Ravenna's Reviews > Jane Eyre

December 29, 2022 - Once again I return to Jane, in the darkest time of year when my soul yearns for classic Gothic novels. As I have always said, I adore Jane Eyre, both the novel and the character. My heart stays with her and I need to return to her at least once every couple years. (It appears from my past read dates, I return to Jane every three years.)

Jane Eyre is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. Somehow Charlotte writes as if Mr. Rochester and Jane are real people whose conversations she's been able to listen to and record. She wrote a novel that is timeless, not just in its entirety but in its parts. I could meet Jane's counterpart today, in 2022, just as Charlotte wrote her so long ago. I have heard couples speak, in today's language, just the same as Jane and Mr. Rochester speak in the novel. I am forever impressed by the realistic details Charlotte has spread throughout.

With every re-read, I see more genius in Charlotte's writing and I find more connections between Jane and myself. As I grow older, I identify more with different aspects of Jane. When I was a child, I found kinship with Jane when she was a child. As I've grown older, I find myself more connected to Jane as she grows older.

No matter how many times I reread Jane Eyre, I enjoy it a little more each time.

December 20, 2019 - Jane Eyre has been a comfort to me in many a dark time. I return to Jane Eyre often, especially around the holiday season when I miss her.

My review below from three years ago still expresses my feelings the best way. I admire Jane the way I have admired very few characters in my life. Jane is brave in the face of adversity, strong in mind and spirit. She does what she knows to be right and doesn't let anyone, even those she loves most stand in her way. She advocates for the rights of women and the truth that women are no lesser than men. Jane is powerful in a gentle way.

Although not perfect, this book is one of those classic novels where you can absolutely understand why it holds that position. It is amazing to think what Charlotte and her sisters might have written had they lived longer.


December 21, 2016 - I have such a history with this incredible book. Oh, how I love Jane Eyre! I have read this book three or four times, three to be sure. The edition that this review will be of is the original copy of Jane Eyre. When I was very young, somewhere between ten and twelve, my Nana told me I needed to read something more advanced. ( I read Little Women at age ten.) She brought me this beautiful copy of Jane Eyre which I devoured. Clearly, I was too young on my first reading to understand a lot of Jane Eyre but I was greatly affected by the beginning of this novel.

I was so deeply affected by the fear and abuse young Jane Eyre suffers. The pain and the anger. I also understood the hypocritical christian mindset as I grew up in a horrible abusive home that was very religious. (I must say here, I do not mean that all Christians are hypocritical. In Jane Eyre, there are some very hypocritical characters that base their horrid decisions on Christian beliefs, that is all I mean to convey.)

I can not be sure when I read this book second or third, I know I at least read it once between the ages of 12 and 18. I will consider this the second read because I cannot be sure of the true number. I remember how my AP Lit teacher looked at me in dismay, when I explained how much I loved the book. I believe he had hoped that he had finally found a classic I hadn't read.

This is the third time I have read Jane Eyre and I must confess that this novel never ceases to bring me to tears and to affect my emotions. I feel that if Jane was a real person, we would be the closest of friends. I feel such a kinship with her, with her longing for family, her struggle for love and the abuses she suffered. Even with her vocation, as I too am in school to become a teacher. I wonder if Charlotte Bronte, in her genius, was much like Jane or if she had a friend who was like her. I sometimes hope that Charlotte created Jane as an imaginary companion. Oh, I know Charlotte will never know, but I wish I could convey to her how much her work as affected me and helped me to survive my life.

Oh... I miss Jane already. Somehow my husband understands me as I struggle to express to him how I can miss and feel such affection for a fictional character... It seems so wrong to me, to say she is fictional... I understand her so well, so deeply. If she lived, we would be the closest friends, as we are quite alike. I miss her... Somehow I miss her.

This novel is wonderful. Beautifully creepy, wonderfully written, an amazing piece of art. There is so much girl power infused in Jane Eyre, so much individuality and strength. Jane is constantly told how worthless and ugly she is. How she is poor and destitute. Yet, she works hard, rises above all of her difficulties and loves with her whole being. Every time I reread Jane Eyre, I realize how Jane fights back against many of the typical stereotypes pressed on women. She dares to be defiant, she speaks intelligently, she refuses to believe that her worth is connected to her beauty, or lack of it. She stands as a testament that strong women have always existed and have always broken through restraints placed upon them.

I hope that by my next reading of Jane Eyre, I will be more like her than I am right now.