Gothic, passionate, intelligent, truly romantic. I'm tempted to say that everyone should read it. ( )

This was a good read, but I wasn't too impressed. Chapter 28 was my favorite. ( )

Jane Eyre, oh where do I start? This book isn’t one I just picked off the shelf. I heard about it in another book I was reading, so I thought I’d check it out. And now, it’s part of me for life.

Yes, I had to use my dictionary to dust off my French to get through it. I also had to guess at some Old English, but those are the only negatives.

As soon as I saw that Little Jane went to a private school, I was sucked in. As big of nerd as I am, I think I would have loved a private school.

From page one until the end, there is never a dull moment. And you grow with Jane from the time she is 10. You see a child become a woman. You also get to see a completely different world than we ever know or can even imagine. As soon as you think there will be calm, the plot thickens and you are left once more in amazement.

One of the things I like most about this book is the history. It’s 162 years old and written by a woman. Charlotte Bronte was not the only author in her family. Her two sisters were also writers and they all wrote under aliases. Many thought it was men writing these amazing stories.
This is a book I will read time and time again. One, I know I missed parts. Two, I just loved the story and don’t think it’ll ever get old.

I give Jane Eyre 5 bookmarks and if you haven’t read it, I highly suggest it. (Sorry, no bookmarks to add to this post. I can’t get them to go at the bottom of the page. Still learning blogger format.) ( )

Mixing drama, some horror, passion plus slightly portentous chunks of religion this is a yarn that keeps you hooked. Probably what a female version of Dickens would have penned. ( )

The story is good and interesting
Mariam ( )

It is sad story. Jane's life is hard. But she never gave up. I was very impressed. I warmed. ( )

Jane Eyre is, quite simply, one of the best books I have ever read.

I read Jane Eyre several years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it then. I remember liking Jane's strong narrative voice, the way that Brontë drew her characters, the dramatic storyline. I remember feeling the suffering that Jane describes (both at Lowood and after she flees Thornfield Hall) because of the powerful descriptions. But something in me was not quite awake yet, some faculty for fully appreciating the genius of this book. This time when I picked it up, I fell into it headfirst, devouring each word hungrily in total absorption. It took over my world in a way only a few books have. I wanted to call off work just to finish it; I could have stayed up all night lost in its pages.

How did Charlotte Brontë create such an amazing work in this her first novel? From where did she draw her characters, her compelling plot? How did she, a sheltered clergyman's daughter, learn to distinguish so clearly between what is twisted and man-made in religion and what is truly good? Her preface to the second edition is simply astounding to me: "Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last." Brontë never once loses her way amidst the religious, spiritual, and emotional themes of the tale — and all this while telling a story in graceful, unerring prose, with powerfully conceived characters and storylines. She has no fear of pointing out hypocrisy, but she takes equal delight in showing us genuine goodness in her characters. It is always hard-won, never an artificial niceness.

Some readers complain that the time spent on the Lowood section of the book is too detailed and tedious. I drank in every word and didn't find it a moment too long, because it is crucial to understanding Jane later in the book. And there is something about the way that Brontë describes the conditions at the school that gripped me. I knew from the quick author bio at the front that Charlotte and her sisters went to one such school, where two of them (Maria and Elizabeth) died — and died, as Charlotte averred, from the treatment they received there. Her condemnation of Lowood is harsh, but it is always seen through the eyes of a child (albeit a precociously perceptive one). I think if it had been me, my sisters who died from malnutrition and illness in the name of a false charity, I should have ruined my story by my ranting. Charlotte takes the experience and transforms it into something compelling, without ever resorting to a preachy lecture on the social and moral ills of such institutions. Lowood never bored me because I was there with Jane. I burned with her indignation and was humbled with her at the faith of Helen Burns. Without understanding Lowood, we cannot understand our heroine, who spends eight years there.

And what a heroine Jane is! Really, all the characters in this book are simply amazing. Each is distinct, rendered quite clear to the reader through Jane's eyes, acting in perfect accordance with his or her nature. Brontë never harms the story by forcing her characters to do something foreign to their personalities. They are so believable that I feel as though I know them in real life. Over the past two days as I swallowed this story, they have become more real to me than many people I see daily!

