Emily (Books with Emily Fox on Youtube)'s Reviews > Jane Eyre

Me! I'm usually a romance lover but this one just wasn't it for me

Love the book as a whole but the romance.. Not so much.

You gave the same rating I did to this book. I'm glad she chose the man she did rather than her cousin. That was a romance was a terrible idea...

Love Jane, love the setting, didn't believe the romance much no.

I've never been able to get through all of Jane Eyre, but I've watched all the movies to make up for it and I always thought the romance was super weird! I was always thinking, Wait, her ending up with this guy is supposed to be a good thing?

I really enjoyed this when I read it, but I agree the romance isn't very good.

I had to read this for school. I absolutely despise it. He's mildly verbally abusive and one of the only men she has ever met in her life. I could go on and on about the faults I find in it.

Hated it! I warned you the book was awful :P

I thought the book was great except for Rochester and Rochester's treatment of Bertha. That's why I could only give it a 3/5.

Eh, from what I remember the whole point is they're both strange, so of course an unusual romance would better suit them?

One of my old time favourite books.

I didn't love it, but it was ok.

A lot of funky nonsense ruined the romance for me. I mean that quirky telepathy where Rochester and Jane communicated? Hiding a raging maniac up in the attic for years without the servants catching on? I mean, give me a break. But the real point of the romance for me was that Jane made her love the cause and effect of her becoming a wholly independent woman. That was great.

Yeah. It kinda sucked xD

I had other things to enjoy, aside from the romance. But regarding the romance itself, I thought the story often got painfully bogged down in the tortured angst and incessant internal deliberations Jane went through, partly with Rochester and even more with St. John. And there were also many plot devices that simply strained credibility and left me wondering when the next absurdity or silly circumstance would test Jane’s ability to endure more nonsense. These include: A. the manners of an aristocratic life, especially as to the gatherings at Thornfield (about which Charlotte Bronte would have no idea); B. the notion that a man can house a raging lunatic in the attic of his house for years, while the servants are all kept obliviously ignorant about it, especially when that lunatic is under the care of a gin-tippling attendant whose frequent stupors enable that lunatic to escape numerous times; C. having Rochester dress up in the skirts and shawls of an old gypsy fortune-teller all to let him woo Jane in that guise in his own house; D. to have Jane stumble in utmost despair and hunger up to a lonely house one night, only to discover that the inhabitants are her cousins whose very existence she did not know; E. to have Jane inherit a fortune; and F. to have the entire story turn on an act of mental telepathy that brings Rochester and Jane to their bitter-sweet embrace at last. I mean, really, this stuff does not even rank with the cheapest, flimsiest romance novels. More than once, I considered tossing the book aside as an affront to my gullibility for trashy nonsense. However, I am still glad I kept reading, for the reason I found in Chapter 12. Jane's pitch in that chapter for women's self-determination is superb. Her plea for basic human decency in the treatment of women is profound.

Mement0o wrote: "For people who supposedly like literature. It's remarkable how bad you are at communicating. When someone read a whole book and all he has to say is : I didn't like this or that. And when it comes to rating a book poorly because a character in the story is a bad person, really? Are you 6 years old? ..."

The amount of thought that went into your comment is truly staggering. It is a masterpiece and a privilege to read.

hmm.. yes he is mildy abusive, i agree. so much so i got irritated she gave him "screen time" at all and should have just walked out on that verbal crap. He belittled her, treated her like a baby not even a child, and the "i'm far superior to you ants" attitude was nauseating, then to keep plugging her intelligence for weak spots made me think she should be paid more. Horrid. eugh. i wanted the housekeeper to shove a scone in his trap to shut it. she was right, theres not much to know.
funny i have books where the character i love end up with an idiot, however i respected their decision, like in Jamaica Inn.
But this guy treats people badly in general, poor Bertha.
I loved the bits about Jane, I was swept away with the book, but him? eurgh.

I hated every single man in this book. I wouldn't even call that a romance.

SamDojtez wrote: "I hated every single man in this book. I wouldn't even call that a romance."
Did you hate all the men because they did not measure up to the value of Jane herself? I ask because she is a very courageous girl/woman who professes a deep respect for self-determination. She has good reason to despise the choices among the men she knows. And yet she chooses Rochester, blinded and alone, because she knows he keeps to his commitments. That has great value to her.

Jon wrote: "SamDojtez wrote: "I hated every single man in this book. I wouldn't even call that a romance."
Did you hate all the men because they did not measure up to the value of Jane herself? I ask because s..."
Yeah, I think Jane has great values and I really liked the character however i don't think it's the only reason, of why I strongly dislike the men characters, they are real brutes and even though Mr Rochester seems to notice the great value of Jane, he still treats her really badly, I know a lot of it is due to the time period but it just wasn't for me.

