Jane Eyre is that novel which tops every must-read list that exists in those articles we read when we
are in reading slumps. Be it about best classics or books about young
love or books about a strong female character/feminism or an unputdownable
story. I usually find it quite difficult to read classics due to various
reasons... Old English. Slow story line. Spoilers. Longevity. Sheer
amount of time it takes to finish those. I can go on. But, Jane Eyre caught me
off guard. It completely surprised me. It not only got me out of my reading
slump, but also made me fall in love with classic literature!
Even
though I read it at my own pace, I stuck by it without losing interest and
managed to finish it. I was blown away by Jane's character. I loved how the story was plotted. I imagined what it would have been like to live in that era. I wasn't so happy
with the ending, but, all in all, I gave it a 3/5 stars on Goodreads. So,
anyway, here goes an overall review on Jane Eyre!
Since
Jane Eyre is something that mostly everyone has already read, I won't go into
my usual way of reviewing it. I'll skip the details of introduction and the
story and tell you all about how lovely I thought the characters were marked
out, about Charlotte Bronte's beautiful writing, some things I disliked and
some breathtaking quotes from the book!
Jane
Eyre:
From
where shall I begin describing Jane? I could see her change throughout her journey, and maybe it was also because I also changed because of her, in some
way. She started off a naughty child to become a well-educated young girl, only
to fall in love with the wrong man. She was brilliant. She had educated
judgements about everything at a time where women weren't really allowed to
have an opinion, I suppose. She set a remarkable tone for ladies, about wisdom, opinion and art. She was practical and yet did not come across as cold-hearted. She was ordinary and yet came across as ambitious. She was simple and yet she became legendary in everything she did and by simply how she lived.
Mr.
Rochester:
Mr.
Rochester, appeared to me, that kind of class-A man who had to tend to all
these responsibilities just because he had to. Like, calling in guests once in a while, just because of customs. He was uptight and he had to
maintain some kind of status, like he was living a whole superficial life until
he met Jane, when he realised that
life had more to it than what he had lived so far. With her simplicity of spoken thought, she unraveled his life like an open book and made him realise what was actually mattered. To be honest, I don't think there would've been his sort of character, if it weren't for a person like Jane to give him the highlight. Sometimes, you just have to create terrible people, so that good people come along to change them.
Story Line:
The
story was poetic. A timid girl without a family is left at a
strict school where she is disciplined and gets moulded into a fine young lady.
She learns a lot at a school where things could have gone either way for
someone like her. Her personality is formed and we get to love how marvelous she becomes. And then soon she gets a job and a man enters her life; Mr.
Rochester. Against all odds, they fall in love. But, just before getting
married she understands that he is already married to a lunatic woman. Since
he hides this fact from her, she decides to leave him. (Bravo on that Jane!) She
goes somewhere far away. Finally after days, she finds a roof and some kind people. Later on, she starts to teach in a nearby school.
If
you ask me, this is where the story should have ended. But, no. People like
happy endings and closure. So, somehow, Jane goes and finds Mr. Rochester only
to know that he became blind and oh that should be a good revenge for what he
did to her. So, in the end, she decides to stay with him. I won't tell you
about the people she stayed with when she went away because these details are
really not necessary here.
Anyway, my point is, I understand it's a classic and
things are supposed to happen in a certain way, but I was really disappointed about the
ending. The entire strong built up of Jane's character was diminished, and what
for? But, love!
To
conclude, I think that,
"She was the change that he needed. But, he became
the change she did not need."
Some Quotes:
1. I stood lonely enough, but to that feeling of isolation I was accustomed, it did not oppress me much.
2. It was not the power to be tranquil which had failed me, but the reason
for tranquility was no more.
3. Presentiments are strange things! and so are sympathies, and so are
signs; and the three combined make one mystery to which humanity has not yet
found the key.
4. You must have music, dancing, and society—or you languish, you die away.
5. I like
you more than I can say, but I'll not sink into a bathos of sentiment.
6. Feeling without judgement is a washy draught indeed; but judgement untempered by feeling is too bitter and husky a morsel for human deglutition.
What is your take on Jane Eyre? Let me know in the comments below! :)