Jane, oh Jane. She is a fascinating combination of strong moral conviction and deep passion. Her very name hints at her complex nature: she is Jane, plain and serviceable and responsible — but she is also Eyre, airy and eerie and ephemeral. Rochester calls her a sprite and an elf, and marvels at the strength of will and mind that is housed in such a frail body. Unlike heroines of morality stories, Jane struggles painfully with herself to do the right thing, and there is a very real chance that she won't. She is strong, but not without terrible cost, and she honestly admits her own weakness to us. Her morality is genuine; she doesn't flee Rochester because she is afraid of society's censure, but because she knows in her heart that it is wrong to live as his mistress, and that she will do so if she does not remove herself from his presence. I love the part where she argues with herself that moral precepts and laws are there for moments of insanity and weakness; if we do not obey them then, when all within us is urging us to disobey, of what use are they?

I have said that Jane is a combination of several contradictory traits and I love that complexity. She is firm enough about her boundaries some of the time, but other times she bows her head quite docilely to things that seem insupportable. Jane says that this has always been her way with strong natures antagonistic to hers; either she fights every inch, or is drawn into an artificial, fascinated submission almost against her will. Certainly we all have observed this seeming contradiction in our own behavior at times, and it only makes Jane that much more accessible and believable. If she had been strong all the time, she would become a one-dimensional character like so many in modern fiction.

And Jane is not beautiful — what a unique heroine she is, to attach us so thoroughly with no reference to her physical beauty. Many times in the story we are reminded of Jane's unimpressive appearance, especially as she contrasts her own looks with those of Blanche Ingram. The scenes in the parlour, when Rochester's guests are there and Jane sits humbly in a corner, are like the Northfield drawing-room scenes in Pride and Prejudice, only with more bite. Jane does not defend herself against the open hostility directed toward her (when they deign to notice her), and some parts of this section brought me almost to tears. I know what it is to feel envy, and have comforted myself as Jane does with the faults of my enemy. I know what it is to feel mortified and hated by all around me, to have no ally, to be limited only to myself in a group, with no other resource of dignity. If you haven't experienced that, I don't wish it upon you. But those who have, like me, may well find themselves moved to tears when a small kindness is finally shown. It's always kindness that breaks us in the end.

Some readers (in fact, a surprising many) dislike the novel because they dislike Edward Rochester. I find this attitude especially prevalent in young and first-time readers, to whom Rochester's past excesses and evils overcloud everything else in his character. I never disliked him, but the broader life experience I brought with me to the book this time around showed me just how skillfully he is drawn. Brontë isn't afraid to create a character she cannot quite control, and she gives him the free rein that makes him come alive in the story. I think too that some people find it hard to identify with Rochester's repentance at the end. The story ends happily enough, but not according to the formula. The obstacle to their love is removed, yes, but they have been irrevocably changed as well. Rochester is no longer the powerful, virile, proud lord we came to know throughout the story... no, he is a broken man now. But I think the core of his character is retained after the purification. Rochester's repentance speech at the end of the book is probably the most moving thing of its kind that I've ever read:

"Jane! you think me, I daresay, an irreligious dog: but my heart swells with gratitude to the beneficent God of this earth just now. He sees not as man sees, but far clearer: judges not as man judges, but far more wisely. I did wrong: I would have sullied my innocent flower—breathed guilt on its purity: the Omnipotent snatched it from me. I, in my stiff-necked rebellion, almost cursed the dispensation: instead of bending to the decree, I defied it. Divine justice pursued its course; disasters came thick on me: I was forced to pass through the valley of the shadow of death. His chastisements are mighty; and one smote me which has humbled me for ever. ... Of late, Jane—only—only of late—I began to see and acknowledge the hand of God in my doom. I began to experience remorse, repentance; the wish for reconcilement to my Maker. I began sometimes to pray: very brief prayers they were, but very sincere. ... I asked of God, at once in anguish and humility, if I had not been long enough desolate, afflicted, tormented; and might not soon taste bliss and peace once more. That I merited all I endured, I acknowledged—that I could scarcely endure more, I pleaded; and the alpha and omega of my heart's wishes broke involuntarily from my lips in the words—'Jane! Jane! Jane!'"

If that doesn't convince us of his sincerity, I don't know what will. What a change from his earlier self! And how brilliantly Brontë handles her characters and their motivations.

