Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Jane Eyre by Emily Brontë

63 reviews

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

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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

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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dark mysterious reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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dark inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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dark emotional mysterious reflective
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Despite the … views of the time, I guess, and the fact that between the entire cast of characters there were about three redeeming qualities, I enjoyed listening to this book. The first two thirds were the most interesting and the last third sort of lagged for me but in general I guess I was just interested in the way Jane told her story.

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reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings