Jane Eyre Review

Jane Eyre is a well known classic and has already been analysed and reviewed by many a more qualified and well-rounded critic than myself, but as Ophelia Dagger said "I can't say a lot of things better than a lot of people, but I just keep on talking."

I admit, the idea of reading this book - to me - seemed a chore. Having had no grounds for this preconceived opinion, I opened the first page thinking it would be a royally Victorian bore. How wrong I was.

This book, despite its lexis being from 1847, captivated me from the start. It jumps straight to the point as the protagonist, Jane, writes in first person declaring: "Their was no possibility of taking a walk that day."

Jane Eyre is an orphan initially taken in by her cold-hearted aunt, Mrs Reed, who constantly acts unjustly towards her despite having seemingly no cause to. After years of living with her, a doctor comes to the house and Jane confides in him her hatred of Mrs Reed and her cousins and having to live with them. He suggests to Mrs Reed she go to a charity for girls school, Lowood. Mrs Reed agrees. Before she leaves, Jane makes a point of confronting her aunt and calling her deceitful and exclaiming she will tell everyone at Lowood how cruelly she was treated by her. This was amazingly satisfying to read and had me smiling down at the pages, this articulate young girl was finally speaking out against her awful aunt, just as the reader had longed her to for so many pages. This also helped to shatter the preconceived ideas I had formed about Victorian literature being pious and complacent.

After gaining an education at Lowood, at the age of eighteen Jane decides to become a governess. She advertises her services and receives a reply from an Alice Fairfax of Thornfield Hall. Here she is the governess to a young French girl named Adele, who's dialogue will make you endlessly grateful that Google translate exists. She also meets the stern-looking Mr Rochester, who appears rude and abrupt at first, but as Jane gets to know him better she begins to grow fond of him, to say the least.

But Jane Eyre is not simply a love story. No, no, within the grand house Jane grows accustomed to hearing deranged laughter emanating from the attic, supposedly from a servant named Grace Poole. This is thrown into question when peculiar events begin to occur...

This is an incredibly successful book, and for good reason. It encapsulates a wide range of themes including love, morality, disaster and the Gothic and in my opinion, deserves all of its critical acclaim. One thing I think makes this novel so successful is that Jane Eyre is a very likeable character. She is intelligent, moral and strives to be independent despite it not being the norm in her historical backdrop. And, as aforementioned, she is beloved for her insistence of standing up for injustice. Jane is repeatedly referred to as 'plain' throughout the novel, suggesting women have always suffered from being valued on their appearance on first impressions. Also, Bronte's feminist views are shown through the many progressive opinions her main character holds: "Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel..." 

Overall, Jane Eyre is a thoroughly enjoyable read laced with symbolism and powerful social criticisms. Bronte's writing is both descriptive and captivating and this novel is a pure source of escapism. If you are wanting to delve into Victorian literature, start with reading this book - it will give you a desire to devour everything with the Bronte name on it.