Goodreads | Jane Eyre (Barnes & Noble Classics)

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Jane Eyre	20	79	07/10/2008 07:21PM

Arctic rated it:

(review of isbn 0142437204)

02/15/08

bookshelves: bookchallenge08, classic-lit, rgbc

Read in March, 2008

recommends it for: romantics, poor-mes, the emo crowd, byronic heroes, feminists

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

three and a half stars. Interesting study of oppression and love.

some favorite quotes (with some SPOILERS):

Chapter 12
"It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquillity: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it. Millions are condemned to a stiller doom than mine, and millions are in silent revolt against their lot. Nobody knows how many rebellions besides political rebellions ferment in the masses of life which people earth. Wom...more

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Shannen rated it:

(review of isbn 0142437204)

03/05/08

Read in December, 2007

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Independent Study Keeper
Title: Jane Eyre
Author: Charlotte Bronte
Setting: Takes place in 1830 at Gateshead Hall. The politics is Ideology and the religion is Evangelical. Economics is 20,000 pounds which meant that most were middle class. Traditions include middle class women with no relatives, working as governesses, moving to house to house.
Main Characters: Jane Eyre – 18 years old, talented, empathetic, hard working, honest, and passionate. Niece of John Eyre, Uncle Reed, cousin t...more

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Kathleen rated it:

(review of isbn 0142437204)

02/29/08

bookshelves: english-12

Read in March, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

My Review:

I have just finished reading all the 461 pages of this book, and I am glad I did not quit. It would have been an easier to follow; if I had not taken such long breaks in-between reading it. It was extremely hard to get into this book. I can officially say that I liked the last 200 pages of the book the most. This book was recommended by a friend, but she did not tell me how uneventful the beginning was. Overall this book had some unexpected twists that kept me turning pages. The la...more My Review:

I have just finished reading all the 461 pages of this book, and I am glad I did not quit. It would have been an easier to follow; if I had not taken such long breaks in-between reading it. It was extremely hard to get into this book. I can officially say that I liked the last 200 pages of the book the most. This book was recommended by a friend, but she did not tell me how uneventful the beginning was. Overall this book had some unexpected twists that kept me turning pages. The language in this book was hard to get used to, but after the repetition of the style, it was a lot easier. Sometimes I wished I had a dictionary next to me while I was reading because Charlotte Bronte’s word choice is sometimes foreign to me. In the majority of the novel there were a lot of lengthy dialogue sections that were tempting to skim over.
I understand how people can call this an all time favorite romantic novel. Charlotte Bronte has a gift with her writing that makes the reader able to associate easily with the main characters. I was able to make many connections with the main character, Jane Eyre, throughout the novel. She is a strong character that has the tendency to speak her mind, and also is stubborn at times.
I would recommend this novel to others and hope that they have an easier time than me.

Selected Quotes:

“I laughed at him as he said this. “I am not an angel,” I asserted; “and I will not be one till I die: I will be myself, Mr. Rochester, you must neither expect nor exact anything celestial of me – for you will not get it, any more than I shall get it of you: which I do not anticipate.”” – Jane Eyre (264)

““Distasteful! and like you again! I think I shall like you again and yet again: and I will make you confess I do not only like, but love you – with truth, fervour, constancy.”” – Mr. Rochester (264)

““-take that space of time to consider my offer: and do not forget that if you reject it, it is not me you deny, but God.”” - St. John (416)

““Which are none, sir, to me. I love you better now, when I can really be useful to you, than I did in your state of proud independence, when you disdained every part but that of the giver and protector.”” – Jane Eyre (453)

