Jane Eyre Literary Heritage

107 of 114 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of five stars don’t miss out on this book., February 28, 2000
By Anne Kari “annekari” (Virginia) See all my reviews () This review is from: Jane Eyre (Modern Library) (Hardcover) You know all those ‘classic’ novels you read in high school? How many of them do you really remember? Well, if Jane Eyre was one of those long forgotten books, pick up a copy. To read it as an adult is a joy: it is a sweeping, disturbing, acute, thrilling, romantic gothic love story, written in the voice of a acute, nearly claustrophobically self aware young heroine. Jane is no Ophelia she’s a complicated, extraordinary character, and a strong female character in a genre that typically draws women as beautiful victims at best.

There’s something for everyone in this book: Windswept castles, hard and neurotic family members, black secrets about tragic former lovers, good triumphing over bad, all that good juicy stuff that makes a great romantic story. What elevates Jane Eyre is Bronte’s extraordinary style & skill and her sharp and complex characterizations.

Trust me on this: If you do not remember it from your teens, you may want to give it a attempt now. Here is one novel that more than lives up to it is ‘classic’ position.

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110 of 118 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of five stars The only edition to purchase, August 28, 2006
By joerobguy (San Antonio, Texas United States) See all my reviews This review is from: Jane Eyre (Norton important Editions) (Paperback) This review is aimed more toward the Norton edition than to JANE EYRE. We all know this is a classic. Bronte was simply a genius and a harbinger of romantic, dramatic, gothic, and horror writing. (However, it still irks me that she could not end a simple sentence with a period. Every declarative declaration, it looks, must be qualified with a colon or semi colon. Oh well. Sign of the times.)

As for the Norton edition, it is the only one to purchase. Bronte makes the assumption you have read the Bible cover to cover a zillion times, and for those of us who haven’t read it through once, Norton’s annotations are more than helpful they’re essential to understanding the novel’s Christian allusions. This edition also gives the reader with important essays, contexts of Bronte’s life, Bronte’s reactions to critics of her day, etc.

Bottom line: you may be able to get the Dover Thrift edition for a couple bucks, but, if you’re interested in giving this classic more than a cursory read, this edition is worth the extra money.

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120 of 132 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of five stars A Masterpiece For The Ages Superb!!, January 6, 2005
By Jana L. Perskie “ceruleana” (New York, NY USA) See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE) (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME) This review is from: Jane Eyre (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback) I 1st read “Jane Eyre” in 8th grade and have read it every not many years since. It’s one of my favorite novels, and so more than a gothic romance to me, though that is how I most likely could defined it at age 13. I have generally been struck, haunted in a way, by the characters Jane and Mr. Rochester. They take on new depth every time I meet them.And their’s is a love story for the ages.

Charlotte Bronte’s 1st published novel, and her most noted work, is a semi autobiographical coming of age story. Jane is plain, poor, alone and unprotected, but caused by her fierce independence and strong will she grows and can defy society’s expectations of her. This is certainly feminist literature, published in 1847, way before the beginning of any feminist motion. Possibly this is one of the reasons why the novel has had such a large following since it 1st came on the market. It’s also one of the 1st gothic romances published and defines the genre.

Jane Eyre, who is our narrator, was born into a poor family. Her parents died when she was a small child and the little girl was sent to live with her Uncle and Aunt Reed at Gateshead. Jane’s Uncle really cared for her and showed his affection openly, but Mrs. Reed seemed to hate the orphan, and neglected her while she pampered and spoiled her own kids. This unfair treatment emphasized Jane’s position as an unwanted outsider. She was frequently punished harshly. On one occasion her nasty cousin Jack picked a fight with her. Jane tried to defend herself and has been locked in the terrifying “Red Room” consequently. Jane’s Uncle Reed had died in this room a little while before, and Mrs. Reed knew how frightened she was of the chamber. Since Jane is the narrator, the reader is given a first hand impression of the child’s feelings, her increased emotional state at being imprisoned. Indeed, she looks nearly like an hysterical child, filled with terror and rage. She frequently calls her condition in life “unjust” and is filled with bitterness. Looking into the mirror Jane sees a distorted image of herself. She views her reflection and sees a “strange little figure,” or “tiny phantom.” Jane hasn’t learned still to subordinate her passions to her reason. Her passions still erupt unchecked. Her separation in the Red Room is a presentiment of her afterward separation from nearly every society and community. This powerful, beautifully written scene never fails to move me.

Mrs. Reed decided to send Jane away to the Lowood School, a poor institution run by Mr. Brocklehurst, who thought that suffering made great people. All the kids there were neglected, except to get severe punishment when any mistake was made. At Lowood, Jane met Helen Burns, a young woman a little older than Jane, who guided her with vision, light and love for the rest of her life. Jane’s need for love was so great. It really becomes evident in this 1st friendship. Helen afterward died from fever, in Jane’s arms. Her sickness and death may have been evaded if more attention had been paid to the youths. Jane stayed at Lowood for ten years, eight as a student and two as a teacher. Tired and depressed by her surroundings, Jane applied for the position of governess and found work at Thornfield. The mansion is owned by a gentleman named Edward Fairfax Rochester. Her job there was to teach his ward, an adorable little French girl, Adele. Over a long period the moody, inscrutable Rochester confides in Jane and she in him. The two form an not likely friendship and sooner or later fall in love. Again, Jane’s need for love comes to the fore, as does her passionate nature. She blooms. A black, gothic figure, Rochester also has a heart filled with the hope of true love and future happiness with Jane. Ironically, he’s brought all his misery, past and future, on himself.

All isn’t as it looks at Thornfield. There’s a weird, ominous woman servant, Grace Poole, who lives and works in an attic room. She keeps to herself and is rarely seen. From the 1st, but, Jane sensed strange happenings at night, when everyone is asleep .There are wild cries with violent tries on Rochester’s life by a apparently not known person. Jane wonders why nobody investigates Mrs. Poole. Then a weird man visits Thornfield and mysteriously disappears with Mr. Rochester. Late that night Jane is asked to sit with the man while the lord of the house seeks a doctor’s help. The man was seriously wounded and is weak from loss of blood. He leaves by coach, in a sorry state, 1st thing in the morning. Jane’s questions aren’t answered directly. This visit will have dire consequences on all involved. An explosive secret revealed will destroy all the happy plans that Jane and Rochester have made. Jane, once more will face poverty and separation.

Charlotte Bronte’s heroine Jane Eyre, may not have been graced with beauty or money, but she had a spirit of fire and has been filled with honesty and a sense of independence character traits that never waned in spite of all the oppression she encountered in life. Ms. Bronte brings to the fore in “Jane Eyre” such issues as: the relations between men and women in the mid 19 century, women’s equality, the treatment of kids and of women, religious faith and hypocrisy (and the difference between the two), the realization of selfhood, and the nature of love and passion. This is a powerhouse of a novel filled with romance, mystery and passions. It’s now startlingly new and a portrait of the times. Ms. Bronte will make your heart beat faster, your pulse race and your eyes fill with tears. The Best!!
JANA

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