Jane Eyre- Typhus Epidemic at Lowood

In chapter 10, we learn that Lowood school is a breeding-ground for typhus. More than half of the girls that go there are affected with this disease, but Jane stays healthy. We also find out that Jane's good friend, Helen Burns is sick, but not with typhus, she is dying of consumption. The epidemic of the spread of typhus all throughout Lowood and nearly affecting more than half of the people that attend the school can relate closely to the Black Death, caused by the bubonic plague that swept through Central Asia being carried on to the Mediterranean and Europe, killing many people. So, in a way, Lowood school and typhus affecting many people there is like the Black Death affecting many people in Europe.