Reviews

Oof... I have such mixed feelings about Jane Eyre. I loved it because the writing was beautiful and the thematic elements soundly expressed. Jane is easy to sympathize with as a strong-willed, self-fulfilling woman with a depth of emotions and thorough understanding of her own strengths and weaknesses. I found myself surprised at the attachment I felt toward her at the end of the story, given how utterly dispassionate I felt she had become after her transition from childhood to young adulthood at Lowood (and I say this as someone who generally feels more sympathetic toward dispassionate characters!), but her character built like a low fire, burning brighter slowly but steadily with each chapter as more fuel was added.

My feelings then are mixed not because of the writing or literary stylings of Bronte, but ultimately because I was disappointed by the outcome of Jane's romantic life. Mr. Rochester was tiring at best and insufferable at worst during his initial romantic endeavors with Jane. I was sure that Jane could not possibly end up with this man, even before the unveiling of the mad Mrs. Rochester. She loved him, sure, but the love read as infatuation. And the two seemed more and more ill fit for each other after Mr. Rochester's proposal.
I was rooting so hard for St. John before I understood that he and Jane are cousins (though, that doesn't make a difference for this time period). Jane finally had a family and sense of belonging with Mary and Diana, and even St. John himself. The quaintness of the Moors and of Morton seemed to suit Jane well. The hard but rewarding work of running the girls' school, of studying German (and later Hindostanee) under her cousins' guidance seemed fitting. As St. John's unmoving, demanding, and rigid religious character unfolded, I shifted further from his corner as a potential romantic partner but still longed for Jane to remain with the Rivers cousins.
Her ultimate return to Mr. Rochester, while inevitable, was disappointing. Of course some of Mr. Rochester's less desirable characteristics had changed (his posturing and obsession with lavishing Jane with riches, for example), but they seemed to change as a result of loss and self-pity borne of the Thornfield fire and his new disabilities, not out of self-reflection. He apologized for his selfishness briefly upon Jane's return, but there was no room to observe if and how Mr. Rochester had actually improved his character. Even after the fire, his demeanor remained for months hopeless, immature, crotchety, and perhaps even ungrateful for the kindness shown him by John and Mary. It seemed that again and again Jane's perspective of Mr. Rochester and his intentions was overly generous. So, while Jane had never expressed any explicit desire that Mr. Rochester's character change, I think that her own complacency with his specific flaws goes against her own character.