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edwardian_girl_next_door's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I first read this book in middle school and was thoroughly unimpressed; but reading it again, I have absolutely fallen in love. I think it's one of those books where you can find little gems tucked away in every time you read it. There's so much commentary on this (rightful) classic that I won't say much, only that I admire Jane's character for not succumbing to things she finds demeaning or morally wrong. She faces so much pressure from her aunt, her school's discipline and Helen Burns' example, Mr. Rochester, and St. John Rivers, but she refuses to bend to anything she doesn't want. As someone who has experienced far-right, high-control religion, I particularly focused on her rejection of the mamby-pamby, turn-the-other-cheek, obedient-until-death attitude represented by Helen Burns and St. John Rivers. She is a real person, not a monolith or symbol, who makes her own way in within the systems she lives in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide, and Classism
Minor: Toxic relationship, Violence, and Colonisation
jessversteeg's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Blood, and Classism
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Colonisation
Minor: Death and Death of parent
lukaareads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Confinement, Gaslighting, and Classism
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Antisemitism
condor's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It does keep you in your toes with some plot twists but also got me frustrated many times when the characters act completely illogically.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism
green_amaryllis's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
brittanylee0302's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I debated a really long time how to rate this because let's be honest, this book is AMAZING until it's really not. It's obvious why this book is a classic. Jane is such a strong main character for 1847 writing. She won't take anything from anyone. I love her stubborn attitude & her need not to please a single person. She's sassy & fierce & nobody will stand in her way. However, I didn't care for all her analyzing & internal thought. I could have done with some of it, but I found myself spacing out a lot while she went on & on & on. I know she's intellectual & her internal thought helps us see that more in depth but it was just A LOT. I also felt like Adele was going to be a bigger character, & she is for a short time but she gets pushed to the back burner a lot. Again, I get it cause she didn't come from Rochester's wife... but seriously I thought Jane would stick up for her more (after all, she's so strong headed). Overall, I felt like the story dragged on in a lot of places which is really unfortunate because this book has so many strong points & an amazing story line (again, especially for its time)! 537 pages was just too much for me & by the end I couldn't wait for the book to be over.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Confinement
unaesthetic_reading's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Mental illness, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
mijtje's review against another edition
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Beautifully written AND a great story. Let me first say: I’m not a fan of romance books. I usually dislike the “meant to be” part, the cliches, the way the characters only care about each other… but this book was different. I loved it. The last chapters gave me goosebumps. I even yelled at my husband when he tried to interrupt my reading.
What makes it different? Well, first of all, the characters aren’t perfect. It is not a beautiful girl falling in love with a rich, handsome guy. No, the girl is “plain” and the guy is, okay, rich, but way older than her and “quite ugly”. But still, they fall in love. Halfway through the book I wasn’t even sure if I liked Mr. Rochester. Also: Jane Eyre isn’t just blindly going to marry the dude. Nope, she wants her independence, she wants to do what’s good, and she wants true love. Pretty modern, right?
It is not a standard romance book, it is mysterious and a little dark at times. I found it hard to put the book down, it was never boring and always promised new revelations and shocking events. No long, boring conversations that are often based on miscommunication or lies that could very easily be discovered if only the characters TALKED to each other (pride & prejudice, looking at you).
And JANE EYRE. She goes on my main-characters-I-really-liked-list. That list isn’t very long but Jane deserves to be on it. She’s spirited, smart, kind, and funny. Especially for a classic she was a cool female character. Of course, the gender roles in the book are old-fashioned, as expected, but Jane Eyre does a pretty good job anyway.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury
bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It took me a month and switching between audio and physical copies but I finally finished!
Slow start, but got more interesting when Jane gets to Thornfield. It slowed down again towards the end for a few chapters but the middle wasn’t terrible. I did like Jane as a character and how quick witted she was (but Charlotte what were you doing giving this girl nothing but trash men and trauma).
I’m glad to have finished because 1) it’s finally over and 2) I can say I’ve read Jane Eyre! I maybe should’ve DNFd but I was stubborn and kept hoping it would get better with how many people love it. I had an especially hard time towards the end when the story takes a large turn and Jane’s story became really slow/tedious.
This is one of the worst classics I’ve ever read 🙃 there was no reason for it to be that long or categorized as a romance when Miss Austen existed at the same time?! If you’re going to start with a Brontë I suggest Wuthering Heights as it’s shorter and has better pacing (also a toxic romance but at least an interesting one).
Only reason it gets 3 stars is because of Jane as a character and there were some beautifully written lines!
Now please enjoy the majority of my random thoughts that played on a loop throughout:
-How is this a romance?! He’s horrible 😅
-Jane nooooooo
-The only person making any sense is Mrs Fairfax
Charlotte Brontë is not for me because I also tried reading Villette earlier this year and DNFd due to boredom 😳 Now the only Brontë sister I still must read is Anne, with Tenant of Wildfell Hall!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Suicide, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Death of parent
treehouselibrary's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Classism
Minor: Physical abuse and Suicide