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An enjoyable Romantic (period), intellectual and moral romance (the genre). Since it was written before Hemingway and crew ran "literature" through a realistic ringer, this book is a joy to read... it;s a self-contained world. There are coincidences a-plenty. And classic Romantic period melodrama, praise of irrationality (and dislike of ordered rationality). What's more, there's ghosts and some coincidences that just wouldn't happen in real life and that creepy, Gothic, other-worldly vibe that s
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•"Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs."
"I can so clearly distinguish between the criminal and his crime; I can so sincerely forgive the first while I abhor the last."
"Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it i ...more

The beginning of this story is excellent, putting the main character into such a vulnerable position it is impossible not to sympathize. The story that unfolds after Jane becomes an adult seems unrelated to her childhood, making it more of a tale than a tragedy or destiny based on choices made as a youth. So in this way it would never be my favorite gothic novel. The surprise twist while interesting, also doesn't seem related by any logical necessity to the personal failings of any of the charac
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This book was difficult for me to get through. I do like the story of Jane and she is a strong woman despite all of her hardships. I found myself feeling sorry for Jane throughout this book. To me, this did not feel like a classic love story...I felt like her relationship with Mr. Rochester was more of a father/daughter relationship. I did not feel the passion between them...who knows maybe I missed it in the frequently long passages it would take for her to get to the point.


Jun 01, 2009
Sarath Krishnan
added it

Jan 15, 2013
Karen
marked it as to-read

Aug 20, 2015
Christopher
marked it as to-read