Romance Book Review: Jane Eyre

Romance

*Side Note* I was originally going to read The Princess Bride by William Goldman, but I thought I was having an allergic reaction to the book I was using, so I switched to Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte.

Saricks’ The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction (2009) Characteristics of Romance:

• “The evocative, emotional tone draws readers in, and they participate in this love story and read toward the emotionally satisfying, happy ending

• Characters are easily identifiable types. Men are rugged, strong, distant, and dangerous; women are strong, bright, independent, and often beautiful

• The story features either a misunderstanding between the protagonists or outside circumstances that force them apart, followed by the satisfactory resolution of their romantic relationship. Social and moral issues may play a role in their story lines of Romances, although they are always secondary and do not interfere with the happy ending

• Engaging details of time and place attract readers, and these historical, cultural, and social particulars often frame the stories

• Although Romances usually can be read fairly quickly and are called fast-paced by their fans, they can also be stopped and started easily, without losing the story line

• Language plays an important role in setting the stage. The language of a Romance is instantly recognizable, with extensive use of descriptive adjectives to delineate characters, setting, and romantic or sexual interludes” (133).

Summary

Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Bronte, is perhaps one of the most famous Romance stories in Classic Literature.

Plain Jane has been tortured both emotionally and physically throughout her life. She endured being the scapegoat-orphan-ward of Mrs. Reed (her aunt), and her cousins, John, Georgiana, and Eliza Reed, at Gateshead Hall. Treated less than a servant, she was punished many times for her outbursts of righteous anger towards her cruel relatives. When Mrs. Reed had the last straw with her, Jane was forced into a worse situation at Lowood, an all-girls boarding school.

Mr. Brocklehurst oversaw everything that went on at Lowood, and was just as evil as Mrs. Reed; he took no notice of the frozen water they were supposed to wash with in the dead of winter, or the burnt porridge that was barely edible. Basic food and school supplies were rationed, and typhus quickly spread, separating Jane from her only friend, Helen Burns, forever. Jane survived the sickness and grew to be a teacher at Lowood. However, she wanted a change and found it at Thornfield Hall, as governess.

She fell in love with Mr. Edward Rochester, who was master of Thornfield. The more Jane stayed at Thornfield, the more she was aware of the strange things that were happening behind the scenes. The servants would not tell Jane what was happening, so she decided to investigate for herself.

Several situations led Jane to conclude that a servant, called Grace Poole, had been tormenting the residents of Thornfield in the middle of the night. Jane witnessed her setting fire to Mr. Rochester’s bed, and heard her stabbing and biting a guest in the middle of the night. As her wedding day to Mr. Rochester approaches, she saw what she believed to be Grace Poole destroying her wedding clothes.

It is interesting to note Mr. Rochester’s interpretation of Grace Poole while he is talking to Jane. He knows Grace Poole to be one character, and Jane believes her to be another, but he leads her on until the very last minute, when Jane and Mr. Rochester stood at the altar and then everything between them has changed with one man’s objection: to let Jane know the truth about who has been haunting Thornfield Hall.

Jane then leaves and goes on a mini-quest to find herself, after she discovered she had been lied to at by the very people she loved. She suddenly becomes rich by the death of a distant relative, forgives the residents of Thornfield, and rushes back to her beloved Mr. Rochester to live happily ever after.

Reader, this book will amaze you.

Read-Alikes According to Goodreads.com (2018):

"The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen 

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte" (1).

Jane Eyre in English Literature

Author’s houses have always been an interest of mine. After reading a classic work, I always like to explore the Internet for pictures of the residence of that particular author. Below are extra videos that give a tour of the Bronte house, church and graveyard, and each gives a brief context as to why Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is so important in English Literature.The first video gives an overall idea of each of the Bronte sisters, while the second video focuses on Charlotte Bronte, specifically.

Works Cited

The British Library (2014). Jane Eyre: The Role of Women. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=74&v=Y0F-odUoWd4

Bronte, C. (1847). Jane Eyre. New York: Penguin Classics.


Goodreads. (2018). Books Like Jane Eyre. Retrieved from  https://www.goodreads.com/book/similar/2977639-jane-eyre

Joyce. D. (2016). The Brilliant Bronte Sisters. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLI1Bm6rNuc&list=PL-To6MiQypbfh_PuMNx-trlJXTAtbtt2M

Saricks, J. (2009). The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction (2nd Edition). Chicago: ALA.