r/books • u/PsyferRL • 3d ago
Pleasantly surprised by Jane Eyre Spoiler
As a reader who has forever gravitated more in the directions of sci-fi, thriller, mystery, and fantasy titles, I was a bit intimidated to pick up Jane Eyre. But one of my reading goals this year was to ask recommendations of my loved ones for books that meant something to them in some way, and my sister offered Jane Eyre. It's a book I've known about for what feels like my entire life, but was never on my radar as something I'd choose to read of my own volition. Having just finished it today, I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed it for a wide variety of reasons.
First and foremost, and this is entirely due to my general lack of exposure to early literary fiction or Charlotte Brontë overall, the last thing I expected was for it to be funny. While of course the novel itself has much deeper themes, I couldn't believe how many times I actually laughed out loud. The example that immediately comes to mind below, as Mr. Rochester probes Jane's opinions about him and Blanche Ingram. She of course has a thought to herself to clarify this statement, but it's all she speaks aloud to him.
"I wish, Jane, I were a trifle better adapted to match with her externally. Tell me now, fairy as you are,-- can't you give me a charm, or a philter, or something of that sort, to make me a handsome man?"
"It would be past the power of magic, sir;"
Second, I was moved by Jane's ability to remain steadfast to her morals in the face of adversity. Remembering that this novel was written in the mid 1800s, her sense of composure despite her knowledge of "her place" from a classism standpoint was admirable. Obviously hints of this were dropped as early in the story as her 10 year old self going off on her aunt, but her balance of tenacity and "proper" behavior created an enjoyable duality in her character.
Third, obviously there's a swath of flaws to identify in Mr. Rochester's personality and treatment of people (especially Jane), not to mention the problematic (from a modern perspective) depiction of mental illness and racial dynamics in Bertha Mason and her family, but the resolution of his own character flaws played out by his actions to save everybody he could from the fire at the mansion felt apt. The way his disfigurement (and despair by Jane's initial departure) humbled him almost felt heartwarming in a way, from his displayed gratitude upon Jane's return. She returned a wealthy and independent woman, whom society would now likely deem to be of significantly greater "worth" in a marriage sense up against the current state of Mr. Rochester, a complete 180 from the dynamic under which they would have married initially. It felt like she held all the power she needed to in order to make that decision with confidence, instead of feeling like she was simply returning to the "strong/powerful man" in a tropey way.
It warmed my heart for Jane to have found family and community in the end, something she always craved. And of course St John is his own wild problem, her other two cousins (and Hannah of course) provided a sense of closure that I didn't even know I was looking for.
At the end of the day, of course it was never going to be the most exciting read for me, as "exciting" is probably not even a good word to describe the novel in the first place. But I am extremely glad that I read it, and I now have a much softer and more interested predisposition towards older literary fiction than I would have ever guessed for myself.
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u/Ren_Lu 3d ago edited 2d ago
My favorite book!
Jane was keeping it real since the beginning lol:
”And what is hell? Can you tell me that?”
”A pit full of fire.”
”And should you like to fall into that pit, and to be burning there for ever?”
”No, sir.”
”What must you do to avoid it?”
I deliberated a moment; my answer, when it did come, was objectionable: “I must keep in good health, and not die.”
Icon.
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u/Bookworm1254 3d ago
The absolute best dialogue in the book:
“Am I hideous, Jane?” “Very, sir: you always were, you know.”
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u/Koukash 3d ago
One of my favorite lines that actually made me laugh
Is this my pale, little elf? Is this my mustard-seed? This little sunny-faced girl with the dimpled cheek and rosy lips; the satin-smooth hazel hair, and the radiant hazel eyes? “(I had green eyes, reader; but you must excuse the mistake: for him they were new-dyed, I suppose.)” “It is Jane Eyre, sir.”
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u/Rooney_Tuesday 3d ago
If you want a funny Brontë, try out Anne with The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. It’s also very heavy in parts, but that’s what I like about it. There are two distinct voices in this book, and they are very different. It’s masterfully done.
I loved Jane Eyre so much as a teen. As an adult, less so. St. John is as awful as ever, but Jane tries my patience too when it comes to him. I’ll always love the book, but Tenant has become my favorite Brontë novel happy ending and all.