Summary of the Book:
**Book Spoiler**

This novel is an account of the life of Jane Eyre. Jane is a girl born to a clergyman. Her parents both died when she was young and she was sent to live with her aunt and uncle. Her uncle was fond of her and made his wife (Mrs. Reed) promise to take care of her after he passed away (since he was ill). Mrs. Reed obliged to the promise, but she did not show much affection to the orphan. Jane did not fit well into the family, and her cousins did not treat her well. Jane stayed with her aunt and cousins for ten years, but was sent away to a boarding school after. Lowood School was a charity school for orphan girls. This strict school formed Jane into a well disciplined young lady and she continued to live there after her schooling. She attended school at Lowood for six years and was a teacher at the school for two more years. Jane was in need of some new scenery and she decided to send out an advertisement for a new job. She wanted to become a governess. Her advertisement was answered by Mrs. Fairfax. Jane took up this offer and went to live at the Thornfield Hall. Here she became a governess. She was assigned to teach Adele during the day and keep Mrs. Fairfax company in the evening. The master of the house, Mr. Rochester, is a mysterious man. He only visited the home for a couple days at a time and normally would only stop by twice a year. When Jane and Mr. Rochester first met they had a forced conversation. Both did not show their feelings for the other. Eventually it became known that these two were interested in the other. Mr. Rochester teased Jane by bringing a group of house guests into Thornfield Hall to make her jealous of the female attention he was receiving. His plan worked and she became jealous of him and thought that he was going to marry one of the women. When Mr. Rochester sorted out the confusion, the couple continued their flirting. Mr. Rochester proposed to Jane and she said agreed to get married, but did not want to accept all the presents from him. She wanted to be an independent person from him and be able to take care of herself. When the couple was at the altar, Jane found out one of Mr. Rochester’s dirty secret. Mr. Rochester was already married and so they would be unable to wed. Mr. Rochester had been pre-assigned a wife by his father and brother. His father had given all the family wealth to his brother, but still wanted his youngest son to be well off. So he found one of his wealthy business partner’s daughters to be Mr. Rochester’s wife. Mr. Rochester later found out that his wife was a lunatic. When his brother and dad died, Mr. Rochester was given all the family’s wealth, but still was stuck with a horrible wife. He tried to find love in other countries that would not have heard of his unfortunate marriage. He had many suitors, but none were right for him. When Jane had heard all of this, she was unable to be Mr. Rochester’s mistress and thought I would be best if she left. She departed secretly one evening and found herself in a foreign town being famished and exhausted. She knocked at a home and was allowed to stay over. She became friends with this family and ended up staying for a month. After that she was asked to be the master at a new school for country families’ children. After some unusual events, she found out that she was related to the family that she had made friends with and that she had 20 thousand pounds to her name. She shared this wealth with her new family and went back to living with them. While she was there she learned that her cousin was interested in her to becoming his wife. She did not like the idea of becoming his wife just because she would fit the description of being a missionary wife. She had had enough of this lifestyle and wanted to see her true love. She went back to Thornfield to look for Mr. Rochester. When she arrived she found a man there and he explained the whereabouts of Mr. Rochester. While she had been gone the Thornfield Hall had been burned down by Mr. Rochester’s lunatic wife, but no one was hurt because Mr. Rochester had rescued everyone. The consequences of his actions were that he lost his eye sight and one of his hands. Mr. Rochester had moved to another part of England. Jane asked the man to take her to him. When she arrived at the home she found some of the old caretakers there. Mr. Rochester could not believe that she had come back. It was a dream come true for him to know that his love had still wanted to see him even though she knew his condition. The two discussed their last year apart and both promised to never depart from each other. The two got married shortly after their reunion.
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Judy rated it:

(review of isbn 0142437204)

03/06/08

bookshelves: currently-reading

My review: Jane Eyre is a book of love and hate. I really enjoyed this book because it portrayed a simple life of a heroic woman who presents to her readers what life actually means. Throughout Jane Eyre's life, she lives on behalf of two emotions. Although her life starts at a place where she is mistreated, she constantly works hard to find a better life with a definite purpose and goal. Jane Eyre is classified as psychological romance, which makes the book unique. As I was reading this book, I...more My review: Jane Eyre is a book of love and hate. I really enjoyed this book because it portrayed a simple life of a heroic woman who presents to her readers what life actually means. Throughout Jane Eyre's life, she lives on behalf of two emotions. Although her life starts at a place where she is mistreated, she constantly works hard to find a better life with a definite purpose and goal. Jane Eyre is classified as psychological romance, which makes the book unique. As I was reading this book, I was able to find both joy and sadness throughout the whole book. Charlotte Bronte has elaborated the life of Jane to be so dramatic and yet readers, including me, find so much joy in reading through it.

