Jane Eyre – review

Even I have read so many reviews of Jane Eyre before finally reading the novel recently. It’s not a big deal – reading a book’s reviews before making your decision whether you should be buying that book or not. Nevertheless, now I largely agree that before reading any Victorian Classic, you should rather not be reading book reviews written by different people because the Victorian texts are widely open to many interpretations and the number increases as the readers increase and so, coming to a conclusion can never be easy! However, there must be one thing common in all the reviews which are authentic and honest, they will all advise you to enjoy reading the books and that’s what the genuine thing about most of the Victorian classics is – you can surely enjoy reading them!

Jane Eyre is no exception. Rochester’s helpless lie does not agree with Jane’s self-esteem and they are parted only leaving Jane in a further dilemma when John proposes her, who is also a cousin of her. Jane suddenly reminds herself of ‘poor Rochester’ and runs back to him only to find him really poor and blind – her feminism does not hold her from accepting him as her husband because the love was true and deep.

In short, that’s the storyline. However, getting this storyline out and making comments like this requires a great deal of time spent in understanding and decoding the novel and looking for possible connections. A sharp-witted Jane is sent to unlikely a school where she finds the life even more depressing than it was with her aunt back home. However, she copes with it somehow only to witness her only good friend die in front of her eyes. Further depressed, as soon as she completes her education, she instantly leaves the school on very first call she gets from the Thornfield Hall, to be a governess to a French-speaking little girl. And after that, you know what happens.

The best part of the Victorian fiction is the lucid yet stylish language which could never be repeated in the fiction until now! Charlotte Bronte also continued the same style and made her novel Jane Eyre an immortal piece of fiction.

“If all the world hated you and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved of you and absolved you from guilt, you would not be without friends.”

Like I said at the beginning, the novel is a must read and you will certainly enjoy reading this classic piece of fiction. Moreover, the novel will compel you to praise and appreciate itself, I bet! Happy Reading!