Please help with homework Jane Eyre: Did Grace Poole try to kill

1. Did Grace Poole try to kill Mr. Rochester with a knife?

No, she didn’t. Rochester’s wife tried to do that but it was easy to suspect Grace because self–isolated Grace Poole enjoys with the rest of the staff.  Grace Poole, a stout, middle-aged, red-haired seamstress who works as a servant at Thornfield Hall, is secretly the nursemaid and prison guard for the insane Bertha Mason.Jane also overhears a conversation in which a few of the servants discuss Grace’s high pay, and Jane is certain that she doesn’t know the entire truth about Grace Poole’s role at Thornfield. Jane keeps assuming that Grace is responsible for the eerie laugh on the third floor, the attempt to burn Rochester alive, and other strange and creepy nighttime deeds.

2. Has everyone at Thornfield known about Grace Poole’s attempt to murder Mr. Rochester?

No, only Jane knew that. The day after the fire in Mr. Rochester’s bedroom, Jane is shocked to find Grace, who had presumably tried to murder Mr. Rochester, mending the curtains. Grace tells Jane that Rochester fell asleep while his candle was lit, but he awoke before the fire spread too far. Both Jane and Grace seem to know more than each lets on, and they test the other’s story; Jane accordingly changes part of her account. Jane is flummoxed by Grace’s version of the event, especially because she shows no sign of guilt for what has occurred. Jane is also confused by Mr. Rochester’s desire for her not to tell her side of what happened.

3. Did Mr. Brocklehurst and his family live a simple life?

The school’s headmaster is Mr. Brocklehurst, a cruel, hypocritical, and abusive man. Brocklehurst preaches a doctrine of poverty and privation to his students while using the school’s funds to provide a wealthy and opulent lifestyle for his own family.  Mr. Brocklehurst is demoted once people learn about the way he ran Lowood. The school is then relocated and managed by a committee, providing a much better standard of living for the girls. After a group of more sympathetic gentlemen takes Brocklehurst’s place, Jane’s life improves dramatically. She spends eight more years at Lowood, six as a student and two as a teacher.