Summary:
-At birth, Jane Eyre becomes an orphan and is left to live at Gateshead with her aunt, Mrs.Reed and her cousins. Jane lives at Gateshead for ten years, and during those years, Jane is mistreated and mentally abused. Then, Jane is sent to Lowood School where she excelled. From there, she graduated and became a teacher at Lowood. From there, she leaves the school to become the governess of a girl named Adele, the ward of Mr. Edward Rochester, middle-aged master of Thornfield Manor. At Thornfield, Jane finds life most comfortable. Not only that, she finds Mr. Rochester to be a very princely and heroic. However, Jane hears bizarre sounds at Thornfield. She finally finds out that Mr. Rochester keeps a strange tenant on the third floor of the mansion. One evening, Jane was aroused by the smell of smoke, which later found out to be Mr. Rochester’s bed on fire. Mr. Rochester has been saved by Jane for she managed to extinguish the fire. Some time later, a group of guests including Mr. Mason arrives from Jamaica for a house party. On that night, everyone in the mansion is awakened by the sound of a man screaming for help. Jane and the other guests are told that it was merely a servant’s nightmare. But Jane is obligated to spend the rest of the night caring for Mr. Mason, who had somehow received serious injury to his arm and shoulder. One day, Jane receives the message that Mrs. Reed was dying and that Mrs. Reed wanted to see her. Upon Jane’s arrival, Mrs. Reed presented to her with a letter from her childless uncle, John Eyre, saying that he wants to adopt her and inviter her to Madeira. Mrs. Reed had received the letter three years ago, but because of her hate for Jane, Mrs. Reed had written to John Eyre to tell him that Jane had died in an epidemic. Adoption by her uncle would not only mean that Jane would have a family but that she would receive an inheritance. However, she decides to return to Thornfield. One night, Mr. Rochester proposes and Jane accepts his proposal. On the wedding day, as the ceremony was closing to an end, a lawyer intervenes and offers the fact that the groom already had a wife named Bertha Mason. Mr. Mason who had been mysteriously injured stood as witness to the fact that Bertha was still alive and living at Thornfield. Mr. Rochester acknowledges the accusation was true, but that his wife had gone mad. He also said that the marriage had been arranged by his father and brother hoping that he would marry into a fortune. So all the people at wedding went to the mansion to see if this accusation could be justified. Mr. Rochester leads them to the third floor where they find a beast, apparently a woman, whom he claims to be his wife. On that night, Jane leaves Thornfield and buys a ride on the first coach that passed by. After traveling for two days, she is dropped off at a remote town and spends the night huddled in the heather. Jane ends up in a home of St. John Rivers and his two sisters, Mary and Diana. The two sisters look after Jane, who claims to be Jane Elliot, and nurses her back to health. Jane remains in the home of St. John but one day he asks Jane to travel to India with him as his wife and assistant. Jane kindly declines his offer. One night, Jane has a vivid dream of Mr. Rochester desperately calling her to come to him. In response, Jane returns to Thornfield only to find blackened ruin where the mansion had stood. Jane learned that a fire had broken out and Rochester attempted to rescue his wife, who leaped to her death. Jane rushed to the farm where Mr. Rochester was now living only to find him as a lonely, helpless cripple. He had lost both his sight and his hand in the attempted rescue. Jane finds out that she still loves him and chooses to marry him. Finally, Mr. Rochester’s sight returned to one eye and he could gladly witness the birth of their son.

