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sarafinley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Minor: Racism and Antisemitism
yantastical's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Death and Child death
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Bullying, Misogyny, and Incest
Minor: Antisemitism
directorpurry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I forgot how much I enjoy this book. I really did. The first time I read Jane Eyre was in high school. And then in college I read Wide Sargasso Sea (and hated it, but that's for another review). But this reading left a much stronger impression on me, both of the negatives and the positives.
The pacing of this novel can be questionable. Far too much time is spent following Jane through Lowood School, and similarly on her love for the Rivers siblings. Many of the characters are quite dislikable - Rochester is rude and sometimes scary, St. John Rivers is straight up abusive by our standards, and Helen Burns is annoyingly preachy and almost disgustingly pious. Another critique from a modern perspective, but I forgot about the religious aspect, which was a personal annoyance as a non-Christian. There was also a fair amount of casual racism and anti-Semitism, a hallmark of the time period.
But I found I didn't care. The writing of Jane Eyre is some of the most gorgeous prose I've read in a while. It flows wonderfully and heatedly. Rochester's speech before Jane leaves is probably my favorite passage in the novel because the words are so wonderful.
The Brönte sisters are (somewhat) well-known for their hatred of Jane Austen. Although I won't be doing the full comparison I might wish to do, I couldn't help but think about the similarities of the two writers, having just finished Pride and Prejudice last week (again). Even as they go about their message in opposite ways, there are definitely some very similar themes. They even equally mark certain character quirks for the reader's inspection. I'll leave those thoughts unfinished for the time being (but HMU if you want to talk Brönte/Austen discourse lol) but there is certainly more to say on the subject.
I love Jane Eyre. Until Rochester entered the page I thought this would be a 3 star read, because I had forgotten so much of the prose.
If I'm being entirely honest, it would harm no one if when attempting to read this for pleasure, you skim up until Jane enters Thornfield, which is where the real power of the writing begins.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Domestic abuse, Confinement, Mental illness, Racism, Child abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Classism and Antisemitism
Minor: Death of parent and Slavery
tempus_edax_rerum's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Moderate: Antisemitism, Misogyny, and Child abuse
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
mme_carton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Antisemitism, Body shaming, Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, Sexism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Ableism, and Racism
twentyventi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Note: There is definitely some expression of views towards race within this book which is unfortunately not uncommon in books written during this time period/within English literature. It’s a shame as it is not at all relevant or necessary to the plot of the book.
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Suicide
Minor: Antisemitism and Racism
whattaylorreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Sexism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Incest
Minor: Antisemitism, Racism, and Ableism
spacevade's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Antisemitism
sarawiser's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Grief, Mental illness, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Antisemitism, Suicide, and Religious bigotry
rini's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness
Moderate: Child death, Death, Racial slurs, and Racism
Minor: Antisemitism and Incest