For a three-act plot analysis, put on your screenwriter’s hat. Moviemakers know the formula well: at the end of Act One, the main character is drawn in completely to a conflict. During Act Two, she is farthest away from her goals. At the end of Act Three, the story is resolved.
Act I
After a thorough but somewhat lonely education at Lowood Institute, Jane becomes the governess at Thornfield and quickly falls in love with her master, Mr. Edward Rochester.
Act II
Jane and Rochester try to get married, but they’re prevented because Rochester is trying to commit bigamy—he already has a wife locked in a room on the third floor at Thornfield. Jane runs away.
Act III
Jane learns that marriage without passion would be immoral when she’s faced with a proposal from her clergyman cousin, St. John Rivers. She returns to Rochester, who has conveniently become a widower while she was gone, and they marry.