Quotes:
-"Each picture told a story; mysterious often to my undeveloped understanding and imperfect feelings, yet ever profoundly interesting: as interesting as the tales Bessie sometimes narrated on winter evenings, when she chanced to be in good humor.” & “It fed our eager attention with passages of love and adventure taken from fairy tales and older ballads...With Bewick on my knee, I was then happy: happy at least in my way." Chapter 1, pg. 7
-"'I am not deceitful: if I were, I should say I loved you; but I declare I do not love you: I dislike you the worst of anybody in the world except John Reed; and this book about the liar, you may give it to your girl, Georgiana, for it is she who tells lies, and not I.'" Chapter 4, pg. 30-31

- "'No; I know I should think well of myself; but that is not enough; if others don't love me, I would rather die than live--I cannot bear to be solitary and hated, Helen. Look here; to gain some real affection from you, or Miss Temple, or any other whom I truly love, I would willingly submit to have the bone of my arm broken, or to let a bull toss me, or to stand behind a kicking horse, and lit it dash its hoof at my chest.'" Chapter 8, pg. 60
-"'But the instrument--the instrument! God, who does the work, ordains the instrument. I have myself--I tell it you without parable--been a worldly, dissipated, restless man; and I believe I have found the instrument of my cure, in--'" Chapter 20, pg. 192
- "'I can but die...and I believe in God. Let me try and wait His will in silence.'" Chapter 28, pg. 295

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Melissa rated it:

(review of isbn 0142437204)

07/23/08

bookshelves: master-s-exam

Read in July, 2008

I've reached the point where I can't remember how many times I've read Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. But I was a little worried starting Jane Eyre this time. It's been about four years since I last read it and I've stopped exclusively reading British nineteenth century novels. I was worried that, after all this time and after shifts in my literary tastes, one of the books I commonly list as one of my favorite novels didn't really fit the description. But it did. Oh yes it did.

Why...more

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Mindy rated it:

(review of isbn 0142437204)

01/28/08

bookshelves: fiction

Read in September, 2007

recommends it for: women.

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

If you haven't read it and think you might, don't read this review, as it truly is a great book and filled with suspense and lots of surprises.

The book jacket claims that "Charlotte Bronte poured her contempt for the stifling conventions society imposed upon a woman's right to emotional and sexual fulfillment." On one hand, I can see how this "frank revelation of female character" may have been shocking or particularly well-developed for the time. The entire time I read i...more

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Deellen rated it:

(review of isbn 0142437204)

06/06/08

My Observations After Reading Jane Eyre
-DeEllen Stowell

I’ve attempted reading Jane Eyre before, but got stuck in the middle of it. I don’t know if is the length or the abundance of “big words,” but I stopped in the middle and left it sitting on the shelf. I laugh as I say this because as a teacher, I’m always working to get my students to read harder material and books that seem “long and have big words” in them. This time I finally managed to finish the book, but it took s...more My Observations After Reading Jane Eyre
-DeEllen Stowell

I’ve attempted reading Jane Eyre before, but got stuck in the middle of it. I don’t know if is the length or the abundance of “big words,” but I stopped in the middle and left it sitting on the shelf. I laugh as I say this because as a teacher, I’m always working to get my students to read harder material and books that seem “long and have big words” in them. This time I finally managed to finish the book, but it took some strong will power and the ability to listen to it at times on my iPod that got me through it. I’d like to say I enjoyed it, but I must admit that it is still not my favorite book.

The beginning of the book made me angry. I hated how she was treated, both at home and at the school. I was shocked at the outrageous conditions at the school and I cried when Helen died. To me, Helen was the most interesting character in the book. I was amazed how she took her punishment as an attempt to make her a better person. She did not get angry and she did not get sad. She knew she was not perfect and was able to accept this knowledge and know that the teacher wasn’t punishing her to be mean, but rather to make her better. I’m not sure I totally agree with her on this point, but it was an amazing attitude to have. I felt that her influence had a profound effect on Jane’s life. I am glad that I kept reading after this point so I could see this, as I was ready to be done with the book after she died.

I was a bit confused by the relationship that Jane had with Mr. Rochester. I wondered if she didn’t have more of a daughterly love for him than that as a wife. I felt she was searching for love, but not quite finding what she was looking for. She found someone that she enjoyed talking to and who showed her affection. She found a place of comfort, which she had never truly found before. However, he was deceiving her by not allowing her to know about his wife. Relationships should never be built around deceit. I’m not really sure how to express my feelings on this whole thing, but it felt empty to me. When she decided in the end to stay and to be his wife and helpmeet, I almost felt disappointed. Perhaps I am selfish in thinking so, but all I could picture was that she was going to be kept locked up in that house serving him day after day. She would get love from that kind of relationship, but it seems she might need more. She was still so young with so many talents. I can imagine that after a time, she might long for more.