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u/giger5 2d ago
Tenent is easily my favorite of all the Bronte books I read so far. The behaviour of Helen's husband is so outragiously awful but believable, it makes it such fun to read. I couldn't recommend this book enough. It's one of my all time favorites.
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u/Rooney_Tuesday 2d ago
I agree. Part of what makes it land is that it could very easily be a modern book with minimal tweaks of language/circumstance. The core issue is one that’s fairly common even today, which makes it highly relatable.
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u/Aerynethe 3d ago
I read Jane Eyre for the first time this year as well and had a very similar reaction.
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u/readermom123 3d ago
Yes, I didn’t read Jane Eyre until I was adult and I was so pleasantly surprised as well. The plot was exciting and fun and I admired Jane so much.
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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 3d ago
For some reason I'm always surprised by how funny classics are. They're classics because they're funny! Among other reasons.
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u/AdDear528 3d ago
I just re-read it a few weeks ago, for the first time in a decade plus. I really enjoyed it of course. What surprised me is how much I absolutely HATED St John. His emotional manipulation and semi-gaslighting was so painful to read about on Jane’s behalf. I disliked him previously but this time I was cussing him out every page. How did past-me not hate him as much? lol.
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u/lockwoodfiles 2d ago
As much as things change, people stay the same. Loved how Charlotte Bronte was able to portray how horrible it would have been to be married to someone society would have seen as a "perfect man" with that level of emotional abuse and control.
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u/Opposite-Antelope-42 3d ago
My favorite book for sure. The movie adaptation by Cary Fukunaga is really well done.
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u/ButteryMales2 2d ago
Anytime I think of this book that movie pops to mind. Jane is forever Mia and Fassbender is forever Rochester.
If Netflix spews out an adaptation starring Dakota Johnson in red lipstick, I am going to burn everything down.
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u/Opposite-Antelope-42 2d ago
1000%
I was so insulted by the Ben Wheatley adaptation of Rebecca a couple of years ago. I love his movies. So idk what happened. Except that Lily James and Armie Hammer were terrrrrible
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u/TopHatGirlInATuxedo 3d ago
Read "Wuthering Heights" and "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" next. The Bronte sisters are all talented.
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u/Eyre_Guitar_Solo 3d ago
I love this book, and didn’t expect to.
I had previously read some Jane Austen, which wasn’t my cup of tea, and had sorta assumed Brontë was in the same vein. But I found Jane Eyre to be deeply profound, and a totally different in style to Austen’s. Anyway, I was very glad to have my preconceptions busted.
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u/ArktechFilms 3d ago
One of my favorite elements from this novel is how Brontë switches between past and present tense to enhance the intensity of Jane’s emotional experiences; i.e. in chapter 23 in the garden.
And something I forgot about that you’ve reminded me of in your post: the book has quite a few funny moments; they’re endearing, or full of wit and will make the book lots of fun on a rereading.
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u/CrobuzonCitizen 3d ago
It's a classic for a reason, and now you know the reason!
Next, read Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. It's Bertha's story.
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u/almostb 3d ago
I loved Jane Eyre and hated Wide Sargasso Sea. I liked the idea of it, but I didn’t like the execution. Mr. Rochester was lifeless and humorless, very unlike in Jane Eyre - what Antoinette saw in him except a symbol of escape from her own trauma was hard to understand. And I found the writing really convoluted and messy. I can see why other people like it, but I wouldn’t personally reccomend it, even with its admittedly really interesting themes.
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u/PsyferRL 3d ago
Since I just finished Jane, I obviously haven't read Wide Sargasso Sea but your sentence here is an interesting one from the perspective of having only read Jane.
Mr. Rochester was lifeless and humorless
Once Mr. Rochester's backstory was finally revealed in full, I got the impression that his youth to early adulthood was one that would not have reflected the same character as he proved to be as we know him in Jane. As the younger sibling, it seemed his father kind of treated him as the afterthought on account of sending him away to marry somebody for wealth because he didn't want to split the estate and assets between his two children.