St John was another fascinating character. I used to think that he would have been much happier if he would have just submitted to his love for Miss Oliver and married her, continuing his work in the parish rather than going to India as a missionary. But this reread changed that opinion. I saw with Jane that his love for Miss Oliver was not really love, but lust; and that in marrying her he would ensure the misery of them both. He would never be satisfied with her average morality and mind, and she would grow to hate him and his autocratic demands cloaked in religious sentiments. There is nothing that could really "save" St John from himself, and he stands as a chilling example of the good deeds and upright character that profits nothing without love (1 Corinthians 13). What a delicate hand to draw such a character, sparing the reader nothing of either St John's true goodness or his awful severity.

I love how Brontë addresses me as "reader" throughout the book. I can see how some people might find this irritating but for me it provided a delightful intimacy and immediacy in the story. You know something maybe shocking and certainly honest is coming when she prefaces it with "Reader." I lean in closer when she addresses me like that, holding my breath. Don't miss this, it says. This is pivotal.

Self-respect is a huge theme in this story. As I have gotten older and brushed up against more situations in which I could easily compromise my own, the idea that self-respect is worth more than temporal happiness has become more resonant with me. I have never been asked to surrender my convictions quite so dramatically as Jane, but little things gnaw away and are sometimes more deadly because their effects do not appear at first to be so ruinous. I think Jane is right when she says, in effect, that a guilty conscience will spoil any paradise on Earth.

The book is rich with biblical and literary allusions, which I adored. I thought it was a bit odd how the story ended, with St John rather than with Jane and Rochester. But the verse that Brontë quotes, "Amen; even so, come, Lord Jesus," could also apply to the other characters in the story, not just St John. I think the point is that not everyone is formed by God for the same work. Jane has made her peace with that and feels no guilt over not sacrificing her life to missions work in India. She and Rochester are just as ready for Christ's return and the subsequent accounting of their lives as St John. The self-righteous, hypocritical religion demonstrated in Mr Brocklehurst did not destroy Jane's faith in the true message of the Bible. Somehow she is able to distinguish between the two and achieve peace of mind and soul.

The only thing that gave me pause in the story was the too-neat coincidence of Jane stumbling upon her cousins, the Rivers, all unknown to her, and later becoming the sole recipient of their uncle's fortune at their expense. (Jane, of course, divides the inheritance equally among the four of them.) It's funny, though, that I can accept a dash of the supernatural with no problem and even love it — but I trip up a little over a mere coincidence worthy of Dickens!

Jane's painfully won moral strength, Rochester's broken, heartfelt repentance, the gorgeously Gothic drama of the mad wife shut away in the attic, the fantastic prose and gripping plot — all these come together to create something rather more than their sum. For me, this is a transfiguring piece of literature, probably one of my top five books of all time. If you haven't read it, either because of its "classic" status or for some other reason, I urge you to try it. It may not grip you as it did me, capturing the imagination so completely, but you will be the richer for having read this novel. I highly, highly recommend it. ( )

This is a book everyone should read at least once. It is amazing! (Rachel, Fall 2009)

Whenever I reread this book, I still have the same feelings I had when I first read it. I feel so sorry for Jane when she is at the school. I love Helen, and I tear up everytime she leaves Jane's life. I am always uncomfortable when Rochester shows up, and I always start to skim Jane's time with her cousins. I love this book. It reminds me of all of the good things about reading. ( )

It is over 25 years since I last read this book; it was one of our set texts for Eng Lit O-level, so I remembered it as a source of material for essay-writing rather than as an actual reading pleasure. I had forgotten quite a lot of it:

* that little Adèle is probably Rochester's illegitimate daughter
* the whole death scene of Jane's aunt
* Jane's inheritance from the uncle in Madeira
* that Jane is actually a rather sassy, assertive teenager, who knows what is best for her and, very gracefully, refuses to take crap from anyone (though like her author she is a bit of a snob and racist)
* the repeated instances of the supernatural - prophetic dreams, culminating in her hearing Rochester call to her from a hundred miles away - which make it a magical rather than realistic novel
* that it is actually a very enjoyable book.

