Jane, the heroine, is an orphan, being raised by her cruel Aunt Reed. Tired of her troublesome charge, Mrs. Reed sends Jane to board at Lowood Charity School, where she discovers a new way of life, sometimes as cruel as her time at Gateshead, sometimes full of friendship and laughter. Presently, she accepts the job of Governess to the precocious daughter of Mr. Rochester in Thornfield Hall, and falls in love. She discovers inner strength and self-worth through the redemptive power of that love.

Unlike the novels of Jane Austen, Bronte's heroine is from an underprivileged class, and the mood of this story is generally sombre. However, compared to 'Shirley', or Emily Bronte's masterpiece 'Wuthering Heights', 'Jane Eyre' takes what is essentially a sorrowful tale and imbues it with vivid, if brief, descriptions of happiness and love. A sense of belonging pervades the latter half of the story, thrown into high relief by several traumatic events, and culminating in Jane achieving her heart's true desire - a family of her own.

It's a more straightforward and rewarding book than most 19th century epics, and for that, it's a better way of introducing oneself to 19th century literature. Bronte's acute awareness of the complexities of human emotion is palpable, and her heroine Jane displays a sense of isolation and self-reliance not found in many other novels, contemporary or otherwise. This is the hook, this is what draws the reader to the character of Jane, she is hard and self-sufficient, without resorting to bitterness or introversion. This subtle contrast forces us to empathise with Jane's plight, and we are all the more satisfied by the story's end.

Basically a love story played out against the backdrop of harsh, austere 19th century rural England, 'Jane Eyre' is a book you will return to, again and again. It's romantic, gothic, sparse and, conversely, lush, and truly deserving of its status as Classic. Buy it.


Fantastic! Loved it!   February 9, 2004
 21 out of 21 found this review helpful

This turned out to be an exceptional book though I didn't think so in the beginning. By what seems the hundredth page, I had decided it was a feminine version of David Copperfield but not as interesting. By the hundred and fiftieth page, I was completely discouraged and was sure it had turned into the very romantic mush I detest (a lot of what she feels about him and what he feels about her, and so on). Somewhere soon after that, I fell in and was absorbed. It became a tremendously good book with a fantastic plot and a good pace. I read for hours and hours at a sitting enjoying every single minute of it and only stopped when something absolutely forced me. Excellent, excellent!

Jane Eyre is an orphaned child under the guardianship of her maternal aunt. Not liked by her aunt and not able to get along with her cousins, Jane is sent to Lowood School for the children of the poor (it is a charity school) to be taught the fundamentals and, more importantly, to be conditioned for a life of poor expectations. Lowood changes the strong willed, impetuous Jane into a woman of uncommon restraint. When she accepts a post as governess to Adele at Thornfield Hall, she attracts the attention of Mr. Rochester, the master of the house, who has the desire to reclaim himself from a sordid past. He comes to believe that Jane has the power to transform him and help him to realize himself in the better light that he has not heretofore been able to achieve on his own. But his secrets are not far away and peculiar events at Thornfield make the reader question his advances. Sworn not to ask about who or what is in the room on the third floor, Jane's iron resolve begins to falter with the dreamlike romance and the reader begins to trepiditiously hope for her happiness. When Mr. Rochester is unable to keep his past under wraps, however, Jane is forced onto a path that will require all of her internal resources to survive but will ultimately put her in the position to make choices for herself rather than just choose among available options. The question is, with her conditioning, can she lead with her heart instead of her head?

My only legitimate greivance, and given only in the vein of humour, is that is seems like Jane would have taught Adele some English. The child speaks only in French and myself not being able to read French, I did not understand anything the child ever said. Luckily, her exuberance and intent still comes through and the reader can develop a softness for the child without understanding her dialogue.


Epitomizes its genre   January 21, 2004
 13 out of 14 found this review helpful

More than a simple love story, a gothic romance, a Victorian novel, or even a female picaresque work, Jane Eyre is, quite simply, a wonderful book. Written, as it was, in Victorian England by a female author, Jane Eyre has occasionally been pigeonholed as a garden variety gothic romance. It is much more than this, however: not only is it a genuine classic, it epitomizes its genre. There are several factors that set it above the pack. For one, it is extremely well-written: Bronte's characterization is masterful and the plot is well-developed. One comes to identify with the character of Jane, who narrates, and the other characters in the book, most of whom are well-drawn, rounded characters. The book also features other elements which are unusual for a book of its kind and which were genuinely new at the time. For starters, take its protagonist, the title character: she is not beautiful, like Edith Wharton's Lily Bart; she is not rich, like most of Jane Austen's female characters; she is not ambivalent and wish-washy like Kate Chopin's Edna Pontellier; she is not an intellectual. Jane is a well-drawn, rounded, truly believable character -- and a genuinely likable one. The reader comes to empathize and identify with her. Strong-willed, independent, and indefatigable, Jane is not a hard-to-like character like the aforementioned Edna Pontellier from The Awakening; the book could almost be called a female picaresque novel, were she not so practical and solid a character. Also setting the book above its ilk are several dark story details that set the book above the of the typical love story. Bronte also uses the book as a medium to criticize certain aspects of Victorian culture: the inhumane and non-emphatic treatment of the poor by the rich, the denial of the pursuit of happiness, the plight of orphans and other who had no well-defined place in society, the often cruel sternness of church and other authority figures, among much else. Bronte also pauses from time to time to take on spiritual and quasi-philosophical elements, which give the book an added depth and sophistication. With all of this, Bronte succeeds in bringing the book out of the sphere of mere feminist literature: its universal theme and eclectic contents set it above the works of Austen and Chopin, among others. Though many aspects of the novel show it to be a clear product of the Victorian era, the book, with its just-mentioned strengths, is a universal work that will endure for centuries yet to come. In this way, it is much more applicable to our present day than works such as, say, The House of Mirth, which deal primarily with ephemeral concerns. On top of all this, it is a wonderful and delightful read. What we have here is a true classic.

This is essential reading for any fan of romances, gothic literature, or Victorian literature in general; readers looking for a truly great and easily-accessible classic need also look no farther.


Jane Eyre   April 1, 2004
 9 out of 10 found this review helpful

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, is an enticing Victorian love story of a young woman as she grows and matures. The plot made me want to read so I could find out what happens. The characters have realistic feelings and thoughts, which made me sympathize and feel with them. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I often found myself re-reading a paragraph so I could fully understand what I had just read. These long paragraphs, however, did not stop me from reading forward and liking the book.
I would recommend this novel to late high school and college students. Girls who gravitate toward love stories with sweet sentiments might find the tale of Jane Eyre more enjoyable than others who are not such romantics.