Jane Eyre
A story of feminism, religion, social class and romance all in one. Jane Eyre is by far the best classic and one of the best books I have read.
Jane Eyre was written by Charlotte Bronte and is about the life of Jane Eyre starting from her early childhood in the mid 1800's to the end of her life in the early 1900's. The moment I knew this book would be my favorite was early on during the Red Room scene. To give context, young Jane Eyre was suffering abuse at the hands of the family she was living with. They sent her to the Red Room as a punishment for her supposed wrong doings. While reading that scene, I remember how awe I was in of the imagery of the room and how the different shades of red were symbolic of her life. This scene also gave me insight into the way that Jane thinks and while reading, I got utterly lost in her mind and her thoughts.
A big part of what made me fall in love with this book was the theme of feminism throughout the whole novel. During the time of this book, women were not treated well and did not have as many opportunities as they do now. As a reader, I saw Jane Eyre learn to value herself and value other women. I witnessed Jane's struggle to get a job as a woman at this time and the judgment she faced, just because of her gender. This book had so many phenomenal quotes about feminism that I was constantly annotating and taking notes.
Before this book, I had read a fair amount of classics with a subplot of romance in them, but I never cared much for the story or the romance. In this book, I absolutely loved the romance and felt as if it added so much to the story.
Edward Rochester was the love interest in this novel and he and Jane were introduced to each other through their work. Jane worked as a governess at Thornfield Hall, Edward. Rochester's estate. Throughout the book, I saw as they learned to care for each other. I loved their conversations and the way they would banter with each other. There were so many moments between the two of them that I have engraved in my mind. Three quarters through the book, their romance ended tragically because of secrets Edward Rochester was keeping. They get split up for a time and then they came back into each other's life, only Edward Rochester's estate had burned down and he had suffered grave injuries. He became blind. They later are drawn back together toward the end of the story and even though they have both changed in many ways, they still accept and love each other more than ever.
I could go on forever about my love for this book, but to anyone reading this review, READ THE BOOK!
Review by Lillian Coffin