Book Review - Jane Eyre
The year of the book club classics continues with Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre.
What an amazing book for its time. The heroine could not have been a better feminist role model.
Orphaned at an early age, Jane's sent to a strict, brutal even, religious school to correct her 'flaws'. Those flaws, as perceived by her unloving Aunt, appear to be intelligence, self-reliance and self-respect. The first section of the book shows Jane's struggles with her Aunt's family and her pursuit of being able to support herself by becoming a teacher.
The second part of the book is the story of Jane's position as tutor to the ward of Mr. Rochester, an abrupt, rich man who takes a shine to Jane's intellect and personality. He eventually asks for her hand in marriage and she accepts but on their wedding day, the ceremony is disrupted by the announcement that he's already married. And, that his insane wife is locked up in the house. Hmm, something he forgot to mention. Rochester offers her a life as his 'companion' and she bolts.
The final part of the book shows Jane rebuilding her life, meeting long lost relatives and supporting herself as a teacher. Once she's got all of her ducks in a row, she ends up returning to Rochester whose wife was dead from a fire that has physically damaged him.
And they lived happily ever after...
What an amazing book for its time. The heroine could not have been a better feminist role model.
Orphaned at an early age, Jane's sent to a strict, brutal even, religious school to correct her 'flaws'. Those flaws, as perceived by her unloving Aunt, appear to be intelligence, self-reliance and self-respect. The first section of the book shows Jane's struggles with her Aunt's family and her pursuit of being able to support herself by becoming a teacher.
The second part of the book is the story of Jane's position as tutor to the ward of Mr. Rochester, an abrupt, rich man who takes a shine to Jane's intellect and personality. He eventually asks for her hand in marriage and she accepts but on their wedding day, the ceremony is disrupted by the announcement that he's already married. And, that his insane wife is locked up in the house. Hmm, something he forgot to mention. Rochester offers her a life as his 'companion' and she bolts.
The final part of the book shows Jane rebuilding her life, meeting long lost relatives and supporting herself as a teacher. Once she's got all of her ducks in a row, she ends up returning to Rochester whose wife was dead from a fire that has physically damaged him.
And they lived happily ever after...