Jane Eyre

This is the Puffin Classics edition, published in 1994

Title: Jane Eyre
Author: Charlotte Bronte
First Published: by Smith, Elder & Co, 1847
Audience: 15+
Rating: 4.5 stars
About: The orphan Jane Eyre has never had a home. Hated by her Aunt Reed, she is sent away to Lowood school where she lives a bland and sheltered life for the next eight years. However, after taking the post of Governess at Thornfield, she meets the not-so-handsome Mr. Rochester, and finds in him the love, security and friendship she's been searching for. 

"Birds began singing in brake and copse: birds were faithful to their mates; birds were emblems of love. 
What was I?"

Out of all the classics I've read lately this has got to be my absolute favourite. I've seen the recent film version of Jane Eyre, starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender, which was released in 2011 and I thought I loved it. But then I read the book and I love that so much more. If you ever feel at a loss as to what to read this summer, pick up a classic as you may be pleasantly surprised by what you find, I definitely was. 

I was impressed by the amount of tragedy and despair contained within this novel as it isn't completely and utterly doom and gloom like many novels I've read recently. Whereas most of the time, when a character has had a difficult childhood, happiness and contentment is usually absent entirely which makes it difficult, in my opinion, for the adult character to be well-rounded and unaffected. But in Jane Eyre, her prospects improve steadily with the change in each situation, providing a refreshing change. Jane moves from her bleak situation with her Aunt Reed, to a slightly more loving - if less comfortable - life at Lowood School, then eventually to Thornfield, where she admits to being happy and to finally feeling at home. What I thought was interesting about Jane's childhood was not that it was a lack of material comforts or a comfortable home which made it sad, but a lack of love, friendship and family. She then finds all of these things in Mr. Rochester, something which makes their love so much more valuable and captivating to read.


As love stories go, this has to be my absolute favourite. It's ahead of Wuthering Heights, The Notebook, Never Let Me Go and maybe even The Time Traveller's Wife. The way their relationship develops is so tender and cautious that it provides time for the passion expressed to simmer and grow, meaning that when they do confess their mutual love in that famous and powerful interaction, it does not seem melodramatic or forced but controlled, eloquent and truthful. It is these attributes which create a love story which is not only passionate but also intelligent and utterly breathtaking. It does not conform to that modern trend of sacrificial love, where the two characters would sacrifice their lives and good names to be together. Instead, Jane places both their morality and relationships with God above their own happiness, in an attempt to do what is right rather than what is selfish. I think that this is a powerful message which should be more readily conveyed in modern society, but it is also this old traditional charm which captivates me.


My only criticism is that occasionally the storyline became long-winded and unexciting, but the way Charlotte Bronte narrates with such articulate beauty kept my attention so that this did not become a deteriorating factor. For this reason, I give Jane Eyre 4.5 stars out of 5.