By Charlotte Brontë
Recommend? yes! Buy or borrow? buy!
Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel…..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.”
Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë
Synopsis (Goodreads)
Orphaned as a child, Jane has felt an outcast her whole young life. Her courage is tested once again when she arrives at Thornfield Hall, where she has been hired by the brooding, proud Edward Rochester to care for his ward Adèle. Jane finds herself drawn to his troubled yet kind spirit. She falls in love. Hard.
But there is a terrifying secret inside the gloomy, forbidding Thornfield Hall. Is Rochester hiding from Jane? Will Jane be left heartbroken and exiled once again?
Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10210.Jane_Eyre?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=TkwZQ77rnO&rank=1
Buy on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3eR56Jb
Review
I was a little hesitant going into Jane Eyre, mainly because it’s very long and classics can sometimes drag on a little. BUT I ended up really enjoying it! Jane is such an incredible character, she’s strong, pushes the boundaries, and consistently goes after what she wants despite her past and less than ideal childhood.
I really enjoyed the first third of the book, when Jane is at Lowood. I feel like she really found herself within those walls and realized that not everyone thinks the way that she does. It’s the first time that you see how strong Jane is, even as a young girl. Jane’s friendship with Helen at Lowood plays a large part in shaping Jane’s character. Jane comes to realize that she can never be like Helen, because she won’t roll over and accept unjust punishments, whereas Helen keeps her head down and does what she is told.
I have some feelings (some meh feelings) about Mr. Rochester. Mainly that I think he’s pretty awful, if I’m being honest. I went into this book thinking that I was going to adore his character because of everything I’ve heard about previously, but he’s not very nice! Despite the relationship between him and Jane and Jane’s feelings for him, she continues to do whatever it is that she wants. And that I really, really like!
AND the way Jane thinks (and acts) about how women and men are equal (claps), such an amazing message to shine through in a book of its time! Here’s the full quote from above:
“ 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, too 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.
Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë
I think this quote really sums up Jane’s character, beliefs, and personality.
All that to say, I loved the book, although the ending was not my cup of tea at all, so a solid 4.5⭐️
As a side note, this is the first book I’ve read for #2020RGchallenge (a book with a school setting) over on bookstagram thanks to #JanewithSam 💕 Check it out if you like all things Gilmore Girls and books!
What’s your favourite classic? This is very close to how my I loved the Bell Jar!
Pocket Full of Books 