Jane Eyre · Chapter
Note to the Third Edition explained
Currer Bell (Charlotte Brontë) addresses the public in a brief note to the third edition of Jane Eyre, clarifying that she is the author of only this one novel and correcting any mistaken attributions of other works to her.
What happens
Currer Bell (Charlotte Brontë) addresses the public in a brief note to the third edition of Jane Eyre, clarifying that she is the author of only this one novel and correcting any mistaken attributions of other works to her.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
This is the dramatic climax because it marks the emotional and psychological peak where Jane’s repressed desir…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingKey passages
“I avail myself of the opportunity which a third edition of Jane Eyre affords me, of again addressing a word to the Public, to explain that my claim to the title of novelist rests on this one work alone.”
I use the chance provided by this third edition to tell the public that I am only the author of this single novel.
Currer Bell asserts sole authorship of Jane Eyre.
“If, therefore, the authorship of other works of fiction has been attributed to me, an honour is awarded where it is not merited; and consequently, denied where it is justly due.”
If people have credited me with writing other novels, that praise is given wrongly and withheld from the true authors.
Currer Bell corrects misattributions of other novels to her.
