Jane Eyre

This felt like reading a YA novel without the shame. I had a lot of fun (and did a lot of embarrassing fangirling) reading this. Of course it's super problematic and the religious bits were bleh but all-in-all I really enjoyed Jane Eyre and would read it again. Now I want to see the movie version(s)!

I am surprised by the feminism in this story. I was expecting a gentle, submissive Victorian flower and get an independent, intelligent woman that wouldn't have difficulties living in today's world. I also like Charlotte's writing. Easy read.added 2.9.2020I just read [b:The Scarlet Letter 12296 The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1404810944l/12296.SY75.jpg 4925227] and found that too to be feminist. I went to see the reception of these two books, and read this: “In 1848, Elizabeth Rigby, reviewing Jane Eyre in The Quarterly Review, found it “pre-eminently an anti-Christian composition,” declaring: “We do not hesitate to say that the tone of mind and thought which has overthrown authority and violated every code human and divine abroad, and fostered Chartism and rebellion at home, is the same which has also written Jane Eyre.” That alone would be reason enough to read this book :-D I would like to say to Elizabeth Rigby, that one should not obey authorities who are unfair, unwilling to listen, and unjust. One should rebel against such authorities, whether they are parents, employers, friends or God. And every person should support Chartism, because people are created equal and should be treated as equal, and not promoted because they happen to be rich, and hindered because they happen to be poor. Codes Jane Eyre violates need to be violated, broken and discarded, because they are bad, offensive to good sense and truly Christian heart, and destructive, created to raise sheep, slaves, and cannon fodder, degrading human value and deeply chauvinist. And it is not an “illegitimate romance”, because Jane left immediately when she found out that Edward was married, and didn't return until he was a widower.Added 3/4-23 Now I have read [b:Wide Sargasso Sea 25622780 Wide Sargasso Sea Jean Rhys https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1453021061l/25622780.SY75.jpg 142647]. I hate him. Also, Adèle could be Rochester's daughter. He was having sex with her mother, she says he is, and he took her in. She is about 10 years old. It doesn't much matter if she was or not, she could have been. “Bertha” was locked in the attic while Rochester was having an affair with this French dancer. Just consider [b:The Yellow Wallpaper 8217236 The Yellow Wallpaper Charlotte Perkins Gilman https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1276430319l/8217236.SX50.jpg 17352354]. Wouldn't you go mad? Too bad she didn't get him.I kind of want to read a book about Adèle, where she gets even with her “dad”.

Relectura 2019

Tenía que recurrir a un favorito para esta crisis del 2019.

Sigue estando en mi Top de favoritos de siempre.

———–

Jane Eyre ha escalado a la cima de mis libros favoritos.

Me atrapo desde las primeras páginas. Me hizo sentir todo lo que vivió Jane y me movió algo en este corazón empolvado y lleno de telarañas, como pocos libros.

Amo el libro; amo a Jane y al señor Rochester, con todos sus defectos. No le sobra ni le falta una palabra. Es perfecto!

My love for this book is endless.

There are in a lifetime only so many books you can read, and out of those fewer are still that make your head their home, that affect you in more ways than one, and that stay with you long after the last page has been turned.

This is one of those books.

This was my first Charlotte Bronte book (who is now one of my favourite authors, and whose work I have since eagerly perused like a kid at a candy store years ago.)

Jane as a character is unbelievable: she just barely manages to contain herself between the covers of the book, at times she threatens to leap out of the paper. That is how splendidly written this book is.

Summary: This book follows the story of its title character, Jane Eyre, who, after a trying childhood, becomes the governess of a girl who is under the guardianship of Mr. Rochester. As Jane gets to know Mr. Rochester, she finds that his personality, despite being somewhat unusual, is captivating. She also begins to sense, however, that something is not quite right in the Rochester residence, and what she discovers is more shocking than she could have even guessed.

This book starts off a little slow but gets much more interesting as it goes on. It is a book that I found compelling, frustrating, and thought-provoking.

On first thoughts I gave this book a 3/5 but I've revised it to a 4/5 - Mr Rochester is a mostly unappealing romantic lead with his age gap and his clinginess (especially in comparison to Jane Austen's Mr Darcy), but it's kind of amazing that Charlotte Brontë wrote something like this as a woman in the 19th century.

Jane Eyre is a study on what it meant to be a woman in the Victorian Era, therefore, its message could be cloudy for the modern reader. Jane takes us through the tale of an orphan who tries to find her place in life. Many point out that the book is not “feminist enough” and, I agree. Brontë could have given Jane an opportunity to grow and flourish as a woman, but sadly, she did not.

