A review by eenaah
Jane Eyre by Charlotte BrontΓ«

adventurous challenging emotional medium-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

πŸ‚πŸ•―οΈπ‘° π’‚π’Ž 𝒏𝒐 π’ƒπ’Šπ’“π’…; 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐 𝒏𝒆𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒔 π’Žπ’†: 𝑰 π’‚π’Ž 𝒂 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆 π’‰π’–π’Žπ’‚π’ π’ƒπ’†π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’˜π’Šπ’•π’‰ 𝒂𝒏 π’Šπ’π’…π’†π’‘π’†π’π’…π’†π’π’• π’˜π’Šπ’π’.

This book will always have a special place in my heart. Reader, it was my first book, it was the book which made me fall in love with reading, i remember back in 2016, i found a copy of this in our school library and i was so intrigued by it, so i took it home and read it. I read it again in 2017 and 2018 and 2019. And in 2024 once again. So cheers to Jane Eyre 🫰🏻
Well reading it after so many years, i have a better understanding of the book. So many new thoughts and opinions which i would like to share here now. It's a passionate book with passionate characters, dealing with the idea of class, society, religion and gender norms. And we also have romance in it. Jane Eyre is the name of our main character, an orphan girl fighting the strings of fate to live a respectable life. Her life is taken by storm as she falls in love with Mr Rochester.

The dynamic between Jane and Mr Rochester is a toxic one with a lot of power imbalance, not only is Mr Rochester 20 years old but as well as her employer and is extremely rich and proud. Jane repeatedly throughout the novel addresses him as β€˜my master’ and finds herself abiding by everything he says. But still she keeps her principles of self respect and passion for independence alive.

β€’ β€œDo you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! - I have as much soul as you, - and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you! ”

β€’ β€œI can live alone, if self-respect, and circumstances require me so to do. I need not sell my soul to buy bliss. I have an inward treasure born with me, which can keep me alive if all extraneous delights should be withheld, or offered only at a price I cannot afford to give.”

However they both love each other and it's quite evident they are passionate about each other:

β™‘ β€œπ‘° 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’‡π’Šπ’“π’”π’• π’•π’Šπ’Žπ’† 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 π’˜π’‰π’‚π’• 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 π’•π’“π’–π’π’š 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆–𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 π’šπ’π’–β€

β™‘ β€œπ‘¬π’—π’†π’“π’š π’‚π’•π’π’Ž 𝒐𝒇 π’šπ’π’–π’“ 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒉 π’Šπ’” 𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒐 π’Žπ’† 𝒂𝒔 π’Žπ’š π’π’˜π’: π’Šπ’ π’‘π’‚π’Šπ’ 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’”π’Šπ’„π’Œπ’π’†π’”π’” π’Šπ’• π’˜π’π’–π’π’… π’”π’•π’Šπ’π’ 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒓.”

β™‘ β€œπ‘¨π’π’ π’Žπ’š 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 π’Šπ’” π’šπ’π’–π’“π’”, π’”π’Šπ’“: π’Šπ’• π’ƒπ’†π’π’π’π’ˆπ’” 𝒕𝒐 π’šπ’π’–; 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’˜π’Šπ’•π’‰ π’šπ’π’– π’Šπ’• π’˜π’π’–π’π’… π’“π’†π’Žπ’‚π’Šπ’, π’˜π’†π’“π’† 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒐 π’†π’™π’Šπ’π’† 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 π’Žπ’† π’‡π’“π’π’Ž π’šπ’π’–π’“ 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓.”

β™‘ β€œ 'π‘¨π’Ž 𝑰 π’‰π’Šπ’…π’†π’π’–π’”, 𝑱𝒂𝒏𝒆?'
 'π‘½π’†π’“π’š, π’”π’Šπ’“: π’šπ’π’– π’‚π’π’˜π’‚π’šπ’” π’˜π’†π’“π’†, π’šπ’π’– π’Œπ’π’π’˜.' ”

β™‘ β€œπ’˜π’† 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅: - 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’šπ’†π’•, π’˜π’‰π’Šπ’π’† 𝑰 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’•π’‰π’Šπ’π’Œ, 𝑰 π’Žπ’–π’”π’• 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 π’‰π’Šπ’Ž.”

β™‘ β€œπ‘° 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 π’π’Šπ’•π’•π’π’† 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕 π’Šπ’ π’Žπ’šπ’”π’†π’π’‡ -- 𝑰 π’Žπ’–π’”π’• 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 π’šπ’π’–. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 π’˜π’π’“π’π’… π’Žπ’‚π’š π’π’‚π’–π’ˆπ’‰ -- π’Žπ’‚π’š 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 π’Žπ’† 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒅, π’”π’†π’π’‡π’Šπ’”π’‰ -- 𝒃𝒖𝒕 π’Šπ’• 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 π’”π’Šπ’ˆπ’π’Šπ’‡π’š. π‘΄π’š π’—π’†π’“π’š 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍 π’…π’†π’Žπ’‚π’π’…π’” π’šπ’π’–: π’Šπ’• π’˜π’Šπ’π’ 𝒃𝒆 π’”π’‚π’•π’Šπ’”π’‡π’Šπ’†π’…, 𝒐𝒓 π’Šπ’• π’˜π’Šπ’π’ π’•π’‚π’Œπ’† π’…π’†π’‚π’…π’π’š π’—π’†π’π’ˆπ’†π’‚π’π’„π’† 𝒐𝒏 π’Šπ’•π’” π’‡π’“π’‚π’Žπ’†.”

β™‘ β€œπ‘Ήπ’†π’‚π’…π’†π’“, 𝑰 π’Žπ’‚π’“π’“π’Šπ’†π’… π’‰π’Šπ’Ž.”


πŸ•―οΈπ™Œπ™ͺπ™€π™©π™šπ™¨:

▫️I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.

▫️If all the world hated you and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved of you and absolved you from guilt, you would not be without friends.

▫️Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilised by education: they grow there, firm as weeds among stones.

▫️The soul, fortunately, has an interpreter - often an unconscious but still a faithful interpreter - in the eye.

▫️It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquillity: 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, to absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing 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.

▫️There is no happiness like that of being loved by your fellow creatures, and feeling that your presence is an addition to their comfort.

15 october, 2024.