Reviews - Jane Eyre | The StoryGraph

23.6k reviews for:

Jane Eyre

Charlotte Brontë

4.11 AVERAGE

mysimas's review against another edition

3.0

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

The more I think about Jane Eyre, the more torn I feel. My initial knee-jerk reaction was dislike — the content matter here (a teenage orphan being groomed by a 40yo dude) sure put me off my pie. I could see that the romance wasn’t the main point of the book — the focus is rather Jane’s quest to be seen and loved all the same — a theme that reminded me of another messed up story, that of TV Hannibal. And I thought, if I can sort of accept it in Hannibal, what’s stopping me here? Reader, I do not know.

Then there was another thing — repeated and manifold allusions to fairytales. When Jane first enters Thornfield, she is reminded of Bluebeard’s castle (and how telling, isn’t it). When she and Mr. Rochester first meet, they both mistake each other for a fairy creature &c. I doubt that’s a coincidence. What is a coincidence, as it could have hardly been anticipated by Ms. Bronte, is that all these themes conspired to remind me of one of my earlier reads, Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Estes — a book which approaches traditional fairytales through feminist and psychological lenses, applying their storylines and characters to (not solely) the feminine psyche. And looking at Jane Eyre in this spirit, well. It really adds something extra for me. What a beautiful, maddening, infuriating look into a woman’s soul.

I’m still not sure I quite liked this book — it made me fed up in many ways. But I can’t rate it 1 star anymore.

Content Warnings

bianca_05's review against another edition

4.0

that last star started fading when it seemed jane was marrying her cousin but then it came back

rebekah_s's review against another edition

4.0

I decided to re-read this in its entirety after many years and was glad that I did because it was so nostalgic, fluid in its narrative and description of the eponymous character, Jane’s marked nuanced personality, her experiences and Bronte’s other characters were quite visceral. I could definitely see parts of myself in Jane. Here is a classic example of human decency, the still relevant challenges of navigating the world as a woman and a great expression of how Jane thrived through adversity. Would’ve given it 5 stars if not for the sometimes unnecessarily long sentences and frequent overused use of adjectives, but that’s just the harsh old English literature student in me, hah! Bronte did paint a good picture, though. I enjoyed reading it very much to the point where I’ll probably read it again in the future!

krabbbby's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

theresacharlotte's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

poorlywordedbookreviews's review against another edition

3.0

I finally read a Brontë! Well listened to one (the Thandie Newton narration was great). The first two thirds or so, up until the bigamy call out in the church, was really engaging, but the last section really loses momentum after the brief stint on the streets. All the tension in Jane’s relationship with Rochester dissolves - come the reunion I could not care less. The only bright point in this section is when St John Rivers demonstrates that the male loneliness epidemic is nothing new… uttering “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘳, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦.” during a marriage proposal has never, ever, made the ladies swoon.

Overall it’s an eminently readable classic, no impenetrable prose (although I did find it jarring every time someone ejaculated), that’s characters and themes are complex enough for it to hold up as a great discussion book today. A commentary on boarding schools, the value (or not) of name without money, female independence, the conflating of looks with goodness, loneliness and the desire to be seen. Held up to today’s standards there’s a lot of obliviousness/lack of agency, deus ex machina etc, but also modern sounding humour. The central relationship could be examined for eternity, with both negative and generous readings of Rochester, regardless of a Victorian or 21st century lens. I say generous not positive, because even his biggest fans have to agree that the man is an absolute mess.