Jane Eyre in Overdue Podcast

Nov 24, 2014 Nikki rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, classics, historical-fiction, fiction, 5-stars

More reviews at www.nikkithereader.tumblr.com

Besides Harry Potter, I have to say that Jane Eyre is my favorite book. Let me tell you why.

1.) Reading this book is like being engulfed by an ocean of the most beautiful words strung together in the world and being okay with the fact that if you died while reading it, you would at least be surrounded by beauty.
2.) Jane is an awesome character that you can really feel for. She’s ahead of her time as far as her way of thinking and independence. Even t ...more

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Jan 18, 2015 Melanie Fritz rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015-reads, favorites, guardian-100-greatest, bookriot-challenge-2015

This is SO GOOD. I won't give a summary of the plot, because you either a) already know the plot through movies and/or cultural osmosis, or b) don't know anything yet, in which case it's much better to just dive right in.
I was somewhere in the middle: I knew most of the story and I had a general idea of what kind of character Mr. Rochester was, but there were a couple of things that surprised and delighted me. Here's a little list:

1. The first person narrative is well-known to us now, but it was This is SO GOOD. I won't give a summary of the plot, because you either a) already know the plot through movies and/or cultural osmosis, or b) don't know anything yet, in which case it's much better to just dive right in.
I was somewhere in the middle: I knew most of the story and I had a general idea of what kind of character Mr. Rochester was, but there were a couple of things that surprised and delighted me. Here's a little list:

1. The first person narrative is well-known to us now, but it wasn't in Victorian times. Thumbs up for innovation! I also loved the Dear Reader asides, where the narrator would ask questions or assume that "the reader" had a certain reaction to the narrative. Fun!

2. The character of Jane Eyre. I didn't expect to learn so much of her childhood, which is a compelling narrative that explains her character really well. I also didn't think I would like her as much as I did. The way in which she gives herself constant little speeches in order to examine her feelings, remind herself of sticking to rational thought, or cheering herself up in order to avoid the dangers of self-pity, sounded like the internal struggles everyone experiences from time to time, albeit much more articulate. She is stubborn, speaks her mind, knows her worth (to a certain extent at least) and defends the right to want what she wants. There is a submissive element in her character as well, but she is aware of it and tries to fight the impulse to accept a subordinate role when she finds the situation unjust. She is determined throughout the novel to do what she believes to be right and I can now see why so many people consider her to be a strong heroine, and a role-model, despite her faults.

3. I love how Charlotte Bronte doesn't shy away from creating main characters who are not conventionally beautiful. Not everyone has lucky genes, and I thoroughly enjoyed how Jane keeps thinking (and SAYING) that Mr. Rochester is not a handsome man - and also, that this doesn't matter in the slightest.

4. All the secondary characters are just as fleshed out and realistic as the main characters. With the exception of maybe one central figure towards the end, there are no shallow stereotypes - and even this character might be read as a symbolic counterpart to Jane - there is an episode of Crash Course Literature, which explains this well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8tqY... . Oh, there is also an episode of "The secret life of books" which looks at Charlotte Bronte's manuscript and asks what view of colonialism is presented through the characters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2-os...

5. This is a love story, yes - but it's first and foremost a Bildungsroman. Of a woman, no less! One could certainly feel ambivalent about the ending...but it's no question that the journey that takes us there is well-written, compelling, and contains equal elements of romance, gothic literature and the principles of self-discovery typical of a Bildungsroman.

*This book fulfills task 22 of the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge 2015: A book published before 1850

("Jane Eyre" was published in 1847) ...more

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Aug 02, 2020 Pam rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-read-for-classes, classics

Finally conquered the novel that's made me feel like a failure of an English major for years. I've picked it up and gotten 100 pages in SO many times, but always lost interest. It took having to read it for a graduate class for me to finish it, but I'm glad I did! It was well worth it. ...more

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