This is not to say that I felt she should’ve married St. John. I was a bit shocked by this proposal, but I did stop to remember that this book was written in a different day, perhaps when such proposals were accepted. But I do believe she was right not to accept his proposal. She needed to hear that call to Africa. She needed love to add to the missionary efforts. She needed to be in a place and situation where she felt more comfortable. She wanted a sibling type of love, which she got from Mary and Diana. I was sad that he could not offer that after she turned down his proposal.

And what a proposal! St. John seemed to be quite lost on what a wife was for. It seemed to me that he thought that by following God, he must give up on any other kind of love. I think he might’ve been shocked as to what Miss Oliver would’ve been willing to do for him. Yes, she was used to a comfortable life, however, she had a good and giving heart. Going with him to Africa might have been very good for her. She would be with the one she loved and have the opportunity to serve God as well. On the other hand, I wondered at his decision to go to Africa. It seemed to make him feel hopeless and angry. These are not feelings from God. Was it truly a good idea? I’m just not sure.

This book left me feeling empty. I felt like very little “real” love was actually found. Perhaps if they could’ve all found earthly love and Heavenly love, they would’ve been happier. I’m not sure. I would’ve been happy if the book had ended after Jane left Mr. Rochester and perhaps continued in a sequel.
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Abigail rated it:

(review of isbn 0142437204)

04/28/08

bookshelves: literature-classics

Read in July, 1988

recommends it for: People Who Read...

It isn't every book that speaks to both the Wild Romantic and the Stern Puritan in me, and since the day I first read Jane Eyre - up in the woods of Michigan, the summer I was twelve - I have revisited it often, and always with pleasure. It is a book that speaks in many tongues, to many people, and presents many faces to the world, all worth exploring...

Depending on who you speak to, this is the best and truest love story ever written - a narrative of the suffering and endurance of t...more It isn't every book that speaks to both the Wild Romantic and the Stern Puritan in me, and since the day I first read Jane Eyre - up in the woods of Michigan, the summer I was twelve - I have revisited it often, and always with pleasure. It is a book that speaks in many tongues, to many people, and presents many faces to the world, all worth exploring...

Depending on who you speak to, this is the best and truest love story ever written - a narrative of the suffering and endurance of true love; a commentary on the social and economic subjugation of women in 19th-century England; or an oblique exploration of race and empire. It is all of these things, of course, but for me, the power of Jane Eyre stems from its keenly observed and acutely realized portrait of the conflict between duty and desire.

From the very first line, when a hidden Jane looks out onto a rain-soaked world, I entered wholly into the psyche of this character. Her desire to love and be loved, so cruelly denied in her childhood, seemed as piercingly real to me as anything I had ever felt in my own life. Lonely Jane, for all the Gothic trappings that surround her, could be the poster child for that "transcendental homelessness" of which Lukács speaks...

So it is, when Jane seems to find a home with Rochester, whose "bad-boy" persona would make any schoolgirl's heart flutter, I could enter with abandon into the almost ecstatic joy of her homecoming, her communion with another soul. Lonely Jane no more...

And when Jane discovers the duplicity of her lover, and the insurmountable ethical obstacles to her happiness, her stern devotion to duty, her almost-desperate recourse to principle, permit her a tremendous (but costly) moral victory. To this day, I cannot read the scenes in which Jane must tear herself away from Rochester, or the following passage, without getting chills:

Still indomitable was the reply--"I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself. I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man. I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mad--as I am now. 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 rigour; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth? They have a worth--so I have always believed; and if I cannot believe it now, it is because I am insane--quite insane: with my veins running fire, and my heart beating faster than I can count its throbs. Preconceived opinions, foregone determinations, are all I have at this hour to stand by: there I plant my foot."

