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A review by laurenmichellebrock
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
5.0
Jane Eyre is near and dear to my heart because it was the first classic novel I picked up in high school, of my own volition, to read and instantly became one of my favorite books. As I was not much into classic novels as a teenager, falling in love with this book was a precious experience and is an even more precious memory. I can relate to Jane on more levels than I have fingers and toes to count, and that realization was made even more evident to me in this second reading.
The language, though arguably archaic, is beautiful and poetic. It is a bildungsroman of a girl's life against a storm of ever-opposing odds that she manages to trump in the end. We follow Jane through periods of childhood angst and suppressed character development, unbearable stagnancy and renewed hope, unforeseeable disappointments and rejuvenated life. Her relationships with the other characters are fascinating because not a one goes unseen by her. Each leaves a memorable impression she can use to graft lessons of what it means to be human and how our humanity alters the fates of everyone around us.
Jane Eyre opens us up to deep character analysis as we get to see her make decisions that we are forced to wonder whether we'd be courageous enough to make ourselves, and as she compares what she learns in others to what resides in herself. The most noble thing about her is that she is not easily subdued and nurtures a strong independent mind. She does not make exceptions for anyone that may cause her to compromise her self-respect, not even her greatest love. As she says to Mr. Rochester, "Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigor; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be."
The language, though arguably archaic, is beautiful and poetic. It is a bildungsroman of a girl's life against a storm of ever-opposing odds that she manages to trump in the end. We follow Jane through periods of childhood angst and suppressed character development, unbearable stagnancy and renewed hope, unforeseeable disappointments and rejuvenated life. Her relationships with the other characters are fascinating because not a one goes unseen by her. Each leaves a memorable impression she can use to graft lessons of what it means to be human and how our humanity alters the fates of everyone around us.
Jane Eyre opens us up to deep character analysis as we get to see her make decisions that we are forced to wonder whether we'd be courageous enough to make ourselves, and as she compares what she learns in others to what resides in herself. The most noble thing about her is that she is not easily subdued and nurtures a strong independent mind. She does not make exceptions for anyone that may cause her to compromise her self-respect, not even her greatest love. As she says to Mr. Rochester, "Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigor; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be."