When a “poor, obscure, plain and little” governess takes a position at Thornfield Hall, she little expects to be swept up by the passion and dark secrets of her enigmatic employer, Mr. Rochester. One of the most famous novels of the mid-Victorian period, Jane Eyre exemplifies the Bildungsroman (“coming-of-age”) genre, and, in fact, radically defined that genre in the English literary tradition. Providing a notable contrast to the secularizing influences of its period (not to mention those of our own, which determinedly misreads the novel), Brontë distinctively grounds her heroine and her novel in Christian moral understanding. The novel presents a host of themes: What is “The Novel”? What is the role of education (especially of women)? How are the natural world and the human person related? What is the role of Gothic atmosphere? What is the relationship between Reason and Feeling—especially in the light of the Fall? Our studies will also address the novel’s biographical and historical context, providing insight into the mid-Victorian Period. In this course, we will come to know Jane Eyre and the remarkable novel that bears her name, studying both over six classes.