Jane & Charlotte

Despite having graduated with an honours BA in English, being an avid reader, having read "the Eyre Affair" and taking Women's Lit, I still had never fully read Charlotte Bronte's iconic Jane Eyre. I know.. I know..
I was assigned it in my Women's Literature class several years ago (in which we read only books by female authors, so the Bronte's were bound to come up) but I never finished the novel. After a few disappointments over other such novels as Austen's "Mansfield Park" which I could not finish do to mounting school work and sheer boredom, I was not exactly pumped for Jane Eyre. To be honest, I was weary. And when I turned that first page and began reading about a pretentious rich family in the way-back years with a little unloved precocious child of five dotting the pages with mild interest, I must say my worries increased. Then hit me up with a sentimentalist style fainting & phantom scene in the red room and my doubts seemed all but confirmed.

So it is no surprise, then, that Jane Eyre was set aside and the vacuum of school work that somehow makes most assigned readings that much more difficult to complete swallowed Jane whole. But I knew I had to give her a second chance. It was JANE EYRE for goodness sake. If only to be able to properly call myself a book lover, English graduate and/or writer, I had to finish it. And of course, having read the Eyre Affair without properly completing the original, was pretty bogus.

So this September, I gave it another try. Spurred by the need for new reading, something to fill the giant whole that was school, and my imminent trip to England, Jane Eyre seemed the perfect fit. Again I went through the sentimental styling of the first 40 pages without much heart, but a bit more faith, and, coming out the other side into the fifties and onward, the story picked up, added character, and began to grow within Jane.

Jane Eyre, of course, is a classic. And yes, it is and 'old classic' meaning the style of writing the diction, the wordiness, is still all present, but in the simplest of terms: Jane Eyre is actually one of the classics you would LIKE reading. It is not just 'good' because it is solid writing etc, it is enjoyable.

Despite the setting and the (sometimes rambling) diction that can occasionally get cumbersome, Jane is a timeless character. Regardless of setting or story, I believe it is Jane herself that transcends the ages. Readers can identify with her, or at least some aspect of her. She is straight forward and unafraid to speak her mind, in most cases, making her both a modern and interesting character. She is pure and sweet, but intelligent and determined, so that despite her meek lifestyle or simple tales, there is a passion and fire within her that does not allow her to be trodden upon or downcast long. It is the balance of sturdy levelheadedness and passion where passion is due that makes Jane such a full and rich character.

Being written in a first person narrative, that is, Jane's, the reader gets a full picture of our main character, and in this novel's case, that is extremely key. It is a story which centres around character not only in plot but in emotion, relevancy, and style. Without a character as strong as Jane the novel would indeed be flat, a pattern which I find often in books of a similar period. The novel centres around character development and flushes out each aspect of her nature in detail, something which I personally found novels like "Mansfield Park" lacked. Because the settings are so far removed from our present day scenarios, a strong sense of character is imperative to give the reader something to hold on to, to attach their hearts to so that they might think and feel for Jane. Without this connection, we as readers no longer care what happens to the characters and therefore lose interest in the story itself.

Jane Eyre, though it can be long and occasionally tedious, holds that connection throughout the novel so that despite the rather simple plot, we care for Jane, and thus must strive to keep reading. Though the story may include death, betrayal, lies, love, fires, proposals, estranged family members and large inheritance, it is not a plot-driven novel. Entirely wrapped up in the character of Jane, and to an extent the secondary character of Rochester, the novel finds a relate-ability which transcends time and circumstance in order to connect with the reader and pull them in.

at last a classic with feeling - true feeling - not the sentimentalist Pamela-esque sense of feeling. Jane Eyre is a classic I would actually recommend for enjoyment, not just study.