catherinedsharp's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
DISCLAIMER - I read this text as a set text for university meaning I did not pick this up for myself. It does not fit my usual reading selection so my review may be rather biased.
This is the first ever classical novel that I have read that I truly adored. With a purely descriptive writing style, a relatively loveable heroine and a complex moral story, I really enjoyed Jane Eyre.
Bronte's writing is delightful and although long winded at times, beautiful, with lots of extended metaphors and references to the supernatural and fantastical. One other downside to the writing is that of the different languages that are sometimes used; this does add to the book however you may need a translator to understand completly what is being said in dialogue. This in itself is an easy solution to a small problem.
The story is interesting as we follow a girl throughout her childhood as she becomes an adult woman. This is one of the first novels to do this in its time, with less of a focus on marriage and courtship. Instead the focus is on Jane and her life and adventures.
I would highly recommend as a relatively accessible and interesting, classic!
This is the first ever classical novel that I have read that I truly adored. With a purely descriptive writing style, a relatively loveable heroine and a complex moral story, I really enjoyed Jane Eyre.
Bronte's writing is delightful and although long winded at times, beautiful, with lots of extended metaphors and references to the supernatural and fantastical. One other downside to the writing is that of the different languages that are sometimes used; this does add to the book however you may need a translator to understand completly what is being said in dialogue. This in itself is an easy solution to a small problem.
The story is interesting as we follow a girl throughout her childhood as she becomes an adult woman. This is one of the first novels to do this in its time, with less of a focus on marriage and courtship. Instead the focus is on Jane and her life and adventures.
I would highly recommend as a relatively accessible and interesting, classic!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Death, Racism, Blood, Suicide, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, and Fire/Fire injury
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
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
darthizzy's review
dark
emotional
funny
tense
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, and Ableism
rebeccaxpaige's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Gaslighting, Bullying, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Racism, and Ableism
Moderate: Blood, Classism, Violence, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, and Toxic relationship
miss_reads_romance's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
How does one even review Jane Eyre? It's lush and atmospheric, creating the vibes and tropes that have been so central to my favourite genre for two hundred years. If there's anyone left in the world who doesn't know the big revelation at the end of this book, I won't spoil it but... yeah. Mr R. does some rough stuff in this book, and honestly, so does Bronte, considering who is reduced to a literary device. On that note... It's also pretty racist. So much phrenology, Lottie, why?
So, okay, it's complicated. There are reasons to avoid it. But there are also reasons that you may be interested, particularly if you're a romance reader. If Pride and Prejudice is the mother of modern romance, Jane Eyre is the cool younger auntie.
I would highly recommend podcasts Whoa!mance's Public Access Read-a-Long and Hot and Bothered "On Eyre" series for audio reading companions.
So, okay, it's complicated. There are reasons to avoid it. But there are also reasons that you may be interested, particularly if you're a romance reader. If Pride and Prejudice is the mother of modern romance, Jane Eyre is the cool younger auntie.
I would highly recommend podcasts Whoa!mance's Public Access Read-a-Long and Hot and Bothered "On Eyre" series for audio reading companions.
💛💛💛💛
TO TEACH? 🍎
Jane Eyre is delicious for the Gothic, of course. I've been assigned Jane and R's first meeting for year 10. We'll see how that goes (honestly, that meeting is real sexy and I feel like my colleague who made this decision... maybe didn't register how sexy it is...
