"Cliff Notes - Jane Eyre" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cliff Notes)

hears eerie laughter coming from one of the locked rooms on the
third story of the house. Mrs. Fairfax tells her that this is
Grace Poole, an otherwise taciturn servant who spends much of
her time sewing in that part of the house.

One wintry night, Mr. Rochester returns unexpectedly to
Thornfield. He is a dark, brooding man in his late thirties,
with an abrupt, imperious manner. Jane first meets him on the
road, after he's been thrown from his horse, and offers him help
without realizing who he is. Later, back at Thornfield, when
Rochester asks her if she thinks he's handsome, Jane is
outspoken enough to say, truthfully, "No, sir." Instead of being
offended, Rochester is intrigued and charmed by the boldness of
the new governess. There is already a rapport developing
between the two of them when, one night, Jane awakens to the
sound of the eerie laugh just outside her bedroom door, smells
smoke, and discovers that someone has set fire to the hangings
around Mr. Rochester's bed. She douses the flames with a
pitcher of water. The way Rochester holds Jane's hand after he
awakens suggests feelings that go beyond mere gratitude, but she
slips away and returns to her room.

The next day, Rochester is gone. He stays away two weeks,
and when he does return he brings with him a party of house
guests for an extended stay. Among the guests is a Mrs. Ingram
and her two daughters, Blanche and Mary. Its obvious that the
handsome Blanche is doing her best to snare the affections of
Mr. Rochester, but Jane can only suffer her jealousy in
silence. One day during the house party, two strange things
happen:

1. Mr. Rochester disguises himself as a gypsy woman, and
pretending to tell her fortune, tries to find out whether Jane
cares for him. She is wary, however, and doesn't reveal her
true feelings.

2. Jane is awakened in the middle of the night by calls for
help coming from the third floor of the house. The calls are
from Mr. Richard Mason, an unexpected visitor who had arrived
from Jamaica earlier that day. Mr. Rochester asks Jane to stay
with Mr. Mason while he rides to town for the doctor. Jane
observes in horror that Mason is bleeding heavily from stab and
bite wounds. Judging by his frantic cry--"She sucked my
blood!"--he's been attacked by Grace Poole.

Before the house party ends, Jane is called back to Gateshead
to the bedside of the dying Mrs. Reed. Mrs. Reed confesses
that three years ago the brother of Jane's dead mother had
written from Madeira saying that he wanted to adopt Jane and
make her his heir. Out of spite, Mrs. Reed wrote back to the