After many travails, Jane does find her happy ending (thank goodness), and having triumphed over her own heart, she is rewarded with her heart's desire. But that conflict, between the desire to be happy and the need to do right, is what gives Jane Eyre its peculiar power. It is Jane herself who is the masterpiece....less

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Russell rated it:

(review of isbn 0142437204)

10/14/07

Read in May, 2006

I commenced reading this novel with the idea that I had read this before fixed in my mind. It is in my nature to re-read books, so I thought nothing of opening the pages and immersing myself in the flow of the story.

Imagine my surprise, Reader, when I quickly discerned that I had not, as I previously imagined, been acquainted with the characters that adorned the pages. I was at a lost on how my memory had failed me, but I quickly rallied and applied myself to the task at hand.

My enjo...more

I commenced reading this novel with the idea that I had read this before fixed in my mind. It is in my nature to re-read books, so I thought nothing of opening the pages and immersing myself in the flow of the story.

Imagine my surprise, Reader, when I quickly discerned that I had not, as I previously imagined, been acquainted with the characters that adorned the pages. I was at a lost on how my memory had failed me, but I quickly rallied and applied myself to the task at hand.

My enjoyment of the book grew as the plot unfurled, the characters were pleasing to myself, their cares and concerns resonated with the inner workings of my own character.

Ahem. Sorry. I’ll stop channeling Bronte.

This was a story of passion, of grace, of human longing to love and to be loved in turn. It was Gothic, it was Romantic, it is a true classic. Sure, it played on not just one typical plot but two, the marriage plot and the inheritance plot, but they worked. Bronte teases one, and then the other, into fitting her characters’ story deftly leaving the core to to play out properly. The core story is of Jane finding someone to love and who loves her back for herself.

Bronte’s other characters are written just well enough to have them not be just caricatures and a few shine on their own, but they all pale to the effort she puts into Jane and Edward Rochester. Rochester fits more along the lines of the Romantic Hero. Far more than Heathcliff. Of course, Heathcliff was the anti-Romantic Hero, so I guess anyone not him would be more Romantic Hero-like.

Rochester is complex character. Bronte sets him up quickly and then lets him him loose in the story. He’s a powerful force, and it takes all of Jane’s willpower to stay independent of his will and drive. That she does it is a given, how she manages it is one of reasons I kept reading it.

I think that the story is better suited for teenage girls than any other group. This doesn’t dampen the enjoyment at all for anyone else, but I think a teenager would really like this book. (If you could pull them away from the cellphone, or IM, long enough to get them started. Maybe bribery?)

I also think that Jane Eyre is more universally appealing than Wuthering Heights, although both books are classics and are well deserving of the title. Wuthering Heights is for a more refined and discerning taste. (He says, adjusting his ascot and peering down from his jeweled pince-nez.)

If you haven’t read this, or haven’t read it a long while, I recommend it.
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Santh rated it:

(review of isbn 0142437204)

