Reading List: Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

Hello readers and welcome back to another installment of the Reading List. As mentioned previously I am trying to work in more BIPOC and female authors onto this list. To that end I decided to go with one of the best known female-penned pieces of literature on the planet, Charlotte Bronte’s 1847 novel Jane Eyre.

This was a stunning, stellar read for many reasons but not least of which is it’s just a great story. From Jane’s lowly upbringing with the Reeds to Lowood School to Thornfield Hall and beyond, Jane’s journey is nothing short of monumental and very interesting. I don’t want to give too much of the plot away for those that want to read this masterful novel, but suffice it to say Ms. Eyre is single for most of it until she meets the mysterious Mr. Rochester at Thornfield. There he lives with Mrs. Fairfax and the young Adele (Jane’s charge as governess) and some servants. We think he is engaged to another young woman but after some big events in some powerful scenes of dialogue he announces his love for Jane. Here I won’t give away a major plot twist that has been building for many pages, but the wedding does not go as planned and Jane escapes Thornfield in the dead of morning. Then she is lucky enough to be taken in by the residents of Moor House, where she unexpectedly comes into some pounds (another plot twist I won’t ruin). She finds out that Mr. Rochester has been mutilated in a fire due to that other plot beat and returns to him, finally marrying him in the final portion of the novel.

This was a landmark book for many extraordinary reasons, not least of which is its perspective allowed for a sort of intense female interiority that just was not available at that time. Bronte also alludes to a number of other works and artists throughout its wonderful sentences, including Paradise Lost, her sister’s Wuthering Heights, Sir Walter Scott, and the Bible. A close read definitely helped here, but also I must admit so did the copious endnotes in my Penguin Classics edition of this beloved book. Also well known by this point is the use of direct address to the “reader” (“Reader, I married him” being the most famous example). I found the examinations of Jane’s motives and expectations to be highlights of the story, and overall found it to be a most excellent read.

I would highly recommend this novel for any lovers of literature who have not yet encountered its amazing prose. And I have to say again, this proves that women own the lands of novel writing just as much as men, proved all the way almost two centuries ago by Bronte. Thanks for joining me on this longer reading adventure as several things came into play: I got another new job, which leaves even less time for reading now, and the necessity to read this novel very closely to get at the meaning of each sentence. Thanks again and I’m sorry this one took a few months. I’ll be back soon with another update in the Reading List.