I’ve been telling people that I’m “re-reading” Jane Eyre, that I hadn’t read it since 8th grade, but I realized a few chapters into it that I’ve never read this one by Charlotte Brontë (I think it was Ethan Frome I read in 8th grade….). And it’s about time I did.
I really have the movie, and the adoration of the movie by my fellow book bloggers, to thank. If there had never been a Masterpiece Theater movie, and if y’all hadn’t raved about it, I wouldn’t have gotten it from the library, watched it with M, loved it, and then read the book.
Since you all know the plot, I’ll just leave you with some observations:
1) I like Charlotte better than Emily. I read Wuthering Heights several years back and HATED it. (Sorry to all you Heathcliff lovers out there.) It was like watching a train wreck. Horrible, but you can’t tear yourself away. I think I must have assumed that all Brontë sisters were alike, and so I thought Jane Eyre would be monumentally depressing. It wasn’t. It truly is a wonderful love story. Not as simplistic as The Blue Castle, but just as wonderful. I think my annoyance of Eclipse is hereby purged.
2) St. John Rivers is a jerk. Mr. Rochester may be gruff, may be impulsive and may be arrogant, but he is not a jerk. I was seething at St. John when he went off on Jane trying to convince her to marry him. Humph. She said no; deal with it, man.
3) I liked Jane. A lot. She was sensible, practical, intelligent and kind. She’s a remarkable, admirable heroine. In short, someone I want my girls to grow up like. (Just without the aunt that hates them. ) I like what Erica Jong said about her in the introduction:
Jane may be the first heroine in fiction to know that she needs her own identity more than she needs marriage. Her determination not to relinquish selfhood for love could well belong to a contemporary heroine.
I don’t know about the contemporary heroine part; she’s a lot more selfless than contemporary heroines. But she does have a self-awareness and goodness about her that demands respect and admiration. In Jane, Charlotte came up with a remarkable, and memorable, character.
I know the Brontë sisters have been compared to Jane Austen, but I’m not sure there’s really a comparison. Austen wrote social commentary in the form of love stories; I don’t think Charlotte was really making a commentary on society in Jane Eyre (though I suppose it could be read as such). I think she was just writing a gripping love story, a tale of someone who overcame all odds to find happiness in her life.
And isn’t that one of the best stories to tell?
The Book Nut 
Great review of a great book. 🙂
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Woo-hoo! for Jane Eyre! I agree completely with everything you said. Especially about liking Jane Eyre over Wuthering Heights. My reaction to the two books couldn’t have been more different- LOVED Jane Eyre, HATED Wuthering Heights. I love that Erica Jong wrote the Intro! too funny. She’s right on.
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turtlebella: I’m SO GLAD I’m not the only person in the world who hated Wuthering Heights. Usually, when I say that, people look at me in disbelief. Kind of like my dislike of cinnamon…
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Yes, I’d say the Brontes are a much different sort of writing than Austen. I agree with you on Charlotte over Emily. I didn’t love Wuthering Heights, but I’ve loved everything by Charlotte. Did you know this book was banned? They didn’t want young girls getting ideas about independence, I guess . . . I’m glad you liked it!
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Great book! I could never get into Wuthering Heights (until now), but I gulped Jane Eyre down with glee.
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Your assessment of WH made me laugh: “It was like watching a train wreck. Horrible, but you can’t tear yourself away.” Exactly! I wouldn’t be too quick to rule out social commentary in Jane Eyre, though. The mere fact of writing such an independent, self-possessed heroine comments on the position of women in Bronte’s time. Social commentary may not have been her primary purpose, but I think it must have been part of it. 🙂
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You have a point, Heather. But I think it’s much easier for us, as modern readers, to read social commentary into 19th-century writers. I’m not entirely convinced that Austen was writing social commentary, either. Maybe she was just writing witty love stories. Then again, maybe she was poking fun (or challenging?) society.I guess what I’m trying to say is that I think Charlottes *primary* purpose was to write a good story with a heroine she could admire. If it turned out as social commentary, then, so be it.
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I fell so in love with this story as a teen that I have both read the book and watched the movie countless times. I mean countless. Can you imagine dinner-table conversations at the Bronte’s house? I never liked Wuthering Heights until I had been through a bad marriage–now it makes more sense to me. I especially like the part where the housekeeper is quizzing Cathy on why she wants to marry the rich guy. What amazes me the most is what a quiet, hidden life those women lived, considering the passionate stories they wrote.
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Glad you liked it! It a favorite of mine. Did you like Ethan Frome? Edith Wharton can be depressing but I love her way with words. I haven’t read that one.
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I laughed when I read you discovered you actually hadn’t read it and that it was another book – I’ve done this so many times!! I just splurged and bought the BBC Masterpiece Version that I saw on TV awhile ago. I’m planning to have a Jane Eyre marathon this weekend!!
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Chris — I wish I could say I liked Ethan Frome, but since I thought it was Jane Eyre that I had read, I probably don’t remember a dang thing about it. Probably time to read that one, too.And Heather, it was your gushing of the Masterpiece Theater movie that lead me to check it out (need to buy it!)… have a great weekend!Inkling — that’s interesting about the Bronte sisters’ lives. Maybe it’s because they were so quiet and hidden that they allowed their imagination to roam so wildly and passionately?
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I recently read Anne’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and I really, really loved it. It wasn’t depressing like Wuthering Heights at all!I think Anne’s my favourite, but I haven’t read Charlotte or Emily all that recently; at the time, I liked Wuthering more than Jane. Who knows now?
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Coming from the book carnival – I read Jane Eyre for the first time this year, so you can’t assume people know the story. I like your (almost) comparison to Blue Castle. I thought Jane Eyre had a feel of LM Montgomery, or vice versa I guess, which I wasn’t expecting. I too thought it would be more Austen-like. I was so pleased it wasn’t. Now, I have to watch the movie.And Mr Rochester has it all over Heathcliff, just not quite as good as Gilbert Blythe.
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I agree with you completely. I hated Wuthering Heights. I couldn’t understand where all that romantic love was. I hated Catherine and wanted to hit Heathcliff really hard!:PBut Jane Eyre is been a favourite since I read as a teen. maybe it’s time to re-read it.
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The Jane Eyre books is my favorite from Charlotte Bronte. Villette and Shiley are must-read from her as well. 🙂
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