Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

24 reviews

rachaelbunny's review

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Emotional abuse

Minor: Antisemitism, Xenophobia, and Racial slurs

isamomo's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

“then you are mistaken, and you know nothing about me, and nothing about the sort of love of which i am capable. every atom of your flesh is as dear to me as my own: in pain and sickness it would still be dear. your mind is my treasure, and if it were broken, it would be my treasure still: if you raved, my arms should confine you, and not a strait waistcoat - your grasp, even in fury, would have a charm for me: if you flew at me as wildly as that woman did this morning, i should receive you in an embrace, at least as fond as it would be restrictive. i should not shrink from you with disgust as i did from her: in your quite moments you should have no watcher and no nurse but me; and i could hang over you with untiring tenderness though you have me no smile in return; and never weary of gazing into your eyes, through they had no longer a ray of recognition for me.”

and if i DIED MS. BRONTË.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, and Child abuse

Minor: Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Antisemitism, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Blood, Death, Sexual violence, Classism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Racial slurs

lira_the_recluse's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Tragedy follows Jane Eyre, but she finds happiness in an unlikely home. Explores topics of what should a woman be and what sacrifices we make.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racial slurs, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Death and Abandonment

linneak's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious relaxing sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Colonisation, Sexism, Suicide, Bullying, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Adult/minor relationship

thewillowwood's review against another edition

dark inspiring mysterious reflective medium-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

4.25

I loved this book. It has many flaws, to be sure, but it was one that I felt deeply connected to throughout.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Abandonment, Ableism, Antisemitism, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Confinement, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship

madzie's review

challenging emotional mysterious reflective slow-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

5.0

 A classic for good reason. Bronte was a master of her craft. Despite being 500+ pages, every moment of this book is well-used. The plot may be slow to the modern reader, but everything pays off, and the tropes of the genre and personable characters make the reader continue reading no matter what is transpiring. Jane Eyre jumps off the page as a character well before her time but possibly even more relevant today than in Bronte’s time. Jane’s inner conflict drives the story and leads us to deeply consider our own lives and the lives of those around us in ways that very few authors have ever illustrated. Other characters support her story, and the themes astoundingly well as the reader tries to uncover their motives. 

Unsurprisingly, Bronte writes beautiful, imaginative, addictive, and vivid prose that deeply touches her readers even hundreds of years later. Although outdated, Bronte’s writing still allows for such deep feelings, blunt ideas, and spine-chilling moments that modern readers will not find her as pretentious as some of her peers (or sisters). Themes create a deep consideration of our modern world and our interactions with others as well as literature in a way like no other.  

This is a must-read classic that opens our eyes to women in modern society and history, as well as other topics of oppression, abuse, autonomy and individualism, and other ideas that are very pertinent to 21st-century life. If you love classics, you must pick one up. If you are interested in Jane Eyre but not classics typically, rest assured; this is an addictively good read that will keep you guessing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Classism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Infidelity, Suicide, Child death, and Death

Minor: Racism, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, and Racial slurs

sgferguson's review

reflective slow-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Mental illness, Racism, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Colonisation, Ableism, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, and Child abuse

carolinecronj's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

I went into this without knowing anything about the plot and would recommend you to do the same if you are still unspoilered, because some of the turns of the plot really surprised me.

What I greatly enjoyed about the book is its superb writing. Charlotte Bronte's command of the English language is nothing short of astounding, and her description of the various setting and a treat to read. 
 
However, my main problem with Jane Eyre is the romanticisation of abusive, manipulative and toxic character traits and relationships. I could not help but cringe at many of the supposedly sweet or romantic interactions throughout the book.

Furthermore, there are some deeply misogynistic archetypes, and the language throughout the book is at times ableist, racist and colonialist. 

In its own time and society, Jane Eyre was in many ways a revolutionary piece of writing and I definitely recommend it to be consumed as a historic product of its time. But if you are looking for a sweet and unproblematic love story, you should be looking somewhere else.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Violence, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Racism, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

cait's review against another edition

dark reflective sad 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Abandonment, Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, and Racial slurs

nanc_282's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

I’ve read Jane Eyre many times. I only picked the book up to find a reference and ended up reading the whole thing. It’s a book that I always find something different in each time. Lots of dark and problematic themes. Reading this time, I was particularly struck by the character of St John and his coercive, manipulative behaviour towards Jane. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Bullying, Child death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Classism, and Racial slurs

The age of the book means it does not acknowledge slavery and exploitation as the source of wealth for some characters.