Title: Jane Eyre
Author: Charlotte Bronte
Pages: 636
Finished: March 16, 2018
First Sentence: There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.
Summary: Jane Eyre lives her childhood as the penniless niece to her cruel aunt and cousins. After a final outburst, she is sent to a charity school where, while conditions aren't great, she learns enough to become a governess to Adele, a French girl living at Thornfield. There she falls in love with Adele's ward, Mr. Rochester. But things aren't quite what they seem. Rochester runs hot and cold, and the servant Grace Poole seems to do all manner of horrendous things without retribution.
Thoughts: This is the first adult classic I ever read. I remember reading it in 7th grade and understanding only the broad strokes of the story. In the 28 years between then and now, this is my fifth reading of the novel, and I'm always amazed at which I get out of it. Last time I read this, I remember noticing all the feminist language that I hadn't seen the first three times I read it. I also remember St. John being quite awful and controlling. Both those things were there, though I was struck at how firm Jane was in her convictions. She knew herself more at age 19 than I did at 29!
I find myself having mixed feelings about Mr. Rochester. I don't like the way he teases Jane. It reeks of the adage "He only treats you that way because he likes you," which is a HORRIBLE thing to teach our kids. But in the end, I always find myself pitying him and enjoying the fact that Jane goes back to him. I feel like I understand more, this time around, why she needed to go off on her own.
Again, I feel like each time I read this, I catch things I didn't the first time around. Some of Jane's speeches are really striking and astute. I've long said, since I started reading all these classes, that the ones written by women read very differently than the ones written by men. Women are always striving to be equals however they can be. I really enjoyed this rereading of Jane Eyre.
Counting as Reread of a Favorite Classics for Back to the Classics.
I find myself having mixed feelings about Mr. Rochester. I don't like the way he teases Jane. It reeks of the adage "He only treats you that way because he likes you," which is a HORRIBLE thing to teach our kids. But in the end, I always find myself pitying him and enjoying the fact that Jane goes back to him. I feel like I understand more, this time around, why she needed to go off on her own.
Again, I feel like each time I read this, I catch things I didn't the first time around. Some of Jane's speeches are really striking and astute. I've long said, since I started reading all these classes, that the ones written by women read very differently than the ones written by men. Women are always striving to be equals however they can be. I really enjoyed this rereading of Jane Eyre.
Counting as Reread of a Favorite Classics for Back to the Classics.
I love this one also, and I didn't read it until I was in college (and we were also assigned Wide Sargasso Sea). I agree, Mr. Rochester is kind of awful in the way he treats Jane -- the whole thing with Blanche, and then the big shocker at the wedding? NOPE. But I still love it, probably because Jane is such a great character.
ReplyDeleteAnd have you read Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier? Many people think it's a reworking of Jane Eyre. I'm not sure but I definitely see parallels, and it's one of my all-time favorites.
I have read Rebecca! It was my gothic choice for last year's Back to the Classic Challenge. I can definitely see parallels.
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