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Jane Eyre

Charlotte Brontë

Start date: November 1, 2012

Finish date: November 30, 2012

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What Members Thought

May 25, 2020 Shannon rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, england, made-into-movie, 2020-books, read-in-lafayette, classics, gothic, college-grad, 19th-century-lit

I love this book so much! I enjoyed it just as much the second time around, and I'm sure I'll read it again at some point. Good stuffs. ...more

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Jan 14, 2012 Lea rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

Half-way through, I was so sure that I was going to give it a five star rating.

Then it was a four star rating 5/6 of the way through.

Now, with that ending, I've settled for 3 stars.

I have hardly ever disliked a classic. Thus, I seriously don't understand why I can't bring myself to like this book as much as the rest of society. The characters were so interesting and the plot was not that predictable until the end. Yet, the character's later actions really rubbed me the wrong way most of the time Half-way through, I was so sure that I was going to give it a five star rating.

Then it was a four star rating 5/6 of the way through.

Now, with that ending, I've settled for 3 stars.

I have hardly ever disliked a classic. Thus, I seriously don't understand why I can't bring myself to like this book as much as the rest of society. The characters were so interesting and the plot was not that predictable until the end. Yet, the character's later actions really rubbed me the wrong way most of the time. Some of the character's that I found the most faults with were Mr. Rochester and St. John.

Mr. Rochester was amazing in the beginning. I literally thought he was competing for Mr. Darcy's slot on my favorite character list. He might not have been a dashing soul, but he was intelligent, stubborn, strong, and caring underneath it all. However, there is this thing called "love", which made him take an unexpected 180 degree turn in character. I get that experiencing love can change a person for better or worse, but it's normally not so sudden and with reason.

Then there is St. John who has a hard time making up his mind. Like Mr. Rochester, he was very intruiging at first. Nonetheless, when he offers a certain person to go on a mission trip with him, he only seems to think that that person can come along if they are married. At first, this didn't make sense since I knew that they were related. In many other books and stories, cousins help the poor and live together all the time without having to get married. I ended up giving him the benefit of the doubt - thinking that maybe he did love her but thought it against his principles to out-and-out say it. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Yet, maybe I am not properly informed on that period in history. Maybe this was how it was to be handled back then.

However, there is one specific good point that I want to note. Jane Eyre is one of the best female characters that I have ever seen. She remains true to herself until the end. Even though I really didn't like her final decision, I do understand and accept it for what it is. It makes perfect sense (unfortunately for me).

Now, this isn't a bad book. Did I enjoy it? Yes, I did to a degree. It's obviously a classic for a reason. Thus, I am sure the majority will like this book much more than I did.
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Jan 21, 2013 Thomas Acland rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, 19th-century, romance, gothic, set-in-the-uk, bbc-big-read, 1840-s, boxall-s-1001

I guess I have left it a bit to late to read this book as I already knew large parts of the storyline before I started reading it. As with any book the enjoyment is severely diminished when you already know what is happening or is going to happen. Fortunately I only knew the story up to the point of the first marriage and the emergence of the first wife, therefore I was able to fully enjoy the final third of the book.

I have tried not to reflect this in my rating, purely for enjoyment from readi ...more

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Apr 01, 2012 Jasmine linso rated it it was amazing

I really love this book. It is full of emotions and the twists in the plot are amazing. I know that it is quite uncommon for authors in Bronte's time to write books where the heroine falls in love with a married man and then they both have a happy ending, but it is what makes this book really interesting. ...more

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