TO TEACH? 🍎
Jane Eyre is delicious for the Gothic, of course. I've been assigned Jane and R's first meeting for year 10. We'll see how that goes (honestly, that meeting is real sexy and I feel like my colleague who made this decision... maybe didn't register how sexy it is...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Confinement, Death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, and Child abuse
Moderate: Classism, Racism, Colonisation, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Racial slurs
lkbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Colonisation and Racial slurs
bootsmom3's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Misogyny
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Ableism and Fire/Fire injury
bookwormjin's review
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Incest
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Misogyny, and Racial slurs
anovelbeauty's review
emotional
reflective
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
Book TW: child abuse and neglect, racism, occasional use of racial slurs common to the historical time (mid 1800’s;cht), sexism cht, problematic depiction of mental illness cht, age gap relationship
It’s easy to see why Jane Eyre has long been a classic and holds importance to so many people. While there are certainly aspects of the book that haven’t aged well (mostly to do with language/values that are no longer appropriate to the modern reader), there are some that have aged more gracefully. Specifically, the development of Jane as a character was done remarkably well. She is dynamic and fascinating. I loved her standing up for herself, fairness, and justice even as a small child and her moral compass remains firm throughout the book. I also enjoyed her search for meaningful found family and connection throughout the book, particularly once Mrs. Fairfax and the Rivers are introduced to the story. It was also nice having a protagonist that is plain, but not (usually) concerned about it. She knows her worth and value and will not let herself be treated poorly by anyone. Her growth in the book does not dampen her spirit, rather just show her how to control (usually) and be humble and bold simultaneously. She is absolutely my favorite part of the book. I especially liked her time at school and early time at Thornfield.
Obviously a glaring aspect of the book’s... less well aged property has to do with Jane and Mr. Rochester’s romance and the depiction of mental illness in the character of Bertha. While Jane as a female character in a classic work has an enormous amount of agency and is complex, Bertha may as well be a ghoul in the attic for all the character development she’s given. She is merely a violent obstacle in the story, given no dialogue or redeemable qualities; she is mad and that is it. Her only backstory comes from Mr. Rochester, who loathes her. I can’t give too much commentary about Bertha’s treatment that hasn’t already been stated in some form (there’s even a 1966 novel about her backstory that I plan to read someday called Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys). So I’ll leave it at just acknowledging that the plot point is more than a little troublesome, especially from a 21st century lens. Likewise, even the choice to make Mr. Rochester around 35 while Jane is only 18 was just... not the best, and it’s even commented in the story as being uncommon. Mr. Rochester is just, all around not great in my book, but I think that the book does a good job at showing Jane’s process as she falls in love/infatuation throughout the story. I just wish it hadn’t been portrayed quite so positively as it was, particularly at the end. I don’t blame Jane for falling for him, I /do/ blame Mr. Rochester for just not being honest or good for most of the story. Jane deserves better than him (in my humble opinion). But again, the character work was all done really well, they all felt like they could be real people who made those choices and led those lives; my qualms were instead the moral underpinnings Brontë was conveying through how she framed the characters. As a very minor side note, I also wish that there had been more interaction with and development of Adèle. It felt like that could have been a really strong connection (besides Rochester) throughout the middle of the story and spurred her decisions in the final part of the book, but instead everything was so focused on her infatuation with Rochester that we didn’t get to see as much of her connection to Adèle.
However, I still enjoyed the book. It was well paced and as I mentioned, the character work, especially on Jane herself was really good. I think it’s still extremely readable and engaging given its age. Particularly during Jane’s childhood, Brontë did a fantastic job making me feel keenly (and furiously) the injustices and abuse that Jane was subjected to, but it made her triumphs and wins all the more satisfying. As far as classics go, I think it holds up decently well and is still a really good fiction read as long as you are, of course, reading critically and thinking about the time/place it was written from, as we should do with any non-contemporary work. If you are a character reader especially, I think you will appreciate the story of Jane Eyre.
