Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - Jane Eyre

Book TW: child abuse and neglect, racism, occasional use of racial slurs common to the historical time (mid 1800’s;cht), sexism cht, problematic depiction of mental illness cht, age gap relationship

It’s easy to see why Jane Eyre has long been a classic and holds importance to so many people. While there are certainly aspects of the book that haven’t aged well (mostly to do with language/values that are no longer appropriate to the modern reader), there are some that have aged more gracefully. Specifically, the development of Jane as a character was done remarkably well. She is dynamic and fascinating. I loved her standing up for herself, fairness, and justice even as a small child and her moral compass remains firm throughout the book. I also enjoyed her search for meaningful found family and connection throughout the book, particularly once Mrs. Fairfax and the Rivers are introduced to the story. It was also nice having a protagonist that is plain, but not (usually) concerned about it. She knows her worth and value and will not let herself be treated poorly by anyone. Her growth in the book does not dampen her spirit, rather just show her how to control (usually) and be humble and bold simultaneously. She is absolutely my favorite part of the book. I especially liked her time at school and early time at Thornfield.
Obviously a glaring aspect of the book’s... less well aged property has to do with Jane and Mr. Rochester’s romance and the depiction of mental illness in the character of Bertha. While Jane as a female character in a classic work has an enormous amount of agency and is complex, Bertha may as well be a ghoul in the attic for all the character development she’s given. She is merely a violent obstacle in the story, given no dialogue or redeemable qualities; she is mad and that is it. Her only backstory comes from Mr. Rochester, who loathes her. I can’t give too much commentary about Bertha’s treatment that hasn’t already been stated in some form (there’s even a 1966 novel about her backstory that I plan to read someday called Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys). So I’ll leave it at just acknowledging that the plot point is more than a little troublesome, especially from a 21st century lens. Likewise, even the choice to make Mr. Rochester around 35 while Jane is only 18 was just... not the best, and it’s even commented in the story as being uncommon. Mr. Rochester is just, all around not great in my book, but I think that the book does a good job at showing Jane’s process as she falls in love/infatuation throughout the story. I just wish it hadn’t been portrayed quite so positively as it was, particularly at the end. I don’t blame Jane for falling for him, I /do/ blame Mr. Rochester for just not being honest or good for most of the story. Jane deserves better than him (in my humble opinion). But again, the character work was all done really well, they all felt like they could be real people who made those choices and led those lives; my qualms were instead the moral underpinnings Brontë was conveying through how she framed the characters. As a very minor side note, I also wish that there had been more interaction with and development of Adèle. It felt like that could have been a really strong connection (besides Rochester) throughout the middle of the story and spurred her decisions in the final part of the book, but instead everything was so focused on her infatuation with Rochester that we didn’t get to see as much of her connection to Adèle.
However, I still enjoyed the book. It was well paced and as I mentioned, the character work, especially on Jane herself was really good. I think it’s still extremely readable and engaging given its age. Particularly during Jane’s childhood, Brontë did a fantastic job making me feel keenly (and furiously) the injustices and abuse that Jane was subjected to, but it made her triumphs and wins all the more satisfying. As far as classics go, I think it holds up decently well and is still a really good fiction read as long as you are, of course, reading critically and thinking about the time/place it was written from, as we should do with any non-contemporary work. If you are a character reader especially, I think you will appreciate the story of Jane Eyre.

Content Warnings

madelnguttorms1's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

If you're interested in England during the Victorian era, then I would recommend that you read Jane Eyre at some point. The values and morals of the English people during this time are made quite clear through the eyes of Jane, in both the way she perceives herself and the way she perceives others.

It wasn't really a book after my taste as I'm not much of a romance reader, and my taste in books is quite different to this one. I enjoy fast-paced, plot-driven stories, and Jane Eyre is a slow-paced novel that is mostly character-driven. We follow Jane through a portion of her life and we get to know the people and the environment around her during this time. I could enjoy this book if I had related to Jane more, but I felt quite distant to her most of the time, despite this book being formatted as an autobiography.

Content Warnings

rini's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective tense slow-paced

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

Content Warnings

aseaoftomes's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I have always loved Jane Eyre, from my first read to my experience with it now. And while my perspective on things have changed, I still thoroughly enjoyed my time with it.

This book is told in a kind of memoir/autobiography style and is about a woman named Jane Eyre and her life focusing on her childhood to her early adulthood and all of the things she goes through and befall her during that time.

The writing of this book never ceases to impress me. I love how simplistic it is and yet how complex at the same time. It reads very well and sucks you in to the point where you're Jane. I always love it when that happens in books. The pacing is also well done. It doesn't really drag and I always found myself wanting to know what was going to happen next.

The plot, while simple, also has a quite suspenseful feeling to it as well. It's primarily about Jane - from her early years with her awful family, to her time in school and her employment with the illustrious Mr. Rochester and finally with St. John. It's all fascinating and I loved watching Jane grow as a character and watch her interactions with every character in the book. And the themes are great - family, love (and the different types of love that are basically embodied in each of the characters), gender roles and feminism of the day. I just loved the themes of this book

The setting is mostly in England in different institutions and houses. It's also very much a Gothic style book which means it has some eerie and creepy elements to it and I thought all of that was done really well.

Finally, the characters. I love Jane. She's one of my favorite characters period. I thought her growth throughout the book was great, I love how independent and outspoken she is and yet also how she fits the gender roles expected of her at the same time. I loved seeing her interact with everyone around her and how they shaped her into the woman she becomes. I also still like Mr. Rochester. My opinion has changed on him quite a bit from my initial read, but look he's the biggest drama king - the smallest inconvenience and his life was over. I also had a different perspective on St. John as well. I found I liked him more, but I also was so mad at him by the end again, but this time I understood him more. I frankly still think Jane should've stayed single - both of the choices she was presented with have pros and cons and ultimately are unhealthy. Even in the end, while they're on more equal footing, there are aspects of it I'm still not 100% sold on. Overall though, I had a really good time with it and I love the journey the characters go on.

Overall, I still really enjoy Jane Eyre and it's one I'll reread over and over again over the years.

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