My Penguin edition has an excellent introduction and a few well-considered endnotes by Queenie Leavis, which shed extra light on the text without showing off the editor's command of trivia. Brilliant stuff. ( )

This novel is better than I remembered - I appreciate it more now than I did as a teenager or college student. It is deeply psychological and philosophical, as well as being an enduring love story of two passionate soul-mates overcoming adverse circumstances. ( )

Jane Eyre, was a exceptional book. Charlotte Brontë, was an extremely talented author, who brought to life vibrant characters throughout her books. Jane Eyre in particular was a very memorable character, whose personality was intriguing and at times appears above her time, where you can see glimpses of a Victorian feminist. I was familiar with Jane Eyre from a “Women’s Writers" literature course I took in college, where we watched the movie version instead (I skipped that day not wanting to ruin the book). But I still knew the basic plot line of the book going into the book, and I’ve read the “prequel”, which is the story of Bertha, the woman in the attic, which was part of the story that intrigued me the most. Brontë, was able to build up a great mystery behind the woman in the attic, and in exposing Rochester’s dark secrets. It was different to have read “Wide Sargasso Sea” first, which tells Bertha’s side of the story, and then to read the other side of the story in Jane Eyre, both are approached very differently, but both are wonderful stories, full of rich characters.

I wasn’t a big fan of Rochester, he was very egotistical and didn’t think highly of others. And I don’t understand the love affair between him and Jane, they spent a lot of time together, but they are both so different in character, that it just didn’t seem right they were madly in love to me. Rochester seemed to take advantage of her passiveness when it came to men. Although I did enjoy him acting as the fortune teller, overall, he wasn’t a likeable character.

Reading some reviews, I seem to be in the minority, some of my favourite parts was when Jane was away on her own, running her own little school. I think she seemed the most happy there and she was more enchanting as an independent woman. Rather than her time at Thornfield, I would have rather end up working at the school, helping the local children. But nonetheless, I still enjoyed how the story went.

One other criticism of the book was I found Jane to bounce back and forward from being an energetic, out spoken women, who speaks her mind freely, to some one who is trampled on and gives in to the whims of others. Everyone has their faults, but Jane seemed to be a mixture of both sides, it confuses the reader, who Jane really is.

But over all the story was wonderful, Brontë’s style of writing is stunning and flowing, it is hard not to be pulled in to her stories, and I love how she often addresses the reader in her books, it adds a bit of intimacy between the author and the reader. She is quickly becoming my favourite Victorian author.

Review also on my blog: http://juliebooks.blogspot.com/2009/0... ( )

Jane Eyre is a perfect book for me. I have read many times and it is still full of atmosphere and excitement and suspense despite years of knowing the whole plot.

Wonderful book. ( )

A orphaned girl placed in an orphanage by her cruel aunt, grows up to be a very intelligent woman. She goes to work for an unusual man, who has a very troubled past and has trouble loving anyone. But with time he falls in love with her and she quickly finds that his past is in fact alive. The Movie is somewhat interesting. I love black and white films. ( )

How can one write a review of so popular a book? This is an ongoing favourite for me; I read through it 2-3 times every year, and I keep a little pocket copy in my locker at work at all times. It is truly a masterpiece.

To the new reader, it can seem both intimidating and clichéd- a thick volume told entirely in first person narrative. Even its themes borderline on the tired; a madwoman in the attic, a gloomy house with more going on than meets the eye, the May-September romance between a woman and a man separated by fortune and class as much as they are separated by their respective ages. Relatives come out of the woodwork at opportune and inopportune times, servants drop hints that they mysteriously refuse to clarify, and an air of foreboding hangs over the novel. Nowadays, these are pretty familiar literary techniques.

But Bronte was a pioneer. She was one of the first to successfully blend romance and gothic horror so flawlessly that one eventually finds oneself wrapped up in the story. Perhaps without intention, Bronte also threw into this novel some techniques that would become commonplace in the mystery genre- red herrings galore, broken-off sentences that seem to mean one thing but in the end turn out to mean something quite different, and so the list runs.

So Jane. Jane, with her “religious” ideas that sometimes ring hollow while other times holding true. Jane, the unattractive, poor, penniless, orphan abused by her guardian relatives. Jane, with her ability to love colliding with her inability to trust. Jane, with her feminine Victorian education which somehow equals and rivals her male counterparts’. Jane, who could be ridiculed as one of the most obvious clichés. What an honour and testament it is to Charlotte Bronte for her to have written a story which thousands have found worthy to mimic for centuries.

