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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.8
EAN num: 9780486424491
ISBN number: 0486424499
Label: Dover Publications
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 448
Printing Date: January 16, 2003
Publishing house: Dover Publications
Sale Popularity Level: 4773
Studio: Dover Publications
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Product Description:
Charlotte Brontë characterized the eponymous heroine of her 1847 novel as being 'as poor and plain as myself.' Presenting a heroine with neither great beauty nor entrancing charm was an unprecendented maneuver, but Brontë's instincts proved correct, for readers of her era and ever after have taken Jane Eyre into their hearts. The author drew upon her own experience to depict Jane's struggles at Lowood, an oppressive boarding school, and her troubled career as a governess. Unlike Jane, Brontë had the advantage of a warm family circle that shared and encouraged her literary pursuits. She found immediate sucess with this saga of an orphan girl forced to make her way alone in the world, from Lowood School to Thornfield, the estate of the majestically moody Mr. Rochester, and beyond. Unabridged republication of a standard edition.
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Rated by buyers 
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*Spoiler alert*
I'm not a big fan of romantic works. I don't remember reading Mills & Boons or Harlequin romance novels. Chick-literature annoys me. I distance myself from Oprah's Book Club recommendations since they are mostly chick-lit or 'truimph of the human spirit' kind of fluff. The closest i've been to romantic literature is Jane Austen and Bronte sisters. Pride and Prejudice and Wuthering Heights are romantic, but there is much more to them than just snagging a nice, rich guy and marrying him. Until yesterday Mr.Bingley was my favorite romantic character of all time. He had an exceptional character, an intelligent mind and a devil-may-care disposition- the three things i admire most in a man. But if Mr.Rochester and Mr.Bingley were to be pit against each other today, i'd choose Mr.Rochester.
Pros:
I never imagined that I would enjoy Jane Eyre as much or even more than Pride and Prejudice. I just couldn't put the book down. The story is trite. It was probably novel in those times, given that the book was written over 170 years ago. To this jaded modern soul it would have been just another governess romance, if not for the brilliant writing. The narrative flows like a stream gushing over. Bronte's description of everything is very detailed. But it builds up the anticipation just so. One wouldn't expect to rave about a story of a governess in love with her master but too poor to profess it to him. That's the power of good writing. A good writer can create a large tome about something really mundane and it is still likely to attract a dedicated following.
Reading it transported me to that time and place. I felt for Jane Eyre's poverty and lovelessness and admired her strength and endurance. Mr.Rochester's torment over something very common and normal in our times was heart-wrenching. I could relate to Bessie's nonchalant affection for Jane, Adele's childish enthusiasm and Mrs.Fairfax's lack of ingenuity. I adored Diana and Mary, though they were pretty much superfluous to the book, and disliked St.John for his evangelistic attitude. His contrived ideas of marriage and service to God were infuriating. I believe that one who truly loves God, loves man unconditionally, seeing God in him. But St.John clearly seperated God, man and eternal heaven and with that he just rubbed me the wrong way, despite his remarkable character and a refined mind. He was also way too stoic for my liking.
As cliched as it was, i was really glad that it ended with Jane's marriage with Mr.Rochester. And the way she announced it was sheer pleasure. "Reader, I married him" was music to my ears.
Cons:
My only grouse is the way Bronte crippled Mr.Rochester in the end. It was fairly sad and entirely unnecessary. Despite that, it was a wonderful read.
Rated by buyers -
Through out my many years of being a student there have been good and bad books that had to be read for class. Jane Eyre in no way is one of those bad books. I had to read Bronte's novel for my college English Lit class and at very first thought it might not be that interesting seeing as it was written over 200 years ago. The story of Jane Eyre pulled me in and found myself thoroughly interested in what happened to her. I now know why Jane Eyre is such a classic novel and is still being read today. The character of Jane Eyre is very strong, however she keeps most of who she is to herself due to her class in society. She becomes a sort of female detective and finally discovers where she is meant to me in the end.
Rated by buyers -
It's hard to imagine a better gothic romance than "Jane Eyre" -- gloomy vast houses, mysterious secrets, and a brooding haunted man with a dark past.
In fact, Charlotte Bronte's classic novel has pretty much everything going for it -- beautiful settings, a passionate romance tempered by iron-clad morals, and a heroine whose poverty and lack of beauty only let her brains and courage shine brighter. And it's all wrapped in the misty, haunting atmosphere of a true gothic story -- madwoman in the attic and all.
Jane Eyre was an orphan, abused and neglected very first by relatives, then by a boarding school run by a tyrannical, hypocritical minister. But Jane refuses to let anyone shove her down -- even when her saintly best friend dies from the wretched conditions.
But many years later, Jane moves on by applying to Thornfield Hall for a governess position, and gets the job. She soon becomes the teacher and friend to the sprightly French girl Adele, but is struck by the dark, almost haunted feeling of her new home.
