Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

53 reviews

condor's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful slow-paced

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

3.5

It does keep you in your toes with some plot twists but also got me frustrated many times when the characters act completely illogically. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

It took me a month and switching between audio and physical copies but I finally finished!

Slow start, but got more interesting when Jane gets to Thornfield. It slowed down again towards the end for a few chapters but the middle wasn’t terrible. I did like Jane as a character and how quick witted she was (but Charlotte what were you doing giving this girl nothing but trash men and trauma).

I’m glad to have finished because 1) it’s finally over and 2) I can say I’ve read Jane Eyre! I maybe should’ve DNFd but I was stubborn and kept hoping it would get better with how many people love it. I had an especially hard time towards the end when the story takes a large turn and Jane’s story became really slow/tedious.

This is one of the worst classics I’ve ever read 🙃 there was no reason for it to be that long or categorized as a romance when Miss Austen existed at the same time?! If you’re going to start with a Brontë I suggest Wuthering Heights as it’s shorter and has better pacing (also a toxic romance but at least an interesting one).

Only reason it gets 3 stars is because of Jane as a character and there were some beautifully written lines!

Now please enjoy the majority of my random thoughts that played on a loop throughout:

-How is this a romance?! He’s horrible 😅 

-Jane nooooooo

-The only person making any sense is Mrs Fairfax

Charlotte Brontë is not for me because I also tried reading Villette earlier this year and DNFd due to boredom 😳 Now the only Brontë sister I still must read is Anne, with Tenant of Wildfell Hall!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Suicide, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Death of parent

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, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Terminal illness, and Classism

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

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

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

Moderate: Alcoholism, Incest, Terminal illness, and Alcohol

carolinecronj's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

I went into this without knowing anything about the plot and would recommend you to do the same if you are still unspoilered, because some of the turns of the plot really surprised me.

What I greatly enjoyed about the book is its superb writing. Charlotte Bronte's command of the English language is nothing short of astounding, and her description of the various setting and a treat to read. 
 
However, my main problem with Jane Eyre is the romanticisation of abusive, manipulative and toxic character traits and relationships. I could not help but cringe at many of the supposedly sweet or romantic interactions throughout the book.

Furthermore, there are some deeply misogynistic archetypes, and the language throughout the book is at times ableist, racist and colonialist. 

In its own time and society, Jane Eyre was in many ways a revolutionary piece of writing and I definitely recommend it to be consumed as a historic product of its time. But if you are looking for a sweet and unproblematic love story, you should be looking somewhere else.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

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

marilla07's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism

nanc_282's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

I’ve read Jane Eyre many times. I only picked the book up to find a reference and ended up reading the whole thing. It’s a book that I always find something different in each time. Lots of dark and problematic themes. Reading this time, I was particularly struck by the character of St John and his coercive, manipulative behaviour towards Jane. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, and Classism

The age of the book means it does not acknowledge slavery and exploitation as the source of wealth for some characters.

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

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