Reviews

It's hard to rate the classics, you know. I had never read this book, and decided that I needed to. When I told one of my librarian friends I was reading it, she said, "On purpose??" Well, yes. I suppose I could have said I tripped and fell into it, but then I would be Thursday Next, wouldn't I?

I liked this quite a bit more than I expected to. To be sure, it is a difficult read for one who is firmly entrenched in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. I mean, "they don't write 'em like that anymore," do they? Oddly enough, though, by the time I got to the end, the reading was easier going. I suppose I was getting used to the style.

It seems that poor Jane Eyre can't catch a break. She is horribly mistreated by the family that has taken her in, when her parents died when she was but an infant. The foster mother never liked her, and when her husband died, he had made her promise to raise Jane as one of her own. While she didn't totally neglect Jane, she most certainly did not live up to that promise.

Ms. Brontë, however, has crafted a tale of misery, despair, yet hope, and, eventually, redemption of sorts. There are certainly characters that are lovable. Little Adele, of course, and Bessie, the servant who attended her while she lived at Gateshead. And while many might think Mr. Rochester to be a horrible person, there were circumstances that were thrust upon him that were beyond his control. Finally, Hannah, Diana, and Mary, at Moor House, were quite lovable.

On the other hand, my eventual hatred for St. John Rivers knows no bounds. I was so angry with him, I think my blood pressure rose.

This is a heart-rending story. Is it a romance book? I don't really think so, although I can see why some might classify it so. It is, in many ways, a tragedy, but the ending is happy enough. Bittersweet, but happy. In short, I loved it. I almost didn't, though. There were a few chapters, there, the ones when St. John entreated Jane to marry him, where I darn nearly hated it.

But, as is so often the case, the closer a story gets to the end, the more engaging it gets. And the ebb and flow of hopefulness to despair and back again really kept this tale moving for me. I call this a masterpiece of classic literature.

biscuitngrav's review against another edition

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5.0

Wonderfully symbolic, it gives a great pre-feminist representation of life during the "Enlightenment" and its inherent intial flaws. Worth reading just for the attic.

mehic908's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative mysterious reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

5.0

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