So, I hold to my conviction- this is a masterpiece well worth reading. ( )

touching: I am inspired by Jane's reslove to stick to what she believes in, even when it is the most difficult thing to possibly do. this book is beautiful.

This is one of the many books that everyone insists you must read it, and so now I have.

I enjoyed the beginning. Jane's trials and tribulations throughout childhood, then life and at the boarding school. I know that this book is very much a product of its time. Namely, the author was writing for an audience that expected a good long flowery yarn. But, I think for the modern reader the story begins to drag a bit when she becomes a governess.

Part of my own frustrations, I know, are based on the fact that I as a modern woman WOULD NOT put up with the crap this poor woman goes through. It is difficult to even begin to fathom the way these martyr-type female characters are willing to just put up with how awful they are treated.

One of the bright spots early in the book is when Jane gives her rotten aunt an earful about just what she thinks of her. This is later negated when Jane goes to her at her death bed and forgives her. The aunt breathes vitriol and venom at Jane until the very end, and in the classic Victorian Womens' style she takes it happily.

Jane seems to find happiness for a time with Mr Edward Rochester. But this too is taken from her because, evidently, the concept of divorce doesn't exist? Instead she and Edward must (for a time) sacrifice their happiness because Christian duty is more important that true happiness. I wanted them to run away together!

When, in the end, Jane does marry Edward, he is blind from an accident at the fire that killed his wife and destroyed Thornfield. I think the changes in his character, from rage and passion to meek and dependent were supposed to be a good thing? I hated it. Again the idea seemed to be all about tearing down the characters for the furtherance of the Christian ideal. Emasculating Edward, humbling Jane, forgiving the nasty Mrs Reed, bending and scrapping and bowing to all... just ugh.I doubt I'll read this book again. ( )

I did not Jane Eyre. I found it too dark and twisted to get comfortably into. I know many people enjoy that characteristic of the book, but I'm not one of them. ( )

Readers Annotation:
Jane finally gets away from the school where she has felt so much grief and joy. She begins working at Thornfield Hall as a governess. Strange things keep happening at Thornfield; someone gets stabbed, Mr. Rochester’s bed catches fire while he is sleeping and maniacal laughter.
Plot Summary:
Jane Eyre is an orphan who is abused and neglected by her Aunt who spoils her own children. Her Aunt sends her to a boarding school run by a tyrannical, hypocritical minister. Jane does not let the school get her down even after her friend dies from their poor living conditions. Many years later Jane accepts a position at Thornfield Hall as a governess. She becomes the teacher and friend to a French girl named Adele who is also an orphan and a ward of Mr. Rochester. She falls in love with her employer, Mr. Rochester. Strange things keep happening at Thornfield; stabbings, fires, and mysterious laughter. Jane and Rochester finally confess their feelings to each other, but their wedding is interrupted when Rochester's dark past comes to light. Jane runs away and lives with long-lost family members and is offered a new life. She makes the trip back to Thornfield hall after she hears Mr. Rochester cry her name out in her dream.
Evaluation:
This story is the epitome of Gothic Romance. The author begins with Jane as a child and the unequal treatment she receives from her Aunt in comparison to her cousins. In the end Jane turns out to have a better character as an adult than the cousins her Aunt doted on. It has a message of overcoming a harsh childhood and circumstances. It takes you through the complete gamut of human emotions of fears, heartbreak, love and hate. This is one of my favorite books. I usually come back to it once a year or so to reread.
Reason Included: This book has been my favorite since I was in high school.
Ages: 14+/Interests: Romance, Gothic, Classics
Website: http://www.brontefamily.org/history.h... ( )

i really really the books of Charlotte Bronte ...keep reading about her books and u will know it's interesting ^_^

Jane managed to get through such horrendous ordeals growing up, and did not turn out to be a serial killer. I think this is why I like her so much.

http://stuff-ive-read.blogspot.com/20... ( )

I re-read this after reading it in college over 20 years ago. This edition is an example of what good, creative marketing can do. Even though this edition is a paperback, the cover is designed to look like an old, musty leather-bound book. Dame Darcy's gothic comic-style illustrations add a whole new dimension to the experience of reading this book. It reminded me why I loved illustrations in books so much when I was a kid.

A classic story of love and duty. ( )

Wow really great book and I can't get enough of it.

Loved this classic. ( )