Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre

• ISBN-13: 9781593081171
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble
• Publication date: 2/1/2005
• Pages: 592

Immediately recognized as a masterpiece when it was first published in 1847, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre is an extraordinary coming-of-age story featuring one of the most independent and strong-willed female protagonists in all of literature. Poor and plain, Jane Eyre begins life as a lonely orphan in the household of her hateful aunt. Despite the oppression she endures at home, and the later torture of boarding school, Jane manages to emerge with her spirit and integrity unbroken. She becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she finds herself falling in love with her employer—the dark, impassioned Mr. Rochester. But an explosive secret tears apart their relationship, forcing Jane to face poverty and isolation once again.

One of the world’s most beloved novels, Jane Eyre is a startlingly modern blend of passion, romance, mystery, and suspense.

My grandmother has been urging me to read this for a long time, as it's her favorite novel. And that's kind of saying something since my grandmother isn't a big reader of novels outside the trashy-romance genre or mystery genre. I've seen many adaptations of this story, including the most recent Michael Fassbender version (love that man), and so I knew what to expect out of the story. However, it still held some nice surprises.
 For example, I was surprised at the overt mysticism present throughout. In the Bertha Mason storyline and the supposed haunting of the Red Room at Gateshead and at Thornfield, one already had examples of the imagination of Charlotte. However, there were far more references to fairy activity and other mystical (or straight up mythical) goings-on. I was impressed, and seeing as how I might have to write a paper on this book, it caught my eye. There were lots of interesting things going on with the concepts of sanity and what one brings from travel, as well, but that's a subject for a full-blown analysis, not for a measly review. As the blurb on the back of the book says - it was indeed surprisingly modern.
 Jane Eyre was, in my opinion, the most dynamic character in the book although she was often described as plain and quiet. She has developed into one of my favorite literary characters: under her supposed docility lay a fiery spirit that was occasionally aroused. I wish I could be that way - quiet on the outside and powerful on the inside instead of being all-engines on all the time. Most people think Jane is boring, but she's anything but. Mr. Rochester was also far more excitable than I was expecting. For a male in a Victorian novel, he was very arduous. There was a lot more of cuddling going on than is depicted in any film. Witness my shock. Furthermore, St. John Rivers was ridiculously irritating and overbearing. What an ass. The other characters were generally bearable even if they weren't downright likeable. Mostly because any others were barely present.
 Is Jane Eyre the perfect romance as it has been discussed? Not at all. There are several moments that become acutely uncomfortable: the discussion between Jane and Mr. Rochester on the ride back from Milcote when she essentially refused to be his mistress, as she felt he was making her out to be; his rage when she decides to leave him. He was kind of a scary guy, overall. His love for her ends up being genuine, but the language he uses does stray into obsessive territory. That was one of my only complaints about the novel. That, and the occasional long-winded paragraphs about her surroundings. There might be a deeper meaning behind her musings, but for a general, not analytic reading, it was a little much at times.
 Bertha Mason is an interesting personage, and truly terrifying to me. A portrait of madness - when Jane describes her as a hyena with her swollen discolored face, it's...quite unnerving. Most movie versions depict her as perfectly normal looking woman that goes into fits of rage when Rochester is present, but the portrait we are painted goes beyond that. I was disturbed, and I attribute that to the author's mind and writing capability. The plot is so well-known, I don't feel like I need to comment on it at all. If you don't know, then go watch a movie, or better yet - pick up the book.
Overall: A
 It's a classic and it definitely keeps your attention firmly held. There is much more than meets your eye with this piece, and anyone who thinks differently is a fool; yet, it's also the quintessential romance as it has come to be known today. Every woman longs for that man whose willing to cast off society's bonds, who would go to any length to have her - but I think this novel questions, at the same time, if that's really the proper basis for a relationship? That's something to think about. I highly recommend this - cheers from Grandma.