Then she runs into a rather surly horseman -- who turns out to be her employer, Mr. Rochester, a cynical, embittered man who spends little time at Thornfield. They are slowly drawn together into a powerful love, despite their different social stations -- and Rochester's apparent attentions to a shallow, snotty aristocrat who wants his wealth and status.
But strange things are happening at Thornfield -- stabbings, fires, and mysterious laughter. Jane and Rochester finally confess their feelings to each other, but their wedding is interrupted when Rochester's dark past comes to light. Jane flees into the arms of long-lost family members, and is offered a new life -- but her love for Rochester is not so easily forgotten...
"Jane Eyre" is one of those books that transcends the labels of genre. Charlotte Bronte spun a haunting gothic romance around her semi-autobiographical heroine and Byronic anti-hero, filling it with brilliant writing and solid plot. It has everything all the other gothic romances of the time had... but Bronte gave it depth and intensity without resorting to melodrama.
Bronte wrote in the usual stately prose of the time, but it has a sensual, lush quality, even in the dank early chapters at Lowood. At Thornfield, the book acquires an overhanging atmosphere of foreboding, until the clouds clear near the end. And she wove some tough questions into Jane's perspective -- that of a woman's independence and strength in a man's world, of extreme religion, and of the clash between morals and passion.
And Bronte also avoided any tinges of drippy sentimentality (Mrs. Reed dies still spewing venom) while injecting some hauntingly nightmarish moments ("She sucked the blood: she said she'd drain my heart"). She even manages to include some funny stuff, such as Rochester disguising himself as an old gypsy woman.
The story does slow down after the abortive wedding, when Jane flees Thornfield and briefly considers marrying a repressed clergyman who wants to go die preaching in India. It's rather boring to hear the self-consciously saintly St. John prattling about himself, instead of Rochester's barbed wit. But when Jane departs again, the plot speeds up into a nice, mellow little finale.
Bronte did a brilliant job of bringing her heroine to life -- as a defiant little girl who is condemned for being "passionate," as an independent young lady, and as a woman torn between love and principle. Jane's strong personality and wits overwhelm the basic fact that she's not unusually pretty. And Rochester is a brilliantly sexy Byronic anti-hero with a prickly, mercurial wit.
Of Charlotte Bronte's few novels, "Jane Eyre" is undoubtedly the most brilliant -- passionate, dark and hauntingly eerie. Definitely a must-read.
Rated by buyers -
"It is best to be yourself, imperial, plain and true." Robert Browning
Another chick Brit classic that I had been eluding since my teen-age years and finally got around to perusing this past month. In all fairness to our fellow reviewers who panned this one, I wouldn't have enjoyed this when I was in high school (nor even in college for that matter) either and would have needed a dictionary along with a barf-bag if I was required to read it back then. I have no idea why teachers continue to shove such classics as this down their student's throats when the great majority of their budding brains, inexperienced hearts and raging hormones make it virtually impossible to fully digest at such an age. However, that is a topic better tabled for another time...
To describe this beautiful work as simply a love story would be doing it a grave injustice. While it is arguably one of the greatest love stories ever known in literature (I actually prefer "Jane Eyre" over her younger sister's classic "Wuthering Heights"), it is so, so, so much more than that. This 1847 masterpiece is an important history lesson as well on what it was like living in provincial England way back when. It touches upon such common themes as morality, religion, gender relations, Social status, friendship, education, etc... A story such as this can relate so much more about the past than most text books will ever tell us, while at the same time making the whole learning experience a joy as well.
Of all the past heroines I have had the pleasure (or sometimes the disdain) of being introduced to through my literary travels, it is almost impossible to think of one that possessed a bigger heart and more passionate soul than C. Bronte's Jane Eyre. I found her to be much more interesting and even brighter than James' Isabel Archer, without the latter's pretentiousness. She is way more down-to-earth and less judgmental than Austen's Elizabeth Bennet. She is much more grounded and has a much stronger backbone than Hardy's Tess. However, what really separates her from all the other heroic belles of invention is simply her burning, incessant quest to find love and to be loved in return. Not just romantic love, like Flaubert's Emma B. and Tolstoy's Anna K. but REAL sustaining love, the kind that brings value and a sense of belonging. The sincere kind that comes from not having to sacrifice (as the above mentioned did) one's own principles and ethics. It is this noble and true love that never dies or withers, because it is genuine and magnanimous, without any kind of contrivances whatsoever. Jane never sold out and held steadfast to her beliefs and values, and in the end, well... you'll have to discover that on your own!
You don't need me to rehash the book's plot. You can read other people's reviews to do that. All you need to know is one thing - if you haven't had the pleasure yet of meeting Ms. Eyre and you love literature, then please do yourself a favor and order this one today. If this isn't a five-star classic, then I'm afraid I don't know what is!
Rated by buyers -
Jane Eyre is never a disappointment. Bronte really can touch your heart with the struggles of the main character. A woman in the post-modern era could have easily been in the same situation. Bronte put forth a completely time-less quality in this book. If you have the patience, it can keep you nailed to your seat!!
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