简爱
I stayed for eight years,and for the last two years I was a teacher. All that time I was happy,and my dear friend Miss Temple helped me greatly. But when Miss Temple married and moved away,I decided it was time to change my life too. I had been at Lowood for many years,and I wanted to find new activities. I decided to find a job as a governess. Soon I received an answer from a woman named Mrs.Fairfax. She wanted a governess for a little girl about eight years old. The school gave me permission to go,so I accepted the job. Soon,I thought,I would have a new life. What would it be like?
governess：家庭女教师。作者本人曾做过家庭女教师，因而可以真实的笔触描写简爱做家庭女教师的生活。当时许多有钱人家为子女请家庭教师，与此同时对很多家境不好的女子，从事家教则是一份体面的职业，她们往往同主人共同生活，地位虽高于奴仆，却不能与主人平起平坐，其报酬也极低。