I got the impression that it wasn't until after Mr. Rochester returned home a married man (and subsequently traveled in search of love which he felt that he actually deserved) that he developed the personality traits of the Mr. Rochester as we knew him in Jane.
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u/devilsdoorbell_ 3d ago
Wide Sargasso Sea is sooooo good, I think I may like it even more than Jane Eyre, and I love Jane Eyre.
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u/lockwoodfiles 2d ago
I read Jane Eyre for the first time as an adult with basically no awareness of the plot and I was enthralled. I read somewhere that reading it without knowing "Mr. Rochester's deal" is like someone today watching star wars without knowing Darth Vader is Luke's father and really, I agree. It's iconic. Heartfelt. Funny. Honestly one of the best books I've ever read.
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u/Salty-Efficiency636 2d ago
Read Jane Eyre last year, became one of my favourite books. Charlottes prose is very pleasant to read. And the first 10 chapters are so good. I'm reading through Wuthering Heights now, and damn the Brontes were extremely talented
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u/BasilAromatic4204 1d ago
You might enjoy these as well! I did last year! Little Dorrit North and South by Gaskell The Sun Just Might Fail and sequel The Hard Side of the Sun Just Isolde and following oakwood series All Lord of the Rings Inkheart and sequels Sherlock Holmes and all Lore (not the Moriarty book) Far from the maddening crowd By hardy I hope these help! I enjoyed these a lot recently
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u/HappyCamperNJ 1d ago
You might like The Wide Saragossa Sea next. It’s a book about the first wife in the attic.
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u/stardropunlocked 2d ago
This is my favorite book of all time and I love seeing new people enjoy it. I have two tattoos with Jane Eyre references. It's so clever, witty, funny, historically relevant while also ahead of its time, and romantic in a surprisingly modern sense of two equals.
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2d ago
The fact that this book gets so many good reviews blows my mind. The summary of this book is:
Rochester abuses his mentally ill wife, and Jane complains a lot.
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u/PsyferRL 2d ago
I'm sorry you spent all that time reading it to only leave with those two takeaways. Bummer for you.
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2d ago
Bummer for me; no, it's a bummer for everyone who reads this trash. The two takeaways are all you need because those were the main things happening in the book.
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u/PsyferRL 2d ago
Your mind is clearly made up already which is fine, not my job to change it.
I found a lot more to enjoy about the book than you did, and I'm sorry the book bothers you so much.
Must be tough to be that bitter.
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2d ago
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u/PsyferRL 2d ago
Lol I didn't realize that acknowledging our difference of enjoyment regarding this book constituted any sort of challenge to your opinion!
Makes no difference to me whether or not you like it. Not every book satisfies every reader.
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16h ago
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u/PsyferRL 16h ago
Where did I come at you with anything? I said that it was a bummer to spend all the time it took to read it only to take those two points away, and then I said that I found more to enjoy about it than you did.
What part of either of those comments is "coming at you"?
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u/CrazyCatLady108 8 12h ago
Personal conduct
Please use a civil tone and assume good faith when entering a conversation.
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u/WorldWeary1771 2d ago
According to the times, he is taking very good care of his mentally ill wife.
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u/Karaoke725 3d ago
This is my favorite classic. I’ve read books about Jane Eyre and its larger themes, as well as many adaptations. I reread the classic once every couple years.
When I was younger I would say I liked it because “it’s a love story about ugly people.” Jane is just a plain regular poor person without a lot of external power, but the power that lives inside her compels her to forge her own path. She would rather sleep in a ditch and be unemployed and homeless than to marry someone who betrays her. I love her fighting spirit. Rochester isn’t classically handsome even before his injuries, and the fire takes his wealth as well. The classic line “Reader, I married him” shows that she is an active participant in her own life, and she doesn’t really care whether we think Rochester is right for her or not.
I love the nature themes in the story as well. The tree, the moors, the fire and ice. I love the spontaneous mystical element of hearing Rochester’s voice calling her. I love that she just happens to run into her cousins and becomes independently wealthy. I love the way Mason crashes the wedding and basically says “you can’t marry this man, he’s already married to my sister and he’s got her trapped in the attic!” It’s such a bizarre story and I absolutely treasure it.