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Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Confinement, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Classism
Moderate: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Blood, Death of parent
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Child death, Death, Incest, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Colonisation
Graphic: Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Kidnapping, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
It truly was so sad to read the tale of a girl/woman so desperate for love and kindness that she becomes a ride or die as soon as someone shows her any affection. When she begged her aunt on her deathbed-- and to be turned away! The audacity.
Minor: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexism, Slavery
Minor: Racism
R’s maybe creepy but also it’s sweet
St. J is wild
Would’ve been a orange fan probs
Girl power Ig? But we’re 19
Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Reading through the lens of its time period you can see how radical and progressive it was, but viewed through a modern lens there are obviously many themes to be found lacking. Being generous, I could say that the picture it paints of how far we've come as a society gives me hope for how far we'll get in another two hundred years. Being critical, I could say wow that's a lot of racism.
Overall a very engaging and gripping read. I really loved the beautiful descriptions of nature and scenery, and I was extremely attached to the main characters by the end. I absolutely see why it's a classic.
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Dementia, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Gore, Incest, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol
The strength of Jane, her need for friendship and love after a childhood of neglect makes you root for her.
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Gaslighting
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Classism
Minor: Confinement, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Okay, so yes—Jane is a fiery little thing and I respect her spine of steel, but can we talk about how utterly humorless she is? It’s all brooding and morals and zero fun. Even her flirtation with Rochester feels like two philosophy students trying to out-suffer each other. Speaking of Rochester—what a gaslighting, manipulative sadboi. "Oh, I can’t legally marry you because of my other wife in the attic, but let’s just run away together anyway. For love!" Sir, that’s not romantic—that’s a felony. And let’s not pretend the side characters don’t blur together into a sea of Victorian types: the angelic martyr (Helen), the evil stepmom (Mrs. Reed), the wet blanket clergyman (St. John), and so on. Distinct, sure, but nuanced? Not really. They exist to orbit Jane’s Great Moral Journey™, not to be people in their own right.
The Gothic aesthetic works overtime to keep this story interesting—honestly, if the vibes weren’t so impeccable, this book would feel like a sermon with candlelight. But sometimes it leans a little too hard into gloom porn. Do we really need the red-room trauma and the typhus plague and the literal burning mansion? Brontë is out here trying to kill Jane with symbolism. Subtlety? Never met her. Still, the settings do carry emotional weight—Thornfield is deliciously eerie, and Lowood is practically Dickensian—but once we hit Moor House, the story loses its teeth. Suddenly we’re in pastoral purgatory being courted by a sexy colonizer? No thanks.
I’ll say it: this book could’ve used a ruthless editor. Brontë has a habit of writing like she's being paid by the comma. For every brilliant line, there’s a paragraph that reads like a thesaurus exploded. I found myself skimming Jane’s internal monologues more than I care to admit—not because I didn’t care, but because I got it the first three times, Jane. Also, I refuse to excuse the pacing crimes committed in the final act. Everything grinds to a halt while Jane goes full martyr at Moor House, and we get 200 pages of emotional constipation before she finally does what we all knew she was going to do and goes back to Rochester. Speaking of whom—
This plot had so much potential. Creepy estate, mystery wife, class/gender dynamics, proto-feminist heroine. And yet, it spends too much time moralizing and not enough actually developing its romantic core. The twists are either predictable or ludicrous—Jane just happens to stumble upon her long-lost cousins in the middle of nowhere? And inherits a fortune? Come on. It’s wish-fulfillment dressed in sackcloth and ashes. There’s also the uncomfortable fact that the book sets fire to the literal “madwoman in the attic” trope but doesn’t do a damn thing to interrogate it. Bertha exists to suffer and then conveniently die so Jane and Rochester can be legally and morally in the clear. Romantic, if you ignore the colonialist, ableist baggage.
It starts strong—childhood trauma, school from hell, mysterious rich man with weird vibes—but the second half starts to drag like a wet cloak. The whole “St. John wants to marry me for missionary clout” subplot is the literary equivalent of hitting a wall and then just lying there for 100 pages. Even the Big Gothic Reveal™—Bertha in the attic—is over too quickly to really satisfy. It’s juicy in theory, but Brontë brushes past it like she’s embarrassed by her own plot twist. Honestly, if I wasn’t so emotionally invested in Jane not getting screwed over, I might’ve given up halfway through.
Let’s not pretend this is a healthy romance. Rochester lies, manipulates, and emotionally torments Jane for 300 pages, and we’re supposed to forgive him because he got barbequed and blinded in a tragic act of divine punishment? Yikes. Jane returning to him isn’t an act of empowered choice—it’s a reward for his suffering. Meanwhile, St. John’s cold proposal is framed as just another trial for Jane’s resolve, even though it reeks of spiritual manipulation. And don’t even get me started on Bertha—whose treatment is unforgivable. The world-building also creaks under scrutiny. How did Jane suddenly become rich, and why are we just fine with it? Why is everyone either a saint or a villain?
I wanted to love this. I really did. And I enjoyed parts—the orphan angst, the gloomy mansion, Jane dunking on Rochester with moral superiority. But it’s too long, too self-serious, and too in love with its own moral posturing. I came for the Gothic scandal and stayed out of sheer stubbornness. Would I recommend it? Only with a disclaimer: expect melodrama, misogyny, and a man who really shouldn’t have been a romantic lead.
Jane Eyre is like a really intense friend who always has great stories, but never lets you get a word in and will absolutely guilt-trip you for eating dessert. Iconic, yes. Enjoyable? Sometimes. Exhausting? Also yes.
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse
Moderate: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Classism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment