Finally finished! I read this novel once before many years ago, but remembered little of it. This time through, I was frustrated, annoyed, surprised, and frustrated over and over again. And yet, in the end, Brontë won me over with her sharp, unflinching portrayal of a very complicated woman, Lucy Snowe.

The ending of this novel is delicious. Brontë stays true to her portrayal of Lucy and thumbs her nose at the Victorian romance plot (albeit at the eleventh hour!)