Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1847)
A literary classic sprinkled with romance and social commentary.
Laura’s Rating: 3/5 Stars
Plot: The orphaned Jane Eyre perseveres through a tough childhood to find herself as a governess for the ward of the brooding Mr. Rochester. Jane begins to fall for her master, but discovers a horrible secret that jeopardizes her dreams of happiness.
Analysis: First, I want to highlight the importance and significance of this book to the literary world. The novel explores themes of gender roles, race, and social class. At the time, the novel would have been radically feminist, although it still seems rather outdated by today’s standards. Yet, the titular character’s desire to find her own happiness and be independent or seen as equal to a man would have been unheard of at the time. Similarly, the book seems rather rooted in faith and references to God by today’s standards, but it was criticized as rebellious and anti-Christian when it was first published.
Despite all of the historical impact, I did not find the book very enjoyable to read. The beginning was very slow and followed Jane through her tumultuous childhood and schooling. I did not expect such a large portion of the novel to focus on her time in boarding school. By the time Jane gets to Thornfield, the plot becomes more interesting, but it still dragged on in several places and the central romance didn’t do much for me. I struggle with the character of Jane because she is an independent woman in the context of the story, but not really but modern standards. She is likely a more realistic heroine than what we usually see in historical fiction, which again makes the story important, regardless of the likability of Jane.
Jane Eyre reminded me a bit of Rebecca, with a gothic tone and setting, a mysterious owner of a large estate, and a young woman at the center of the story. Overall, I appreciate the historical impact of Jane Eyre but didn’t love reading it. The stars are earned for quality and importance to the world of literature but I didn’t like reading this much.
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