Jane Eyre and the Genre of "Governess Novels"

In English Jane Eyre is perhaps the best known governess charatcer in nineteenth-century fiction, but as this article shows, Charlotte Brontë's heroine differs radically from the common depiction of governesses at the time. After an outline of the genre characteristics of the governess novel this article offers a close reading of some scenes in Jane Eyre in order to establish to what extent the novel can be seen as a governess novel and in what ways – and to what effect – it deviates from this genre. In some aspects, such as Jane’s background and education, as well as the element of personal development, the novel adheres closely to the genre characteristics. However, in certain scenes connected to Jane’s governess experience, Brontë inverts these genre conventions, thereby indicating to the contemporary reader – who could be expected to be familiar with the genre conventions – that things are deceptive at Thornfield.