03/17/08

bookshelves: classic_fiction, my-collections, world_fiction

Read in March, 2008

Jane Eyre, a ten years old orphan, never knew about her two parents, and of necessity lived with her mother’s brother family. But after the departed of Mr. Reed – his uncle – Jane always wondered why she was always suffering, always accused and condemned? Her disturbed mind revolved around his cousin cruelty, his cousins indifference, and his aunt’s dislike. To pleased herself, Jane was fond of sitting near the window, cross-legged behind the curtain with a book to her lap, then ...more Jane Eyre, a ten years old orphan, never knew about her two parents, and of necessity lived with her mother’s brother family. But after the departed of Mr. Reed – his uncle – Jane always wondered why she was always suffering, always accused and condemned? Her disturbed mind revolved around his cousin cruelty, his cousins indifference, and his aunt’s dislike. To pleased herself, Jane was fond of sitting near the window, cross-legged behind the curtain with a book to her lap, then she was enclosed in a private world of her own.
Due to Mrs. Reed could not behave like a true parent to a strange child she could not love – a child who was no relation to her, thus Jane was sent to school. Jane felt of delight and free to enter her new life in the new school – Lowood – though, actually, it was a charity school for orphan children. A school placed I an unhealthy situation, poor foods, impure water, insufficient clothing, and insufficient space for the number of children.
Jane got her first friend there, Helen Burns – a kind-hearted and clever girl who was abandoned by her father who remarried again after her mother passed away – but, the typhus fever had taken Helen in her fourteenth age!
After stayed for 8 years – 2 years of teaching the younger children there – Jane applied a position of private governess for 8 years old girl who was under the guardian of Mr. Rochester – the owner of Thornfield Hall, the great manor of its antiquity. Indeed, Mr. Rochester was not so very handsome gentleman, but he was not a man given to wine or cards or racing, he had courage and will of his own.
They both were in love and would get married –although Jane always thought that was a dream! On the wedding day, there was a disclosure of old-dark secret hid by Mr. Rochester – he had married and still had her lunatic-wife kept locked in the a room in Thornfield.
Jane left him and the house in painful feeling – though she still loved him very much – she became a teacher with the help of her “actually” cousins! Another uncle from her mother’s brother had left property to her and now she was a woman with lots of fortune, an independent woman.
One day, she heard a scream of calling her name, it seemed like a pray from far distance, and she immediately knew whose voice it was. Jane made her journey back to Thornfield but what she saw was a ruined house due to a burning fire. From the story had around she knew that Mr. Rochester lost his left arm, got blind, and lost his fortune. Finally, they got married in a very plain way. Jane wanted to be his vision and his right hand. At last, a wonderful thing happened to the husband when their first-child was born and put into his arms, he could see his son had inherited his own eyes. He can now find his way without being led by the hand; the sky is no longer a blank to him. ...less

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Richard rated it:

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07/05/08

A novel printed in 1847. A good book written about a feminine heroine who is bold, righteous, and full of integrity. It presents situations where women in the past have been subjected to potential abuse or who were taken advantage of. Jane withstands all those things and is a true heroine. The writing is very good and descriptive. It reminds me somewhat of some of Dickens writings. The book takes to task the class distinction of England in the middle of the 1800s. Here are some quotes. ...more A novel printed in 1847. A good book written about a feminine heroine who is bold, righteous, and full of integrity. It presents situations where women in the past have been subjected to potential abuse or who were taken advantage of. Jane withstands all those things and is a true heroine. The writing is very good and descriptive. It reminds me somewhat of some of Dickens writings. The book takes to task the class distinction of England in the middle of the 1800s. Here are some quotes.

Jane says: “I tell you I must go! I retorted, roused to something like passion. “Do you think I can stay to become nothing to you? Do you think I am an automaton? A machine without feelings? And can bear to have my morsel of bread snatched from my lips, and my drop of living water dashed from my cup? Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am souless and heartless? You think wrong! I have as much soul as you, and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you. I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom, conventionalities, nor even of mortal flesh; it is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave, and we stood at God’s feet, equal, as we are.” Chapter 23

Jane thinks this: Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilized by education: they grow there, firm as weeds among stones. Chapter 29

Jane says: Still indomitable was the reply—“ I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself. I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man. I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mad—as I am now. Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and should rise in mutiny against their rigour; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth? They have they worth—so I have believed; and if I cannot believe it now, it is because I am insane—quite insane: with my veins running fire, and my heart beating faster than I can count its throbs. Preconceived opinions, foregone determinations, are all I have at this hour to stand by: I plant my foot.” Chapter 27

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Demisty rated it:

(review of isbn 0451526554)

02/05/08

Read in February, 2008

recommends it for: Everyone and their Collective Mama

I don't know why I've waited so long to read Jane Eyre. I absolutely loved this book and did not want to finish reading it. The beginning was very Dickens-esh, but I though Bronte's writing was considerably better than Chuck's. The characters were not decidedly all good or all bad as in Dickens, as I soon learned, and even the supposedly evil characters were well-sculpted.

I love that Jane was not beautiful (nor is, expectantly, Charlotte!) and that Rochester wasn't handsome and that one's...more

Jane Eyre (Barnes & Noble Classics)

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