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A review by mrsfligs
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
3.0
An Overview of the Story (With Major Editorializing)
In case I'm not the last person in the world to read this book, I thought I'd give you a brief overview of the very dramatic story of Jane Eyre. As I was reading, I thought "This is like the classic template for every romance novel in the world!" The template, of course, is as follows:
* Man and the woman seemingly hate each other on first sight
* Man and woman realize they love each other but don't admit it openly
* Man and woman play coy with each other
* Man and woman finally reveal their love
* Circumstances intervene to make their love seem doomed forever
* Fate brings them together.
But Jane Eyre is much more than the romance between Jane and Mr. Rochester. This book is also:
* the classic tale of an orphan raised by cruel relatives finding her way in the world
* a mystery story (just who is up on that third floor?)
* not afraid to dabble in the supernatural ("Jane! Jane!" "Is that you, Mr. Rochester? Where are you? I'm coming!")
* filled with amazing coincidences ("Wow! I just staggered to the first house I found to die on their doorstep...and it turns out to be my long lost relatives!")
Don't get me wrong, I loved the story. You definitely want to find out what is going to befall Jane next. But the thing that saves the story for me is Jane herself. I just loved her. I loved that she is true to herself and her principles through the entire story. Even when her heart is telling her one thing and fate offers her an "easy way" to be with Mr. Rochester, Jane chooses the hard road so she can be true to herself and her values. And I was so glad she didn't back down when St. John Rivers got it into his head that she had to marry him. "Good for you, Jane," I thought. "You tell him."
In many ways, Jane Eyre is a very modern woman. She has a good sense of herself and is quite the conversationalist. You see why Mr. Rochester is drawn to her. I enjoyed the teasing interplay between Jane and Mr. Rochester. I imagine that when this book was published in the 1800s, Jane was probably a very scandalous character indeed! (I'm totally conjecturing this. One of the disadvantages of reading a classic on your own without any historical context is that I'm not totally familiar with the society in which Jane lived -- but she seemed so modern and strong to me!)
Thoughts While Reading the Book
I will be totally honest with you. When I first started reading the book, I thought "I hate how this is written. It is so much work to read writing like this." I realize I've become a lazy modern reader -- I like reading books that are written how I think and talk. Jane Eyre is not written in this way. The characters speak in these amazingly long, florid and involved sentences that invoke all kinds of things from religion, myths and classic stories. But, just like when I attend a Shakespeare play or watch a subtitled movie, after a bit you don't notice it as much. You begin to get into the speech patterns of the characters. In fact, along the way, I started to get quite entertained by reimagining how certain passages would be written in a modern novel. Some examples for you.
******
Jane Berating Herself for Falling in Love with Mr. Rochester:
“You,” I said, “a favourite with Mr. Rochester? You gifted with the power of pleasing him? You of importance to him in any way? Go! your folly sickens me. And you have derived pleasure from occasional tokens of preference—equivocal tokens shown by a gentleman of family and a man of the world to a dependent and a novice. How dared you? Poor stupid dupe!—Could not even self-interest make you wiser? You repeated to yourself this morning the brief scene of last night?—Cover your face and be ashamed! He said something in praise of your eyes, did he? Blind puppy! Open their bleared lids and look on your own accursed senselessness! It does good to no woman to be flattered by her superior, who cannot possibly intend to marry her; and it is madness in all women to let a secret love kindle within them, which, if unreturned and unknown, must devour the life that feeds it; and, if discovered and responded to, must lead, ignis-fatus-like, into miry wilds whence there is no extrication.
(Ok ... do you totally see what I'm talking about with the writing?)
How This Might Read in a Modern Book:
"God, you are an idiot! How can you think he would love you? He's rich. You're poor. He's your boss. You're the lowly nanny. So he said he liked your eyes? Big deal! Get over it. It's not like he is going to marry you!"
******
Jane Telling St. John Rivers How She Feels About Him:
Nothing speaks or stirs in me while you talk. I am sensible of no light kindling—no life quickening—no voice counselling or cheering. Oh, I wish I could make you see how much my mind is at this moment like a rayless dungeon, with one shrinking fear fettered in its depths—the fear of being persuaded by you to attempt what I cannot accomplish!”
How This Might Read in a Modern Book:
"I'm just not that into you. Can't you get that?"
******
Mr. Rochester Talking To Jane:
“Your answer requires a commentary,” he said; “it is not clear.”
How This Might Read in a Modern Book:
"What?"
My Final Opinion
I'm glad I read this book. I feel better having read it, and I actually did enjoy it. I really loved the character of Jane, and I feel that I "stretched" myself as a reader. I'll be honest: It is not my favorite book of all time or anything like that, but I was pleasantly surprised how much I wanted to know what happened. I'll give Charlotte Bronte that: she can tell a good story! I see why this book is a classic, and I think readers will continue to enjoy it for years to come. Thanks for choosing this classic for me to read!
