Book Review: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Goodreads review: Beautifully written! Jane Eyre is a wonderful character in whole.

Jane Eyre is one of those classics that I recently read should be in your Top 10 reads that you shouldn’t miss in your lifetime (I read it recently somewhere).  It makes me so much happier to be on track with that.  Being a completely dedicated bookworm these days, its been fun to dive into different types of books.  I used to really dread reading classics when they were assigned in school but so far, it has really opened my eyes.  The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was mysterious and had my mind working while Pride and Prejudice (before I did book reviews here) had me completely mesmerized with its writing.  I have determined myself a Jane Austen fan and I have so many more of her novels to read.  So since Jane Austen is an amazing author, I decided to venture into the world of the Bronte’s world.  I had started reading Wuthering Heights about 3 times and never finished so I was really hoping that Jane Eyre would be a whole lot easier, a different Bronte sister, a different style, right? And plus, with the movie Jane Eyre that I reviewed for Valentine’s, it was an extra motivation.

Jane Eyre is a girl who has been orphaned at a young age.  She was then taken into the care of her uncle, her father’s brother.  Her uncle treated her very well but when he passed away, he made his wife Mrs. Reed promise to take care of her.  Mrs. Reed however, did this reluctantly and found her a burden.  She would favor her children over Jane and after some incidents, she sent her at the age of ten to boarding school, outcasting her from her own family.  She ended up staying here and eventually when she was older and accomplished, she taught at the school until she found a job as a governess.  It was then that she set off to other independent endeavors in life to Thornfield Hall to be a governess for a little French girl called Adele.  At Thornfield Hall, she meets the rude and odd Mr. Rochester, the master of the house who is rarely there. Even though, Thornfield had its mysteries and eerie feeling due to unexpected noises and odd events that occur. Slowly, she found herself growing to enjoy Thornfield as her own home, her housekeeper Mrs. Fairfax as a elder companion, Adele as an obedient student and mostly, becoming attracted to the presence of Mr. Rochester.  Eventually, they grew to love each other passionately and on the day of they were to be wed, a dangerous secret is revealed and she has to make a choice for her future.

Jane Eyre is a charming heroine.  One whom learns to be independent and used to being without any relations.  We follow her to learn about how she opens up to accept joy, passion and heartbreak.  How to be courageous and brave as she accepts the choices set before her and pick one that she feels is morally correct to her and to God.  At the same time, Jane Eyre is a beautiful character because of her growth from enduring mishaps and pain throughout her life.

A classic novel is beautiful because of how its shaped and the use of the beautifully contructed language used.  It feels grand and elegant.  This draws me in as I read more and more classics.  At the same time, classic novels like this one are great because of their crafted characters who bound us to them.  Jane Eyre is possibly so far one of the best characters I have read about.  Her life, her descriptions and her words pulled me right into the book and made me never want to put it down till the end.  It made me wanting to know her ending, whether it would be happy or not.

I’m not exactly sure that I’d classify this as a romantic novel despite it seemingly being marketed as one, even the movie Jane Eyre seems to focus on that. Its more the story of a girl who strives to be strong and independent in a society that doesn’t accept those ways easily.  She is strong minded and she knows what she wants.  She has principles and she keeps them even if it means having to suffer a bit with her choices, but following her principles also make her happy.  To me, what makes this book absolutely wonderful, is that Jane Eyre is a very complete character, she is not exceptionally beautiful but plain and most of the time, she knows where she’s going and what she wants, she is independent, strong, imaginative and intelligent.   However, to say its not completely a love story would be false because at least half the book is about her love with Mr. Rochester, the feelings that were developed and how loving someone is a deep, passionate and unforgettable feeling that even when apart would never fade if one was sure about it.

I really don’t know how to end this review right now and its getting really lengthy so I’m just going to say, I recommend this so if you haven’t read it, run along and read it.  This one is fantastic classics.  I’m going to be digging up more of Charlotte Bronte’s novels in hopes that it’ll be as awesome as this one.

What do you think of Jane Eyre? Did you have to read it in school? Have you read other novels by Charlotte Bronte? Which would you recommend?

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