Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - Jane Eyre

I decided to read this book because I bought a poster with 100 books to read in your lifetime. This is the fourteenth book I've read on this poster. As with most books on this poster, I struggled with it. I don’t know if it’s the whole “classic” feel to them, but it was a mission to finish and usually when I feel like a book is a mission to finish it can be worth it, but this wasn’t.

This book follows a girl named Jane Eyre, throughout her life, she is a seemingly plain and simple girl as she battles through her life’s struggles. Jane has many obstacles in her life – starting with her cruel and abusive Aunt Reed, the grim conditions of Lowood School and her love for her employer Mr Rochester and finding out he is married.

My issue with this book is that it gave me whiplash. I understand that we basically watch Jane Eyre grow up from this small child that was being abused because she was an orphan, and a woman made a promise, she couldn’t keep to sending her off to boarding school and then getting employed. That was fine, Mr Rochester and Sir John are who gave me whiplash. If this book was written in this day and age, I would have killed for it to be a feminist book where she doesn’t need a man to be happy – but obviously back in those days it was either be married and look after the house or be a spinster and be poor. Also, I hated both “love” interests if you can call them that. I wanted to punch Mr Rochester in the face so many times. The way he lied, the way he treated his wife and yet Jane was like “oo yeah, I want some of that.” it just hurt my head. And then Sir John threatening her employment after she gave him money because she wouldn’t marry him – they are cousins, again I know it’s not as weird back then, but it just rubbed me the wrong way.

The only reason why this book didn’t get rated any lower is because of Jane and I wanted to hug her and smack her at the same time for not having that parental figure that she needed and that her other cousins weren’t complete idiots.

I am not having the best of luck with this poster, but I've got 86 books to go!

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sas_lk's review against another edition

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3.75

Overall just a very solid novel. I especially loved the first half, struggled a bit in the middle, and then thoroughly enjoyed the end again.
Fascinating writing and character work. Jane Eyre is one of my favourite characters, you can truly feel the time and love that Charlotte Brontë put into her.

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madzie's review against another edition

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challenging emotional 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

5.0

A classic for good reason. Bronte was a master of her craft. Despite being 500+ pages, every moment of this book is well-used. The plot may be slow to the modern reader, but everything pays off, and the tropes of the genre and personable characters make the reader continue reading no matter what is transpiring. Jane Eyre jumps off the page as a character well before her time but possibly even more relevant today than in Bronte’s time. Jane’s inner conflict drives the story and leads us to deeply consider our own lives and the lives of those around us in ways that very few authors have ever illustrated. Other characters support her story, and the themes astoundingly well as the reader tries to uncover their motives.

Unsurprisingly, Bronte writes beautiful, imaginative, addictive, and vivid prose that deeply touches her readers even hundreds of years later. Although outdated, Bronte’s writing still allows for such deep feelings, blunt ideas, and spine-chilling moments that modern readers will not find her as pretentious as some of her peers (or sisters). Themes create a deep consideration of our modern world and our interactions with others as well as literature in a way like no other.

This is a must-read classic that opens our eyes to women in modern society and history, as well as other topics of oppression, abuse, autonomy and individualism, and other ideas that are very pertinent to 21st-century life. If you love classics, you must pick one up. If you are interested in Jane Eyre but not classics typically, rest assured; this is an addictively good read that will keep you guessing.

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queenofthenorth's review against another edition

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dark inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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kaz_brekkerrr's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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bearystarry's review against another edition

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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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