Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

15 reviews

torgotorgo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Antisemitism and Racism

thewillowwood's review against another edition

dark inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

I loved this book. It has many flaws, to be sure, but it was one that I felt deeply connected to throughout.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Abandonment, Ableism, Antisemitism, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Confinement, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship

pugluver11's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

I wasn't expecting to like this book as much as I did! I loved how Bronte described the settings. The descriptions were so detailed that it was like painting a picture in my mind. The characters are so developed that I feel like I know these people. Sometimes, I found myself relating to some of the feelings Jane had. I think this book read more like a literary fiction than a romance. The more I read, the more I became invested in Jane and her character development. Of course, because iy was written in the 1800s, there are some parts that reflect the narrow views of that time. Due to the slow pacing, I had to knock it down half a star. Overall, this was a nearly perfect book. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Racism and Antisemitism

amybetch's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

I just expected more of a payoff from the plotline with the first Mrs. Rochester, it's also hard to overlook how race is handled in the book and also a lot of the offhand, witty comments to other marginalized communities.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Racial slurs and Antisemitism

annapox's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Ableism, Child abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Antisemitism, Racial slurs, Colonisation, Death, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, and Medical content

sarafinley's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Racism and Antisemitism

yantastical's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Child death

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Bullying, Misogyny, and Incest

Minor: Antisemitism

directorpurry's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

Most of my thoughts are better suited to a series of academic literary analysis/research papers, so I'll do my best to cut those. I will also attempt to ease the other side that might just turn into heated keyboard smashing.

I forgot how much I enjoy this book. I really did. The first time I read Jane Eyre was in high school. And then in college I read Wide Sargasso Sea (and hated it, but that's for another review). But this reading left a much stronger impression on me, both of the negatives and the positives.
The pacing of this novel can be questionable. Far too much time is spent following Jane through Lowood School, and similarly on her love for the Rivers siblings. Many of the characters are quite dislikable - Rochester is rude and sometimes scary, St. John Rivers is straight up abusive by our standards, and Helen Burns is annoyingly preachy and almost disgustingly pious. Another critique from a modern perspective, but I forgot about the religious aspect, which was a personal annoyance as a non-Christian. There was also a fair amount of casual racism and anti-Semitism, a hallmark of the time period.
But I found I didn't care. The writing of Jane Eyre is some of the most gorgeous prose I've read in a while. It flows wonderfully and heatedly. Rochester's speech before Jane leaves is probably my favorite passage in the novel because the words are so wonderful.

The Brönte sisters are (somewhat) well-known for their hatred of Jane Austen. Although I won't be doing the full comparison I might wish to do, I couldn't help but think about the similarities of the two writers, having just finished Pride and Prejudice last week (again). Even as they go about their message in opposite ways, there are definitely some very similar themes. They even equally mark certain character quirks for the reader's inspection. I'll leave those thoughts unfinished for the time being (but HMU if you want to talk Brönte/Austen discourse lol) but there is certainly more to say on the subject.

I love Jane Eyre. Until Rochester entered the page I thought this would be a 3 star read, because I had forgotten so much of the prose. 
If I'm being entirely honest, it would harm no one if when attempting to read this for pleasure, you skim up until Jane enters Thornfield, which is where the real power of the writing begins.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Domestic abuse, Confinement, Mental illness, Racism, Child abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Classism and Antisemitism

Minor: Death of parent and Slavery

tempus_edax_rerum's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Antisemitism, Misogyny, and Child abuse

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

mme_carton's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Antisemitism, Body shaming, Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, Sexism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Ableism, and Racism