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aprillikestoread'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? N/A
3.75
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse and Child death
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: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Antisemitism and Classism
Minor: Slavery and Death of parent
mondovertigo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Suicide, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body shaming, Grief, Religious bigotry, and 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, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Antisemitism, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
cornustella's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicide, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Infidelity
nerdkitten'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Death, Blood, and Death of parent
traa'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Moderate: Incest, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy
caidyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
DNF at page 302
My second attempt didn't go so well. The first time I read this, I gave it 4/5 and you can read my review below. This time, I couldn't get through it. It was so annoying and I just... I couldn't. Not my kind of book in the least.
Original review:
Coming into this book, my only knowledge was what I kind of remembered from watching one of the movie adaptations. And, I spaced out halfway through it, so I didn't remember much at all. The basic plot, and that was it.
Happily, I found that this was not like [b:Wuthering Heights|6185|Wuthering Heights|Emily Brontë|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388212715l/6185._SY75_.jpg|1565818], a book that I did not like too much as a whole. Yes, there was an asshole of a man who was supposed to be attractive. Yes, there was one woman who was insane.
But the comparisons end there.
Overall, I liked Jane as a character. She was resourceful, strong, and witty. I liked the relationship between her and Rochester because they were a match for each other. Of course, there were bits about Jane I didn't like. Personally, I didn't like that she went back to Rochester in the end, although he had become a dynamic character (aka wasn't as much of a shit). I also didn't like how much she put out that self-hate. Seriously, there was one passage in the book I cringed through as she drew herself to compare herself to a description of a woman she had never met... all for a guy.
Rochester was a dick. But, he was a good match for Jane. Out of all the trials she'd gone through in her life, he was a pretty easy one to handle. He just should realize next time to never hide the fact that he's married when he's out courting behind his wife's back.
St. John deserves a comment as well. He was a dick, too. A different type of dick, but a dick nonetheless. Seriously? You want to marry someone so you can "mate" with them? That is how you word it? No wonder no one wants to marry you and you die alone.
For the plot, I realized about halfway through that this was going to be a long ending once the whole thing dwindled down and I remembered where it was going. It's a classic, though. What more can you expect?
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail