Book Review: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Everyone should go see the downtown Deseret Book window display. It's amazing. Just so you know.

Book cover property of Sterling Publishing (this is the one we had in DB)

I was killing time in DB this afternoon, sitting back by the bargain books. There was a copy of Jane Eyre, so I picked it up and started reading.

It's been a long time since I've read Jane Eyre. I read it my junior year of high school. Back then, I remember it being wordy and archaic-sounding, yet so enjoyable that I actually read it because I wanted to, not because I had to as homework.

Since then I've seen so many movie adaptations of Jane Eyre. They all vary in quality and entertainment ability, but I still leave each one thinking, "Man that's a great story."

When I picked it up today though, I skipped to my favorite part when Jane runs into Mr. Rochester for the first time.

This part. :) Photo is from the 2011 version by Focus Films.

I expected to enjoy the story but I was completely surprised to find how much I loved the writing. Far from being archaic, it was just beautiful and elegant and so compelling that even when paragraphs are long I still read every word and don't feel bogged down.

There's a good reason this book has stood the test of time. Not only is it a great study of human nature, questionable morals, and true love, it's just well written. It's like reading poetry. And I normally don't like reading poetry.

For those of you who haven't read it, Jane Eyre is the story of an orphan girl who has a really rough childhood, first living with her merciless cousins, and then under the thumb of a ruthless schoolmaster. But she rises above it all, staying grounded, realistic, and humble, but also positive, cheerful, honest, and kind. Her fortune changes when her boarding school changes hands and she becomes a teacher. Later she wants a change of scenery, so she decides to become a governess for a French girl in an isolated country estate. The master of the estate is almost never home, so for a while it's just her bonding with the girl.

Also from the 2011 version.

Then one day she's out walking and runs into a stranger and helps him when his horse slips on the ice. She later discovers this is her boss, Mr. Rochester. For the next several months, they have a respectful but pretty platonic relationship. He treats her like the governess, she treats him like her boss. But then strange things start happening in the house. At one point, Jane finds Mr. Rochester's room inexplicably on fire and saves his life. While Mr. Rochester entertains guests and maintains an air of nonchalance, he and Jane develop a friendship, that then develops into something more. After a long time of will-they/won't-they, Mr. Rochester confesses his love, and Jane accepts his proposal for marriage.

And it's always adorable, no matter which version you watch. The book does it best, though, of course.

Then...things get sad. Spoilers if you haven't read it before. Turns out all the spooky stuff happening in the house was caused by Mr. Rochester's insane wife. Yeah, he was married the whole time. Hence all the brooding. He tries to get married to Jane anyways, but at the ceremony it's revealed that he's still married. Jane is devastated and leaves Thornfield. She has a really hard time of it, with no friends or family anywhere, but she refuses to go back. In the end, though, she finds friends/family, employment, and fortune. In a much better position, she goes back to Thornfield to find that it has been burned down. Mrs. Rochester set the place on fire, killing herself and leaving Mr. Rochester blind and maimed. But Jane loves him anyways and, now that they are free to be married, she does so. And Mr. Rochester regains his vision around the same time Jane gives birth to their first child.

I think I'm just gonna use the 2011 version for all my photos today.

Hooray! Happy ending!

Okay so what do I like about this story? Several things.

One, the main characters are not outlandishly attractive. Mr. Rochester is described as severe-looking, athletic but not handsome, and brooding but sincere at the same time.  In face, Jane feels comfortable around Rochester because he's not handsome or charming. She wouldn't know how to behave around someone treating her like a lady, so when he's always casual and short with her, she feels free to be at ease and blunt with him.

And throughout the book, Jane is described as impish, disagreeable, and sneaky-looking. She's well below Mr. Rochester's station, so she wears plain Quaker garb and never flirts. Nothing should draw Mr. Rochester to her. And yet he is drawn to her, and she to him.

In this day and age, it seems like every love interest's character can be described in three words. "HE'S SO HOT!!1!!" *Cough* Edward Cullen *Cough* It's great to see how two characters come together because they are each good people--not because they're lusting after each other, but because they establish mutual trust as the story goes on, and they get to know each other as people.

The movies aren't as good about making the main characters unattractive.

Oh yeah that Michael Fassbender isn't attractive AT ALL. *cough* No WAY do I find him good looking. Whew! Did someone turn off the air conditioner or what?

And that Mia Wasikowska! So mousy! So plain! So not gorgeous!

(Photos are from GettyImages.)

Two, Jane demonstrates great faith and moral fortitude. Unfortunately, the movies tend to gloss over this. They stay true to the book in that Jane leaves after everyone finds out about the crazy wife, but they always make it seem like, "Oh I can't stay--you LIED to me! I love you but I'm angry so I'm leaving!" In the book, Jane leaves because she doesn't want to give up her standards by becoming Mr. Rochester's mistress. She loves him too much to stay around and NOT be with him, so she essentially says, "Get thee hence, Satan," and avoids the temptation at all costs.

It hurts her, no doubt. She's heartbroken and homeless and even eats pig food for a while to survive, but then the blessings come raining down on her. She finds great friends (who turn out to be cousins). She comes into a fortune. And then, she receives a prompting that she should return to Thornfield, where she finds that the crazy wife has died and she's free to marry a broken but enduring Mr. Rochester.

Jane Eyre is an amazing role model, not because she throws all propriety aside and learns to be just as tough as the guys (which seems to be the rule for today's female role models). She's amazing because she demonstrates self-discipline, faith, and fortitude. She does what she knows to be right no matter how hard it is.

I think the world needs more women like Jane Eyre. And like Charlotte Bronte, I guess, since she's the one who created her. Just read these quotes:

This is apparently Charlotte Bronte. Courtesy of The Telegraph.

(After Mr. Rochester argues that they should just live together unmarried because no one will care) “I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.” 

"I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being, with an independent will; which I now exert to leave you.”

“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.”  

“I 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.”  

(My favorite on morality) “Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigour ... If at my convenience I might break them, what would be their worth?”  

(On forgiveness)  “Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs.”  

(On getting a good education) “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.”  

(On friendship) “There is no happiness like that of being loved by your fellow creatures, and feeling that your presence is an addition to their comfort.” 

Okay, I'm done. Sorry, that was a lot, but there really is a lot of greatness to be found in this book.

Three, even though the story seems to go into excruciating detail and cover way more ground than it needs to, in the end you realize that it all serves a purpose. It starts with Jane living with her horrible cousins, but then it seems like she's left them and will never hear from them again, only for her to visit near the end of the book and forgive her aunt for everything she put Jane through. The details of her time at the boarding school show how Jane developed faith in God, which she desperately needed when the Big Reveal occurred. It all wraps together so well, that to skip over the excruciating details would be to cheat the reader of important and breathtaking information.

Again, the movies tend to pass over these details. Anything that was released in theaters leaves me feeling cheated, like I'm watching an underdeveloped, fake Jane on the screen. My personal favorite version is the 1983 version made by the BBC. It's super long (six hours, in fact) and the quality is dated, but it's almost word-for-word true to the book, so if you don't want to spend a week reading the book, spend six hours watching this movie.

In short, I love Jane Eyre. If you want to feel cultured but also want to be entertained and inspired, pick it up. There's a good reason why it's been considered a classic for so long, and I know it'll withstand the test of time and be a favorite for generations to come.