Chapter IX Summary

In spring, it is pleasant, with lots of flowers and pleasant weather, but typhus breaks out and many girls sicken. Those who are healthy are left to fend for themselves. Helen is quite ill, but with consumption, not typhus. Jane does not understand the seriousness of the disease. Jane learns of how ill Helen is, which shocks Jane into thinking about death and what it means to die. Jane visits Helen and they talk about Helen's death and what she expects to find after death. As the two sleep, Helen passes away. She is buried in Brocklebridge Churchyard.

Chapter IX Analysis

The grim atmosphere of Lowood has turned deadly as typhus overtakes the campus and more than half of the students there become sick. This tragedy and grimness of death is contrasted with the brightness of the spring and coming summer...