Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

37 reviews

bearystarry's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

Despite the … views of the time, I guess, and the fact that between the entire cast of characters there were about three redeeming qualities, I enjoyed listening to this book. The first two thirds were the most interesting and the last third sort of lagged for me but in general I guess I was just interested in the way Jane told her story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Body shaming, Ableism, Classism, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Death, Abandonment, Racism, Mental illness, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, and Colonisation

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Incest, and Terminal illness

cait's review against another edition

dark 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

Minor: Abandonment, Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, and Racial slurs

town_scar's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Gaslighting, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Body horror, Bullying, Colonisation, Classism, Ableism, Cultural appropriation, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Suicide, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, Racism, and Misogyny

stephmcoakley's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Abandonment, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, and Terminal illness

kelisabeth's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Blood, Classism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Ableism, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, and Sexism

mariekejee's review against another edition

dark sad tense 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? It's complicated

2.5

Over the last two weeks, I have accidentally become inundated with media concerning the autonomy of women. Sometimes, as in the case of the wonderful television series Fleishman is in Trouble, I find myself angered and moved. Other times, I just find myself angered, or worse, annoyed. Unfortunately for me, reading Jane Eyre only led to the latter.

I so badly wanted to dnf this book, but dnf'ing one of the greatest novels of the 19th century, and one with such a high rating at that, felt sacrilegious. Even after my mom had looked me in the eyes and implored me to pick a happier book, I stuck with it. Am I glad I did? Kind of. For sure, I'm glad I have a classic and feminist book like this under my belt, and I appreciate having a wider knowledge of classic literature. But that's a shallow reason for suffering through this book, for suffer I did.

I absolutely, absolutely hated reading about Jane's struggles as a kid. I hate reading about child abuse, and especially that which is so completely unfair, unreasonable and unwarranted. The first few chapters there is so little relief from it, that I could not help but feel angrier as I kept reading it. Of course Jane gets blamed for the abuse she suffers for no reason. Of course the school she gets sent to is so poorly run that the kids go hungry more often than not. Of course the teachers are strict and abusive. Of course her first friend dies within a couple of chapters of meeting them. After a couple of chapters, I almost became numb from the constant misery and injustice; I no longer had any expectations of a happy or comfortable future for Jane, or an enjoyable reading experience for me.

I don't need a happy book to be able to enjoy reading it. I read through I'm Glad my Mom Died and found it a great read, despite the majority of the book chronicling the abuse Jeanette McCurdy suffered at the hands of her mother. But therein lies the difference: I kept being angry at Charlotte Brontë for making me suffer through exhaustive descriptions of Jane being cast aside, unfairly treated, going hungry, wishing for death. She chose to write that, and while I understand why she did, I just plainly hated it. The actual, real world is highly unfair for so many people; I am not interested in fictionalised accounts of this injustice, and I'm especially uninterested in reading about the unfair treatment that women have historically suffered at the hands of men and further society.

As for the plot itself, I found no joy in reading it other than the few chapters Jane seems to settle at Thornfield, because at that point I had spent hours listening to Jane suffering through life and this is the first time she has finally found some peace for herself. There were some surprises for me in the plot, but most of them I had anticipated long before I got to read them. The surprises I did find were in the way she keeps being treated by the men in her life. There are four men of note in this story, and all of them (

Spoiler

even the one she ends up marrying!!

) are abusive douchebags. Even St. John, the one man for whom I had hope, makes a 180 and spends the last pages of this book refusing to take no for an answer.

There are quite some things which are remnants from the time it was written, such as the classism and xenophobia, and the obsession with beauty. I can't fault the book for it, because no doubt it is just a relic of its time, but god, is there ever so much emphasis on the beauty of women as a signifier of not just their worth but their character. 

Is it an important book? Most definitely. Is it well written and contains nice prose? Absolutely. Would I ever willingly expose myself to it again? Not a chance in hell. It's a good book - just definitely not for me. 

(also: I love this comic of the Bronte sisters http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=202)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Confinement

musingsofazebra's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement

Moderate: Confinement, Medical content, Colonisation, Infidelity, Suicide, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Abandonment, Classism, Death, and Suicide

theskyisthelimit's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad fast-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? It's complicated

4.25

This book was such an amazing read! I thoroughly enjoyed (and was deeply moved by) every second of it! 

Spoiler

The ending was quite sad in a way; I had grown to like St. John, or perhaps I simply pity him, and I had hoped he would actually find love.

Spoiler

 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Minor: Abandonment

strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition

dark hopeful 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

4.0

This is a very slow paced book. The middle takes FOREVER to get through, but the beginning is strong and the end is so good! It is a darker book not a fluffy romance like Jane Austen. It is a dark romance but not the kind like nowadays where people get kidnapped and such. Overall, It was good and I get why it is a classic. 

Quotes:

“Children can feel, but they cannot analyze their feelings.”

“I was not heroic enough to purchase liberty at the price of caste.”

“There is no happiness like that of being loved by your fellow creatures.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Death, Grief, Abandonment, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness

Moderate: Classism and Incest

recycled_personalities's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.25

Ok sooo it’s a wonderfully written book and the author is definitely talented. However, the story itself didn’t end up being my cup of tea. Rooting for the main character was super easy but her ending was not the one I was hoping for. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Incest, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Classism, Death, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, and Mental illness

Spoiler

Basically Jane gets in a relationship, and engaged to be wed, with a man that’s 20+ years older than her when she is 18, leaves him for like 10 months after having found out that he had another wife literally locked in his attic, and then at the end of the book she comes back to him when she’s 19. And the ending portrays it as a happily ever after. Yeah, not my vibe.