It’s easy to see why Jane Eyre has long been a classic and holds importance to so many people. While there are certainly aspects of the book that haven’t aged well (mostly to do with language/values that are no longer appropriate to the modern reader), there are some that have aged more gracefully. Specifically, the development of Jane as a character was done remarkably well. She is dynamic and fascinating. I loved her standing up for herself, fairness, and justice even as a small child and her moral compass remains firm throughout the book. I also enjoyed her search for meaningful found family and connection throughout the book, particularly once Mrs. Fairfax and the Rivers are introduced to the story. It was also nice having a protagonist that is plain, but not (usually) concerned about it. She knows her worth and value and will not let herself be treated poorly by anyone. Her growth in the book does not dampen her spirit, rather just show her how to control (usually) and be humble and bold simultaneously. She is absolutely my favorite part of the book. I especially liked her time at school and early time at Thornfield.
Obviously a glaring aspect of the book’s... less well aged property has to do with Jane and Mr. Rochester’s romance and the depiction of mental illness in the character of Bertha. While Jane as a female character in a classic work has an enormous amount of agency and is complex, Bertha may as well be a ghoul in the attic for all the character development she’s given. She is merely a violent obstacle in the story, given no dialogue or redeemable qualities; she is mad and that is it. Her only backstory comes from Mr. Rochester, who loathes her. I can’t give too much commentary about Bertha’s treatment that hasn’t already been stated in some form (there’s even a 1966 novel about her backstory that I plan to read someday called Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys). So I’ll leave it at just acknowledging that the plot point is more than a little troublesome, especially from a 21st century lens. Likewise, even the choice to make Mr. Rochester around 35 while Jane is only 18 was just... not the best, and it’s even commented in the story as being uncommon. Mr. Rochester is just, all around not great in my book, but I think that the book does a good job at showing Jane’s process as she falls in love/infatuation throughout the story. I just wish it hadn’t been portrayed quite so positively as it was, particularly at the end. I don’t blame Jane for falling for him, I /do/ blame Mr. Rochester for just not being honest or good for most of the story. Jane deserves better than him (in my humble opinion). But again, the character work was all done really well, they all felt like they could be real people who made those choices and led those lives; my qualms were instead the moral underpinnings Brontë was conveying through how she framed the characters. As a very minor side note, I also wish that there had been more interaction with and development of Adèle. It felt like that could have been a really strong connection (besides Rochester) throughout the middle of the story and spurred her decisions in the final part of the book, but instead everything was so focused on her infatuation with Rochester that we didn’t get to see as much of her connection to Adèle.
However, I still enjoyed the book. It was well paced and as I mentioned, the character work, especially on Jane herself was really good. I think it’s still extremely readable and engaging given its age. Particularly during Jane’s childhood, Brontë did a fantastic job making me feel keenly (and furiously) the injustices and abuse that Jane was subjected to, but it made her triumphs and wins all the more satisfying. As far as classics go, I think it holds up decently well and is still a really good fiction read as long as you are, of course, reading critically and thinking about the time/place it was written from, as we should do with any non-contemporary work. If you are a character reader especially, I think you will appreciate the story of Jane Eyre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Sexism, Mental illness, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Racial slurs
madelnguttorms1's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
2.5
If you're interested in England during the Victorian era, then I would recommend that you read Jane Eyre at some point. The values and morals of the English people during this time are made quite clear through the eyes of Jane, in both the way she perceives herself and the way she perceives others.
It wasn't really a book after my taste as I'm not much of a romance reader, and my taste in books is quite different to this one. I enjoy fast-paced, plot-driven stories, and Jane Eyre is a slow-paced novel that is mostly character-driven. We follow Jane through a portion of her life and we get to know the people and the environment around her during this time. I could enjoy this book if I had related to Jane more, but I felt quite distant to her most of the time, despite this book being formatted as an autobiography.
It wasn't really a book after my taste as I'm not much of a romance reader, and my taste in books is quite different to this one. I enjoy fast-paced, plot-driven stories, and Jane Eyre is a slow-paced novel that is mostly character-driven. We follow Jane through a portion of her life and we get to know the people and the environment around her during this time. I could enjoy this book if I had related to Jane more, but I felt quite distant to her most of the time, despite this book being formatted as an autobiography.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Suicide
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Racial slurs and Racism