Jane Eyre - A Review

 I decided to try Jane Eyre, a book that had my attention from the first chapter to the last. It is the story of an orphan girl and her rather eventful life. Let's get into it. 

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The Book Events

We start with Jane Eyre talking about how she was treated like less than a servant, hiding with a book only to be interrupted by a physically abusive "Master" of the house (the son of the lady of the house). After such events, she is blamed for attacking him - no one asking what he did or what happened - and locked in a room. She passes out later in a fit of sobs. The apothecary then suggests she go to school, where she is treated better emotionally, but worse physically, like everyone else. Typhus hits the place and the headmaster is replaced, making it a healthier school overall. Jane then teaches for two years, sees her mentor teacher marry, and decides to seek a governess job. She finds one in a household that holds secrets, but embraces her warmly. From there everything just gets juicier. This is the only synopsis I'm going to give. It's a five star book. 

Thoughts on Characters

So, Mr. Rochester is a character that comes across as off-putting until you get to know that character. Not only does he dismiss his ward (though he isn't unnecessarily mean to her), but he has a "man of the house" commanding tone when we first meet him as an audience. Later, though, he treats Jane as an equal despite her governess position, inviting her to spend time with his high-positioned friends and even join their charades game. She tries to duck out and he notices. He seems to have an affection for her, despite his almost marrying Miss Ingram. You'll notice some pet names pop up in conversation before he proposes the first time. When he proposes the second time, a lot of stuff has happened between them (he's blind) and they both live happy lives. 

Jane herself is no pushover. I love her. She's also a woman with low self-esteem. She's intelligent and probably an INFJ personality. I related to her a lot. She ruminates, thinks for herself, cares deeply for others, and is beautiful from the inside out. It's easy for me to put myself in her shoes as we see her stream of thoughts flow. She scares some people with her honesty, including her aunt. She can stand up to her cousin's loveless marriage proposal and inability to take no for an answer. She's a strong woman and a beautiful soul. 

Rochester and Jane are the main two I want to address, since one character is particularly secret and should remain so until you read it for yourself. As for the Reed family, they are all diverse and the aunt is horrible to the end, but Jane forgives her and pretty much embodies the "burning heaping coals on your enemies" verse in the Bible. 

Overall Thoughts

This is a drama in the beginning, but a gothic suspense by the time she becomes a governess. It's also an age-gap romance (20 years difference) from the suspense portion onward. She has two proposals (counting Mr. Rochester's two proposals as one). Her cousin also wants to marry her, but only because he wants to take her to India to serve as a missionary. Jane is an intelligent, ruminating young woman who lets the flow of thoughts give you the full picture of her mental state. It never, ever, bored me. Our main character doesn't have a cushy life, despite being raised until age 10 in a rich household. She has a low self-esteem from childhood on, but is no pushover when she reaches adulthood. She wasn't a pushover as a child, either. Our main character is interesting, intriguing, and keeps your attention as she tells her life story. By the end, she's even inherited money and found family she'd never known in her youth.

If you want any warnings on content, I'll give you some here. You'll see verbal, emotional, and physical abuse right off the bat. She is treated horribly by her aunt. You'll also see abuse documented at Lowood, where the girls are half-starved, not given enough clothing, and barely have self-esteem left for the sake of "humility" being taught. It greatly explains why Jane continues to think herself unremarkable (when she is, in fact, amazing). Aside from all that, you don't really need a warning.

Is it worth reading? Yes, a hundred times, yes. Don't expect a quick read, though, or you'll be sorely mistaken. A quicker classic would be Jekyll and Hyde, while this is a "sit and ponder me" book. You'll want to take your time. It isn't a book to fly through. There are emotions and events to unpack the whole time. I've read sections in short spurts over a whole day. So much is going on all the time. Jane ends up living a beautiful life despite all the hardship life serves her. It's a bit like the story of Joseph (Bible reference), where she lands in a frying pan and makes it out intact every time. 

Things To Note

You should have a dictionary and Google Translate with you. Your phone can easily help you with that. The ward of Mr. Rochester, Adele, speaks lots of French, which is definitely written in French some of the time. There are a few phrases in German. Also, archaic words show up everywhere. An e-reader is suggested for this book, especially one you can note word meanings in for the future. Words like "elfish" and aspects of fae lore also show up. It was known well by the author, but most of us today won't immediately know fae lore. It can be easily googled. So, have your phone near you with the dictionary app open. 

The time period of Jane Eyre did not include electric lights. This is why candles are constantly needed for light in the evening. Remember this when Jane is locked in a room; it changes the whole context to know that a nine-year-old girl wasn't given a candle while locked in a dark room. Modern readers may not pick up this context. I missed this context and only thought of it later on, when Jane herself notes she wasn't given a candle in the dark room. 

Age gap romances were also common to the era of this book. The book Emma by Jane Austen also features an age gap romance. It may seem disgusting to us today to have 20 or 37 years (Emma) of age gap in a couple, but social status seemed to matter more. It wasn't uncommon and disgusting then, but it may influence your opinion of the romance portion to know there was a 20 year age gap. She works as a governess at age 18 while Mr. Rochester is 40 plus years old. He actually says he's old enough to be her father, actually states the age gap. It's just the time period, keep that in mind. 

Jane is also proposed to by a direct cousin. I know this is disgusting by our standards, but it wasn't then. She said no, anyway, so it doesn't matter all that much. She doesn't even note they are too close of relatives, so this should tell you what the time period thought of marrying cousins. What was uncommon at the time was marrying as intellectual equals, which is kind of interesting when we see Jane found two men who matched her intelligence and wanted her hand. Her equal marriage was not the most common. 

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