Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is at the top of the list for my favorite all time reads. It’s been a little while since I’ve been excited about a book, a classic no less! I’m starting to think that I’ve been reading dumpster lit. The last book that I thoroughly enjoyed was Fifth Business- start to finish, Jane Eyre- start to finish. I’d read this book again and I don’t say that much.

This is one of the rare occasions where I’ve read the book after I’ve seen the movie. Usually, if I see the movie first then I won’t read the book and likewise if I read the book first I will not watch the movie. I’ve had this book on my shelf for at least two years. I decided I wasn’t going to read the book until I was mentally ready. What does that mean? Well, I wanted to really be prepared to give whatever brain power it was going to take to “get through” this book. I wasn’t even looking to enjoy it, but to just get to the end with any sort of understanding.

Much to my surprise, the story of Jane Eyre is one of the most beautiful and captivating novels I’ve ever read. Charlotte Bronte moves Jane Eyre with exquisite prose. Not once did I find it tedious or boring. In fact, with fresh perspective, I now find the movie to be slow and a bit drab. I don’t want to compare and contrast the two but I knew that I would take preference to one over the other. And I just wish I’d taken the time to read it sooner.

Jane Eyre is what I’d call a risk taker; she has a subtle attitude that suggests she has nothing to loose. She takes every advantage to learn and while she lacked true worldly experiences she did not let that stop her from deciding her own path. Even as a child she makes compelling decisions. Even as a child she commits herself to proving herself. Her love for Mr. Rochester proves true when she returns to Thornfield to be by his side.

This is a rare but welcome romance. I enjoyed it and I think, I’ve set the bar really high for future romance novels. I planned to write a more detailed analysis, but the book is lengthy with plenty of scenarios and I didn’t want to do the story any injustice by trying to explain the contents of Jane Eyre.

 

Here are the beginnings of my original post.

 The story begins with a sobering reality of Jane’s childhood; an only child and an orphan as both her parents are believed to be deceased. She was given to the Mercy of an Aunt widowed by Jane’s only and last blood relative, Uncle Reed. She lived at Gateshead estate with her aunt and cousins. Her only real complaint was against the abuse and falsehoods she had to endure. The only moments of kindness that came was when Bessie, a staff member at Gateshead, would sing to her and tell her stories. Mrs. Reed decides that Jane is a poor influence on her children and sends her off to school.

At Lowood school Jane takes opportunity to learn and to step outside of her comfort zone. She still has fears of being shunned and outcast so, at first, it takes great courage for her to initiate conversation amongst her fellow school mates. She develops a friendship with Helen Burns who is just a few years older. I think that Jane was so intrigued be Helen because they shared a common experience. Helen, like Jane while at Gateshead, was chastised and criticized for seemingly small offenses; but unlike Jane, Helen had acknowledged her offenses and humbly accepted her punishments. Helens attitude was something that Jane struggled to understand.

Jane spent eight years at Lowood, six as a student and two years as a teacher. One day she decided on a different path for her life. Of course she didn’t know what path exactly, but she knew she could not spend her entire life as a teacher at Lowood.  She Advertises in the local town as a governess and much to her surprise she is offered a postion at Thornfield to teach a lively French girl, Adele. It is at Thornfield where Jane has her first experiences with a man. Mr. Rochester is described as being a dark and impassioned man. Jane secretly falls in love with him and much to her surprise he too is in love with her. He proposes and Jane accepts with a sort of disbelief.