Jane Eyre

Title: Jane Eyre
Author: Charlotte Bronte
Pub Date: 1847
Pages: 441
Genre: Classics, Regency, Victorian

Yes, I admit it. I neglected to read Jane Eyre up until now. I think my reluctance stemmed from my lack of enjoyment of Wuthering Heights. (I intend to re-read WH to see if I still feel that way).

Can I make the assumption that most have read Jane Eyre or know of Jane Eyre and I don't need to go into a detailed summary? The book's detail leaves me a wee bit intimidated to write a summary. I fear that I might ramble also. So, if I'm going to ramble, I'd much rather do it about my reaction to the literature. (Which means there are probably spoilers!)

First, I cannot help but say, even though Jane and I have very differing religious beliefs, she is definitely someone I would want to know in real life. I love the mixture of vulnerability and defensiveness.

("Human beings must love something, and in the dearth of worthier objects of affection, I contrived to find pleasure in loving and cherishing a faded graven image, shabby as a miniature scarecrow").

She openly requires/desires love and yet does not overtly compromise her self to get this love. Her relationship with the harsh Mrs. Reed is a great example of this. (Later in the text, I view Jane as someone who doesn't compromise herself as a general rule even if it raises assumptions about herself to society or those around her).

I found that Jane had quite a feminist voice for that time period which impressed me. I loved her overall powerful stance even though it never came across belligerent.

"Who blames me? Many no doubt; and I shall be called discontented. I could not help it: the restlessness was in my nature; it agitated me to some pain already. [...] It is in vain to say human beings out to be satisfied with tranquility: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it. [...] 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 is too narrowminded in their more privileged fellow creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playng on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex."

I wonder if Jane would have burned bras in the 60's or if alive during the 90's become a part of the riot grrl punk movement. A part of me felt like she was somewhere between Marge Simpson, Rosanne Barr, a bit of Sound of Music added in. Too much? Perhaps...

It was interesting to me that Mr. Rochester felt that Jane and him were fated and that the gender roles switched - Mr. Rochester being the over-dramatic romantic while Jane maintained sound and logical over their relationship. It also pleased me that the love story occurred in the middle of the book and was not the end result.

Oh and the spookiness of the "ghost" in the house. I have to admit, I read a criticism somewhere and disappointed myself in finding out who the ghost was before I read it. I also spent a good portion of the novel wondering who Jane would marry since I saw in the end "yes, I married him".

I loved that Mr. Rochester and Mr. St. John were each other's foil. Whereas Mr. Rochester was not attractive, St. John was. Rochester symbolized for me a more secular side of life; St. John, obviously, the very devout godly man. Of course, I had no patience for St. John. And I'm surprised that Jane did. Oooh, I kept biting my nails wondering which one Jane married (keep in mind, at this point I only knew that she had married someone).

I do know that many of the critical essays on Jane Eyre generally deal with the religious aspect. I get this, truly. But because I did not spend any time actually looking into the arguments, my view is rather general and thus limited. Upon the ending when Jane chose to be find Mr. Rochester rather than marry St. John, I did not see it as Jane snubbing or losing her faith. Rather, I saw her faith lead her to her fate. I never felt a duality in Jane and her religion. I saw that she weaved herself rather seamlessly in both the secular and religious worlds.

My only complaint about Jane Eyre is the culminating events that allowed for Mr. Rochester and Jane to reconcile. Really? A fire? An altruistic rescue? A dilapidated and blinded Mr. Rochester? And then, a blind man who can now see? A wee bit too dramatic for me and over the top. It was the only time I truly lost my suspension of disbelief. Did anyone else feel this way?