Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Jane Eyre

My exposure to classic 19th century English literature is limited, but as compared to the contemporary writing of the time (such as Austen, Dickens, or Irvine), this had much better readability. The language used is not overly full of the flourishes popular of the time, and yet still reflects upon the rhetoric unique to the 19th century. The pacing was fair and only got bogged down in the extension of a few scenes within the book.

The characters were well written, each having their own distinct and consistent personality. It is hard to gauge the plot of a book that has been out for close to 200 years, but I recognize this as the progenitor of many popular modern tropes within literature today, so it is hard to criticize the themes based on originality, but they were implemented well enough.

My only criticisms are few, just that perhaps a few scenes within the book have been expanded upon as compared to others to flesh out the dynamics between characters.

I put off reading this as I figured it was above my level but I, now, encourage others to give it a go if given the chance, especially if one enjoys gothic literature full of drama, injustice, and intrigue.

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saniyamuz's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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brodi727's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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trudy_joan's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I was looking through my books the other day and found this one. I was not expecting to get through the second chapter, even, but the book kept pulling me back. I didn't particularly like the characters, and the proposals made me furious. Yet this is the kind of book that fills me with all kinds of enthusiasm for old classics and makes me feel as though I could get through nearly any one.

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mijtje's review against another edition

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inspiring mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Beautifully written AND a great story. Let me first say: I’m not a fan of romance books. I usually dislike the “meant to be” part, the cliches, the way the characters only care about each other… but this book was different. I loved it. The last chapters gave me goosebumps. I even yelled at my husband when he tried to interrupt my reading.

What makes it different? Well, first of all, the characters aren’t perfect. It is not a beautiful girl falling in love with a rich, handsome guy. No, the girl is “plain” and the guy is, okay, rich, but way older than her and “quite ugly”. But still, they fall in love. Halfway through the book I wasn’t even sure if I liked Mr. Rochester. Also: Jane Eyre isn’t just blindly going to marry the dude. Nope, she wants her independence, she wants to do what’s good, and she wants true love. Pretty modern, right?

It is not a standard romance book, it is mysterious and a little dark at times. I found it hard to put the book down, it was never boring and always promised new revelations and shocking events. No long, boring conversations that are often based on miscommunication or lies that could very easily be discovered if only the characters TALKED to each other (pride & prejudice, looking at you).

And JANE EYRE. She goes on my main-characters-I-really-liked-list. That list isn’t very long but Jane deserves to be on it. She’s spirited, smart, kind, and funny. Especially for a classic she was a cool female character. Of course, the gender roles in the book are old-fashioned, as expected, but Jane Eyre does a pretty good job anyway.

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