Jane Eyre

by Charlotte Brontë

532 pages

English language

Published June 27, 2003

ISBN:: 978-0-14-243720-9
Goodreads:: 10210

(166 reviews)

Jane Eyre (originally published as Jane Eyre: An Autobiography) is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë, published under the pen name "Currer Bell", on 16 October 1847, by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first American edition was published the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York. Jane Eyre is a Bildungsroman which follows the experiences of its eponymous heroine, including her growth to adulthood and her love for Mr. Rochester, the brooding master of Thornfield Hall.The novel revolutionised prose fiction by being the first to focus on its protagonist's moral and spiritual development through an intimate first-person narrative, where actions and events are coloured by a psychological intensity. Charlotte Brontë has been called the "first historian of the private consciousness", and the literary ancestor of writers like Proust and Joyce.The book contains elements of social criticism with a strong sense of Christian morality at its …

23 editions

Tess reviewed Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Une lecture douce-amère.

3 stars

J'écris cette chronique à chaud, juste après avoir tourné la dernière page du livre et je pense que le sentiment dans lequel je suis influencera quelque peu ma chronique.

En effet, je suis déçue de la fin de ce roman, partons tout de suite dans les spoilers, la fin me frustre vraiment. Depuis le départ de Jane de chez M. Rochester, je suis frustrée. Alors que je voyais dans cette décision la meilleure qu'elle puisse prendre, elle est revenue vers son maître alors que je pense qu'elle mérite mieux. Et pourtant elle paraît heureuse. Autre chose qui me désole, ce hasard des choses qui fait que par un miracle fou elle se soit retrouvé chez sa seule famille alors qu'elle errait seule dans la campagne anglaise...

Mais revenons sur le début du roman, j'ai eu beaucoup de mal avec la phase enfant et adolescente de Jane bien que j'aie tout …

J'écris cette chronique à chaud, juste après avoir tourné la dernière page du livre et je pense que le sentiment dans lequel je suis influencera quelque peu ma chronique.

Mais revenons sur le début du roman, j'ai eu beaucoup de mal avec la phase enfant et adolescente de Jane bien que j'aie tout de suite aimé son caractère. La plume de Charlotte, bien que nous racontant toute l'histoire alors qu'elle est déjà bien loin pour elle, nous replonge pourtant d1ns les souvenirs comme si le récit était fait sur le moment.

J'ai beaucoup aimé tout le passage à Thornfield où je la voyais devenir une femme et s'affirmer, elle et son caractère, parfois bien en avance sur son temps avec son féminisme et ses manières.

En résumé, je ne dirai pas que j'ai aimé ce roman, j'y ai seulement passé un bon moment.

Zelanator reviewed Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Review of 'Jane Eyre' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Fav!

Jordyn reviewed Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Review of 'Jane Eyre' on 'GoodReads'

3 stars

1st third: Somewhat tedious in the way Victorian novels can be
2nd third: Extremely compelling in the way a well-spooled romance can be
3rd third: Disappointing in the way an elaborate, drawn-out denouement can be

hwebb reviewed Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Review of 'Jane Eyre' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Beautifully written, and much more a character study than a romance novel.

Pumpkin Pai reviewed Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Review of 'Jane Eyre' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Better every time. Can't wait for round 3 in a few years!

Avarla reviewed Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Review of 'Jane Eyre' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

This was dragging along quite a bit. Yes, Jane is independent and knows what she wants and such, but in the end she fits right into what society needs her to be. So even though I respect her as a heroine, I just feel like everything was a bit too conveniently socially acceptable.

the_lirazel reviewed Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Review of 'Jane Eyre' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Does it get better every time?

annewalk reviewed Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Review of 'Jane Eyre' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

My favorite book as a teen. I’ve read it dozens of times and find that I always get something out of it.

Steen Christiansen reviewed Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Review of 'Jane Eyre' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

The story bores me but Eyre remains fascinatingly rendered in crisp prose.

Michael @ Knowledge Lost reviewed Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (Oxford world's classics)

Review of 'Jane Eyre' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

When Jane Eyre was originally published, it was called Jane Eyre: An Autobiography edited by Currer Bell (Charlotte Brontë’s pen-name), which in itself is a fascinating insight into this classic novel. The idea Charlotte Brontë wanted this to be viewed as an autobiography implies this is more of a social commentary more than a classic gothic novel. This is what I want to focus my review on; what did she want to say about the world when she wrote this book?

Most people know the plot of Jane Eyre, so we can skip that and go right into the analysis. Bildungsroman is the primary genre of Jane Eyre, which is basically a coming of age story that documents the psychological and moral growth of its protagonist, which is interesting because on the surface there doesn’t seem to be much growth for Jane Eyre. Apart from the class struggle; Jane Eyre was an educated orphan who always believed she was low class. She constantly discriminates against herself about her class and this ultimately allows Mr Rochester to be the dominating force he is in their relationship. However it isn’t until Jane has money and returns to find Rochester blind and cripple, that she agree to marry him; what does that say about the social balance?

Though there is a whole idea of independence that plays out within this novel as well. I never thought that Jane Eyre and Mr Rochester had any chemistry and the first proposal was forced upon her. Thankfully it was revealed that Rochester was already married and Jane got out of the position she was in. She had to learn independence and the ability to make decisions for herself. This was tested when St. John (which I discovered is meant to be pronounced together like sin-jun) asked her to marry him.

There is a strong sense of religious morality at the core of Jane Eyre, just look at when St. John proposed to Jane Eyre, it allowed her to played with the idea of a moral decision. There is also an equilibrium between moral duty and earthly happiness that comes into play in this scene. Jane sees John as a brother but he tries to pressure her by implying that it is her Christian duty to marry him and work as a missionary in India. Her refusal to marry him but still travel to India as a missionary was met with disdain. John tries to emotionally blackmail her into marriage using God’s will as ammunition, even though there is no love and would only be a marriage of convenience.

I know I may have asked a few too many questions in this review, but there are some interesting thoughts to be had about Jane Eyre. I am not going to go into how Mr Rochester is the Byronic hero, the gothic themes, or how people should view this book as a Romantic novel and not a romantic book. Personally I think there are interesting elements within this classic book but Charlotte Brontë is my least favourite of all the Brontë sisters. This is the first time reading Jane Eyre and I might read it again at some point; but I hope I offered some interesting insights into the book.

This review originally appeared on my blog; literary-exploration.com/2015/01/03/jane-eyre-by-charlotte-bronte/

Manzabar reviewed Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Review of 'Jane Eyre' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

This is not a book that I can recall ever reading before. I picked it up to read in preperation for reading The Eyre Affair with my local book group.

The first half of the book favorably reminded me of Pride & Prejudice. But then the second half seems to veer way off track to no apparent purpose. To a non-English Literature major, it feels like Ms. Brontë was in need of a better editor. shrug