Jane Eyre 《簡·愛》

周文敏

Jane Eyre is an orphan[1]. She spends her child

hood with her uncles family at Gateshead， where she is abused[2] by her aunt. At the age of ten， she is sent to Lowood School. Unfortunately，

the headmaster of the school is extremely selfish and cruel. As a result， Jane is still abused mentally and physically in the school. Even worse， her best friend Helen dies of consumption because of the poor living conditions. However， Jane finishes her schooling with a strong will and becomes a good teacher. She works in Lowood School for two years but finds it difficult to endure[3] the atmosphere of

Lowood. So she decides to leave and becomes a governess of Thornfield Hall.

Mr. Rochester， the master of Thornfield Hall， is a gloomy[4] and moody man. And his attitude

towards Jane varies. Yet， the two gradually fall in love with each other. Mr. Rochester proposes to Jane and she accepts it. But during the wedding ceremony， Jane is surprised to find that Mr. Rochester has married already and his wife is a psychopath because of mental wounds[5]. Therefore， she

leaves Thornfield Hall with a broken heart.

Jane has spent all her savings， begging along the way and finally faints before St. Johns house. She is saved and helped by St. John and his two sisters. Later， Jane learns the death of her uncle and inherits a fortune from him. Meanwhile， she finds St. John is her cousin. St. John， a passionate[6] clergyman， plans to do missionary work in India. He asks Jane to marry him and goes to India with him. But Jane refuses and decides to go back to Mr. Rochester.

When Jane returns to Thornfield Hall， it has all been ruined. The mad woman sets fire to the house. And Mr. Rochester loses his eyesight and one of his hands in order to save his wife. He is miserable[7] and lonely. Eventually， Jane

marries Mr. Rochester and gives birth to a son. And Mr. Rochester also recovers the sight of one eye. They live happily ever after.

簡·愛是個孤女，從小被寄養(yǎng)在蓋茨海德莊園的舅舅家里，在那里她受盡舅母的虐待。十歲那年她被被送進(jìn)了羅伍德孤兒院，不幸的是院長極度自私和殘忍。所以簡在孤兒院繼續(xù)受到身心的摧殘。更糟的是，由于生活條件的惡劣，她最好的朋友海倫也因身染肺病而過世了。但她靠著堅強(qiáng)的意志完成了學(xué)業(yè)，成為一名優(yōu)秀的教師，并在這所學(xué)校任教兩年。但她實在受不了那里的氛圍，于是決定離開，后來成為桑費(fèi)爾德莊園的一名家庭教師。

莊園的主人羅徹斯特是個性格陰郁而又喜怒無常的人，對簡的態(tài)度也時好時壞，但兩人卻逐漸暗生情愫。羅徹斯特向她求婚，她便答應(yīng)了。但是在婚禮上簡卻驚訝地發(fā)現(xiàn)羅徹斯特已經(jīng)有了合法妻子，而且他的妻子受過精神創(chuàng)傷，是一個精神病患者。所以簡傷心地離開了桑費(fèi)爾德莊園。

她花光了所有積蓄，沿途乞討，最后暈倒在牧師圣·約翰家門前，被圣·約翰和他的兩個妹妹救醒，并得到他們的幫助。不久，簡得知叔父去世并給她留下一筆遺產(chǎn)，同時還發(fā)現(xiàn)圣·約翰是她的表兄。圣·約翰是個狂熱的教徒，打算去印度傳教。他請求簡嫁給他并和他同去印度。但簡拒絕了他，決定回到羅切斯特身邊。

簡回到桑費(fèi)爾德莊園時，整個莊園已是一片廢墟。那個瘋女人放火燒房，羅徹斯特為了救妻子，被燒瞎了雙眼并失去了一只手，現(xiàn)在過著孤苦無依的生活。最終簡跟羅徹斯特結(jié)婚并且生了一個男孩，而羅徹斯特的一只眼睛也恢復(fù)了視力。兩人從此幸福地生活在一起。

In terms of the plot， Jane Eyre is just another Cinderella story. The little plain orphan falls in love with and marries a rich man of noble birth. While Jane is not a true Cinderella in the traditional sense. Because she is independent and brave. She dares to break out of the limits of class and social status to pursue[8] her love. And she is neither arrogant nor servile[9]. She maintains that both men and women are equal in love and refuses to be an adjunct to men. Jane always pursues her perfection of morality and personal independence even when it is in conflict with love.

Jane Eyre sets up an example for our new women that we should seek for equal love and marriage. Just as Jane says， even though Im poor and plain you cannot treat me so disrespectfully for we are equal spiritually.

從情節(jié)上來說《簡·愛》可算是另一個灰姑娘的故事：孤兒出身、身材矮小、其貌不揚(yáng)的簡·愛與出身名門、家財萬貫的羅徹斯特相愛并結(jié)婚。 但是簡·愛卻并非真正傳統(tǒng)意義上的灰姑娘。因為她獨立大膽，敢于突破階級和社會地位的局限去追求自己的愛情。她不卑不亢，不愿做男性的附庸，堅信在愛情中男女雙方是平等的。簡始終在追求道德上的完善，堅持著個人的獨立，縱使在愛情與此發(fā)生沖突的時候也是如此。

簡·愛給我們新時代的女性樹立了一個榜樣，即要追求平等的愛情與婚姻。正如簡·愛所說， 就算我貧窮、平凡，你也不能這樣不尊重我，因為在靈魂面前我們是平等的。

[1] orphan n. 孤兒

[2] abuse v. 虐待

[3] endure v. 忍耐

[4] gloomy v. 陰郁的

[5] wound v. 創(chuàng)傷

[6] passionate adj. 熱情的

[7] miserable adj. 悲慘的

[8] pursue v. 追求

[9] servile adj. 過分屈從的