In case I'm not the last person in the world to read this book, I thought I'd give you a brief overview of the very dramatic story of Jane Eyre. As I was reading, I thought "This is like the classic template for every romance novel in the world!" The template, of course, is as follows:
* Man and the woman seemingly hate each other on first sight
* Man and woman realize they love each other but don't admit it openly
* Man and woman play coy with each other
* Man and woman finally reveal their love
* Circumstances intervene to make their love seem doomed forever
* Fate brings them together.
But Jane Eyre is much more than the romance between Jane and Mr. Rochester. This book is also:
* the classic tale of an orphan raised by cruel relatives finding her way in the world
* a mystery story (just who is up on that third floor?)
* not afraid to dabble in the supernatural ("Jane! Jane!" "Is that you, Mr. Rochester? Where are you? I'm coming!")
* filled with amazing coincidences ("Wow! I just staggered to the first house I found to die on their doorstep...and it turns out to be my long lost relatives!")
Don't get me wrong, I loved the story. You definitely want to find out what is going to befall Jane next. But the thing that saves the story for me is Jane herself. I just loved her. I loved that she is true to herself and her principles through the entire story. Even when her heart is telling her one thing and fate offers her an "easy way" to be with Mr. Rochester, Jane chooses the hard road so she can be true to herself and her values. And I was so glad she didn't back down when St. John Rivers got it into his head that she had to marry him. "Good for you, Jane," I thought. "You tell him."
In many ways, Jane Eyre is a very modern woman. She has a good sense of herself and is quite the conversationalist. You see why Mr. Rochester is drawn to her. I enjoyed the teasing interplay between Jane and Mr. Rochester. I imagine that when this book was published in the 1800s, Jane was probably a very scandalous character indeed! (I'm totally conjecturing this. One of the disadvantages of reading a classic on your own without any historical context is that I'm not totally familiar with the society in which Jane lived -- but she seemed so modern and strong to me!)
Thoughts While Reading the Book
I will be totally honest with you. When I first started reading the book, I thought "I hate how this is written. It is so much work to read writing like this." I realize I've become a lazy modern reader -- I like reading books that are written how I think and talk. Jane Eyre is not written in this way. The characters speak in these amazingly long, florid and involved sentences that invoke all kinds of things from religion, myths and classic stories. But, just like when I attend a Shakespeare play or watch a subtitled movie, after a bit you don't notice it as much. You begin to get into the speech patterns of the characters. In fact, along the way, I started to get quite entertained by reimagining how certain passages would be written in a modern novel. Some examples for you.
******
Jane Berating Herself for Falling in Love with Mr. Rochester:
“You,” I said, “a favourite with Mr. Rochester? You gifted with the power of pleasing him? You of importance to him in any way? Go! your folly sickens me. And you have derived pleasure from occasional tokens of preference—equivocal tokens shown by a gentleman of family and a man of the world to a dependent and a novice. How dared you? Poor stupid dupe!—Could not even self-interest make you wiser? You repeated to yourself this morning the brief scene of last night?—Cover your face and be ashamed! He said something in praise of your eyes, did he? Blind puppy! Open their bleared lids and look on your own accursed senselessness! It does good to no woman to be flattered by her superior, who cannot possibly intend to marry her; and it is madness in all women to let a secret love kindle within them, which, if unreturned and unknown, must devour the life that feeds it; and, if discovered and responded to, must lead, ignis-fatus-like, into miry wilds whence there is no extrication.
(Ok ... do you totally see what I'm talking about with the writing?)
How This Might Read in a Modern Book:
"God, you are an idiot! How can you think he would love you? He's rich. You're poor. He's your boss. You're the lowly nanny. So he said he liked your eyes? Big deal! Get over it. It's not like he is going to marry you!"
******
Jane Telling St. John Rivers How She Feels About Him:
Nothing speaks or stirs in me while you talk. I am sensible of no light kindling—no life quickening—no voice counselling or cheering. Oh, I wish I could make you see how much my mind is at this moment like a rayless dungeon, with one shrinking fear fettered in its depths—the fear of being persuaded by you to attempt what I cannot accomplish!”
How This Might Read in a Modern Book:
"I'm just not that into you. Can't you get that?"
******
Mr. Rochester Talking To Jane:
“Your answer requires a commentary,” he said; “it is not clear.”
How This Might Read in a Modern Book:
"What?"
My Final Opinion
I'm glad I read this book. I feel better having read it, and I actually did enjoy it. I really loved the character of Jane, and I feel that I "stretched" myself as a reader. I'll be honest: It is not my favorite book of all time or anything like that, but I was pleasantly surprised how much I wanted to know what happened. I'll give Charlotte Bronte that: she can tell a good story! I see why this book is a classic, and I think readers will continue to enjoy it for years to come. Thanks for choosing this classic for me to read!