliancy
- A kinship across ranks
- The Hidden Cell
- Fortune's sober face
- Fire in the Chamber
- What Have You Done to Me?
- Envy of a Blameless Memory
- The Lightning-Struck Chestnut
- When Love Turns to Frost
- Promise of a Mediterranean Refuge
- Claimed for Service
- Belief That He Lives
- I Could Not Unlove Him
- Vocation Over Self
- Rebuilding After Error
- A Child's Vow Against Cruelty
- On the roof above the flames
- Hide her, bury the past
- A Public Confession
- Action Over Tranquillity
- The Inward Treasure
- A Voice From Nowhere
- Tossed Between Hope and Fear
- I Must Go
- All My Heart Is Yours
- When the impossible seemed possible
- A Voice from Nowhere
- Always the One to Blame
- Bound by a Solemn Passion