Wednesday 25 August 2010

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

Orphaned Jane Eyre grows up in the home of her heartless aunt, where she endures loneliness and cruelty, and at a charity school with a harsh regime. This troubled childhood strengthens Jane’s natural independence and spirit - which prove necessary when she finds a position as governess at Thornfield Hall. But when she finds love with her sardonic employer, Rochester, the discovery of his terrible secret forces her to make a choice. Should she stay with him and live with the consequences, or follow her convictions, even if it means leaving the man she loves? A novel of intense power and intrigue, Jane Eyre (1847) dazzled and shocked readers with its passionate depiction of a woman’s search for equality and freedom.


As they say, third time lucky! I tried reading this book when I was 11 because my grandma gave me a copy and Mia Thermopolis read it in Mia Goes Fourth but I gave up on it. I tried again when I was fourteen but obviously wasn't the hopeless romantic that I am today. But, thankfully, I decided to give it another go this year and ended up adoring it! This has to be one of the most romantic stories ever written and I loved that Jane and Mr Rochester were unconventional heroes and heroines. My only complaint is that I got a bit bored during the section where Jane goes to live with her new-found cousins as she rarely mentioned Mr Rochester and I found it hard to be convinced that she missed him so much that she'd go back to him. Other than that - this book was perfect! And there was a wonderful quote in the concluding chapter that reminded me of how I feel about my boyfriend. 9/10

"I know what it is to live entirely for and with what I love best on earth. I hold myself supremely blessed - blessed beyond what language can express; because I am my husband's life as fully as he is mine. No woman was ever nearer to her mate than I am; ever more absolutely bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh. I know no weariness of my Edward's society: he knows none of mine, any more than we do of the pulsation of the heart that beats in our seperate bosoms; consequently, we are ever together. To be together is for us to be at once as free as in solitude, as gay as in company. We talk, I believe, all day long: to talk to each other is but a more animated and an audible thinking. All my confidence is bestowed on him, all his confidence is devoted to me; we are precisely suited in character - perfect concord is the result."

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