What type of fiction is Jane Eyre?

Question

I'm working on my summer reading for my English 10 Honors class and the first question is what type of fiction is the work. I have absolutely no idea. I've looked on cliff notes and I've googled but I don't know. :(

Answer 1

Wow... there are a lot of answers to this.  It could be just considered "classical", since it has been around and widely read for quite some time.  It could be considered a romance because of the relationship between Jane and Mr Rochester, or a mystery or suspense because of the drama involving his previous wife.  Maybe there isn't just one answer to this question... maybe you should just discuss the possibilities?  

Answer 2

the boring kind.

Answer 3

Gothic romance?

Answer 4

Victorian thriller I would say.

It could also be considered a study of the Victorian class system - the poor house school, the governess job she takes, the rich people treating her like dirt because she's 'staff', marrying the lord of the manor, etc.

But it also has the spooky, creepy element in there too.

Answer 5

It's often difficult to classify a novel into one type of fiction, but my guess is that Jane Eyre has Gothic, Victorian, and perhaps Bildungsroman (meaning "A novel whose principal subject is the moral, psychological, and intellectual development of a usually youthful main character.") elements. The key there is the 'development' of the protagonist. David Copperfield would be a good example of this.

Answer 6

Gothic fiction, like Wuthering Heights.

Answer 7

Isn't it Gothic?