Reviews

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

honorpaul's review against another edition

1.0

I literally hate this book. I love so many other classics, but this one is godawful. Horrid. You cannot convince me otherwise. Don’t even mention it in front of me I’ll riot

janettejulia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

dutchkiwi_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.75

or10n's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

I liked this book a lot more than I thought I would. Really, it only loses half a star for me because of the pacing and the style of writing, both of which were appropriate and laudable at the time this was written. I love that this book is a true fictional biography. Certain aspects are meticulously detailed, and others are rushed through, just like actual memory that would be used to create a non-fiction biography. I also really enjoyed that Jane is characterized how a man would be. All the gender roles seem swapped really. Jane is headstrong, intelligent, consistently in the right and possesses a strong sense of self led by morals. In contrast, the two main male characters are lovesick and emotional and willing to throw away everything in their life for Jane. She holds the power, which is just so fascinating for a book written at that time. 

**Spoilers Below**

"Reader, I married him." was such an adorable mic drop moment. Finally, after all that back and forth tormented yearning, they got their happy ending. I really like that she didn't end up with her cousin for obvious reasons, but also because she was consistently religious and he was a man of the cloth. She would have been in defiance of God if she married him, which is something Jane could not have lived with for long, even if she wished it for him with another woman prior to all of that. 

stefanikovaa_'s review against another edition

4.0

4.5

lzygrabarza's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

anita04's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

rebecca_kurian's review against another edition

4.0

Miss Bronte was truly ahead of her time.

happylilkt's review against another edition

5.0

In recent years I've been more focused on getting through my TBR than rereading old favorites. This reading of Jane Eyre was an attempt to return to my older habits: I have always been a re-reader. Ever since I was young and bored (summer vacation in hot Arizona summers was great when you were at the pool, but somehow you didn't always want to be outside...) a lot of my entertainment was mining my parents' books shelves. Anyway, this was, ahem, before the internet was widely available, and, no, I didn't want to fight with my four siblings over TV programming.

So, unless my mom happened to take us to the Public Library, I was stuck with picture books (too short) or scouring what my parents kept on the upper shelves. (Although when I WAS lucky enough to go to the library, my mom would take SO LONG that I would often finish all of my books while waiting for her... which is partly why I started exploring the juvenile and adult fiction sections in search of something longer). It was another bored summer at my grandma's house that launched my reading Louis L'Amour and Georgette Heyer novels. But I digress..

Back to Jane Eyre. I honestly don't remember NOT having read her. But, I definitely read the book before seeing a film adaptation, and I do remember being immediately drawn in by the characterization and the gothic plot. (I think I must have read it after Jane Austen, and for a young teenager, this was much more to my taste.) Jane is passionate, principled, and, of course, plain. I think there is something to her that an insecure teenager can relate to and still aspire to. One feels so awkward and misunderstood, and here is Jane Eyre dealing with all of that and worse. But she learns to have a strong moral core and a sense of personal worth that every teenager would do well to model.

So, let's just say that Wuthering Heights never had a chance. My heart will always be with Jane. (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is awesome, however, and very much worth your time.)

mariahs_book_club's review against another edition

emotional hopeful slow-paced

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

3.0