Reading Jane Eyre was a good experience, the language used was very concise and clear, however, some parts of the book tend to just drag on and on.

Overall, a very good read.

Such a romantic setting! Shame on me for taking this long. didn't know about her articulate speech, about her orphan and destitute situation, about the crazy wife locked up, about the long lost family and inheritance so welcome, about the fairy tale ending w the crippled but very much in love hubby after the disaster marrying the now rich former orphan - and recovering his sight to boot. Soap operas are inspired on this!
Also, the irony is worth of Jane Austen, both produced by Jane and by Mr Rochester. Hilarious!!!

I alternated between reading on kindle and audiobook. I had access to more than one audiobook with my Audible membership and I couldn't get the right kindle book edition that would sync with the audiobook narrator I preferred. I preferred the narration by Thandie Newton. But the narration by Susan Ericksen was not bad. I just preferred the more animated voices from Thandie Newton. I do wish Amazon/Audible would make their system work better. I can always find the match if I go from Kindle to Audiobook, but going from Audiobook to kindle is more difficult, especially for old books where there are so many kindle editions.

I did not expect the ending. I really thought it was going to end with a moralized Christian ending. I was glad that it didn't.

I also was amused that there was a line by a man who was trying to convince Jane that God had told him that she was going to be his wife and that was what God had ordained.

I went back and reread the chapter in Karen Swallow Prior's book about great literature Booked on Jane Eyre after I was done. Prior has an introductory essay on Jane Eyre in her series of classics that I want to pick up at some point.

I do need to keep reading old books.

29 minutes before finishing the book:

>> Been reading “Jane Eyre” (yes, the classic) and am horrified by the character of St. John Rivers. (Please don't condemn me for my choice of literature. I love reading and it pains me that people would assume I'm in the wrong for the literary choices I sometimes make.)

Jane Eyre is one of those books that I do not love, but I recognize its beauty and value. When I first read it back in high school or college (I can't remember which one), I did not care for it much. I remember liking the characters of Jane and Rochester, but the reading experience was tedious.

Now that I have read the book a second time, I can't say that my opinion has much changed. Reading this book took me forever (by my standards). It is very dense. Often, the extensive description of setting and the tediously long dialogue were too much for me. I had to keep putting the book down. I did not stop reading it, though, because I was enjoying the character of Jane. I like how she is practical and strong-willed. I like how uncompromising she is with her desires. At the same time, sometimes I got frustrated with her inability to be a bit more flexible. I also like Mr. Rochester. I have always preferred male characters like him who are rough around the edges. I like the build up of their romance. And the mysterious Mrs. Rochester is intriguing and adds a bit of a Gothic flare to the book that I appreciate.

The part of the story after Jane leaves Thornfield Hall was so boring for me to read. I found it especially tedious and slow. I do not like the character of St. John, no matter how moral and dutiful he is. I felt like that whole section of the book could have been skipped.

Overall, I like the story and the main characters. I recognize the value of the book and its themes. I do not, however, enjoy the read. It is slow and often dull. It's not my favorite classic, it still deserves a high rating.

Now that I've read this book twice (and obsessively watched and rewatched the BBC version with Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens!) this is definitely one of my favorite books ever. I didn't really care for Jane's narration the first time around, but I can definitely appreciate the way the story is told now that I've reread the book a couple of years after reading it for the first time. Now if only I can find a book that tells the story through Mr. Rochester's point of view!

I read and fell in love with this book as a teenager, but hadn't read it for 40 some odd years and honestly other than a vague recollection of a dark and large Mr. Rochester, his mentally ill wife in the attic and a romance, I didn't remember much about it. The first chapter didn't immediately engage me and the language initially seemed a little old-fashioned but I started reading it aloud and soon was in love with the book and the story again.

An intense story about a strong-willed girl growing up without love, struggling through other horrible conditions, and finding freedom in body, mind, and soul in a time that didn't recognize freedom for women. The theme, love is not something you must earn, plays out beautifully throughout the book. But note to first-time readers of Jane Eyre; the annotations contain spoilers. I found this annoying, despite my familiarity with the story, and left off reading them for several chapters, catching up with them later. But on the whole, I appreciated the excellent annotations as a writing structure guide. A really insightful way to read a story.

I read JANE EYRE mainly so I could say I read JANE EYRE. Though there were good parts and some great writing, it was an exhausting experience. It may have been because I was reading an annotated edition, which explained everything! However, that was helpful at time due to the colloquial terms and now obscure references.

Overall, it was an enjoyable experience and I couldn't wait to finish, just to see where she ended up. It started off rather gloomy, and pretty much stayed that way until the middle. However, considering when she was born, and when the book was written, she did all right for herself.