Scan barcode
A review by notwellread
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
5.0
First Read: in 2006, I think? I was about 11.
Re-read: July 2016.
Although this was not my first time reading this, and (like most people) I am very familiar with the story of Jane Eyre (or should I say Janet Eyre? I had forgotten this detail, so it made me laugh), there were still some surprises in this reading experience for me as it had been so long before I returned to the original text. I think all the adaptations out there will have an inevitable effect on how people view the novel itself (not least in picturing Jane and Rochester as being much more attractive than they are meant to be, though I firmly believe that the perpetual scarcity of non-beautiful heroines is one of the reasons for the book’s sustained popularity over almost 200 years) – but screen versions hardly destroy the possibility of a return to the source material for anyone who wishes to restore it to the forefront of their minds. Another obstacle to my reviewing, however, is that I feel this is another book so famous and widely discussed that I could hardly say anything new about it, especially if I focus on praise. Nevertheless, there were one or two things that struck me that I feel the need to note.
On revisiting, the main thing that hit me is how perfectly structured the novel is: although over 500 pages long, it is perfectly structured and never boring – things are happening in every single chapter, and although Jane herself does not always provide the most dynamic force she is still a compelling character and holds the reader’s attention as she occupies every page. It really is an exemplary, even perfect, icon of a novel. Rereading it gave me a new appreciation, now that I already know the story, for how well that story is presented: although the novel as a whole is very dramatic and romantic, that is far from the only source of appeal. (I feel the need to add that there were obstacles to the reading in more surprising places: Adele’s French wasn’t translated in my edition, but I managed to struggle through it nonetheless!)
The novel achieves a remarkable balance between the dramatic and its relatable elements: there were a lot of emotions to connect with, yet those emotions had been greatly magnified in their context. I am much older and more experienced now, and could relate to the jealousy Jane feels when Rochester flirts with Blanche to upset her..
Re-read: July 2016.
Although this was not my first time reading this, and (like most people) I am very familiar with the story of Jane Eyre (or should I say Janet Eyre? I had forgotten this detail, so it made me laugh), there were still some surprises in this reading experience for me as it had been so long before I returned to the original text. I think all the adaptations out there will have an inevitable effect on how people view the novel itself (not least in picturing Jane and Rochester as being much more attractive than they are meant to be, though I firmly believe that the perpetual scarcity of non-beautiful heroines is one of the reasons for the book’s sustained popularity over almost 200 years) – but screen versions hardly destroy the possibility of a return to the source material for anyone who wishes to restore it to the forefront of their minds. Another obstacle to my reviewing, however, is that I feel this is another book so famous and widely discussed that I could hardly say anything new about it, especially if I focus on praise. Nevertheless, there were one or two things that struck me that I feel the need to note.
On revisiting, the main thing that hit me is how perfectly structured the novel is: although over 500 pages long, it is perfectly structured and never boring – things are happening in every single chapter, and although Jane herself does not always provide the most dynamic force she is still a compelling character and holds the reader’s attention as she occupies every page. It really is an exemplary, even perfect, icon of a novel. Rereading it gave me a new appreciation, now that I already know the story, for how well that story is presented: although the novel as a whole is very dramatic and romantic, that is far from the only source of appeal. (I feel the need to add that there were obstacles to the reading in more surprising places: Adele’s French wasn’t translated in my edition, but I managed to struggle through it nonetheless!)
The novel achieves a remarkable balance between the dramatic and its relatable elements: there were a lot of emotions to connect with, yet those emotions had been greatly magnified in their context. I am much older and more experienced now, and could relate to the jealousy Jane feels when Rochester flirts with Blanche to upset her.