SamDojtez wrote: "Jon wrote: "SamDojtez wrote: "I hated every single man in this book. I wouldn't even call that a romance."
Did you hate all the men because they did not measure up to the value of Jane herself? I a..."

I hear you. The Victorian values that infest this book seem to be responsible for why men are so morally bankrupt in the story. That is why I praise Chapter 12 as the great clarion call for women's rights long before that battle engaged in the twentieth century.

I think it would have made more sense for Jane to end up with Diana as all of the M/F relationships were so toxic.

I like the romance because when he’s out of line she calls him out and ultimately chooses to leave him. She is true to herself with St John and goes back to Rochester because he truly loves her. There are definitely issues but I think the romance says a lot about Jane. He’s a Byronic hero so his issues are not really unique to the type of character he is.

I´d agree with you but then we would be both wrong :D (sorry, couldn´t help it as this book is my almost everything). In any case I don´t think I have ever seen it labeled as a cute romance (?). It sure is not one.

I've always loved this book since I was a young girl - and I think Amanda's comment nails it. Do I think Mr Rochester is a good person - no. Would I want to be in such a relationship - no. But it's not about me - it's about the story and I really enjoyed it.

This was my last read of '19. I too gave it 3 stars and I am kinda sad I didn't like it as much as most people, because I like the adaptations (at least the ones I have seen so far).
And yeah, I agree with you on the romances part as well and I also could live with less of Rochester's endless speeches, although what happened to him during the fire made me a biiit sad.
Plus, the final lines of the book about John's death, am I the only one who thought that this wasn't the right way to end the story?

This is in my to-read especially after reading My Plain Jane because the original story sounded absurd and ridiculous, especially the romance because WTF? I still want to read it for the fun of it and for me to discuss my expected dislike of it LOL

Fuck the men, I’m all here for Jane. She’s such a richly drawn character, a protofeminist one, who speaks up for herself and loves deeply and — in something that is still unusual even now — is a young female protagonist who is allowed not to be traditionally attractive.

This is one of my favorite books of all time. However, I will say, I don't necessarily see it as a "romance." Although that's probably what it is. I still enjoy the story, but I definitely can see that there are major issues with the "romance." Rochester is absolutely a toxic guy. But there are other things about the book that I love, not least of all the character of Jane.

but should all romances be "good romances"? You mean like in life? :D The romance is part of the story but also this story is much more and Rochester did see how duplicitous he was and changed. But I cannot agree there was no passion here

Listening to you saying words like ''ass'', ''shit'', ''f'' is priceless
Yeah... I wouldn't even try to read this book. Not my type. I started the year reading Wicked, but had to DFN it because I just cound't anymore.

Try reading the very short one that can be a prequel - - wide sargasso sea, its great and ads nuance to the crap romance

*stands and claps* Thank you! I’ve always tried to see why people love the romance in this book and never have.

I love this one, and indeed it is not a romance book. The ending shows how creepy and dysfunctional their relationship is.

I really like Jane Eyre but yes Pride and Prejudice is the better book and in my personal taste Persuasion is better then P&P.

I really love this book, but for me this was all about the way Jane developed througout the book. She learned to value herself for who she was and for me that included acknowledging that flaws were a fundamental part of herself as a person.
I felt the romance wasn´t supposed to be "romantic," per se, but a way to highlight Jane´s personal flaws by contrasting her with the two most extreme ends of her personality. I can´t find the exact quote right now, but I think when St. John Rivers forces her to prepare for mission work with him she muses about only ever being able to show total obedience or raging passion/anger.
Jane lets herself be taken over by Rochester as well as St. John, because she hasn´t learned to not just be one extreme or the other yet. I didn´t feel like either relationship was supposed to be portrayed as positive? (Or maybe that is just the way I want to see it.)
In the end I felt the point was that Jane chose Rochester of her own free will, as an independent woman, not that it was necessarily a very good choice?
So yeah, I never really thought of it as a happy ending. More along the lines of "they settled for a flawed relationship because they still believed to find happiness in it."
I don´t know, I kind of liked that the end was just two flawed people trying to make it work.

So, sorry for the rant. I totally understand why some parts of the romance can seem pretty cringy (and they are!), but thats just the way I read it.

I have loved Jane Eyre since I was a kid but never understood why people thought it was romantic, Rochester is far from a dream husband!

Gissele wrote: "Yep, the romance is not cute and Mr. Rochester is not the best romantic interest but the first part of the book is the best, her childhood and adolescence is my favorite part.
Yesterday I reread t..."


My edition ends with him recovering his vision from one eye and the very last lines are about John's imminent death. What was the epilogue like in your own edition?

I couldn't agree more

Personally, I don't think that romance is one of the main themes at all. I would argue that it’s more about creating your own moral codes while growing up and having them tested latter, as it’s much more prominent throughout the whole story. Compared to that the romance seems like a plot device. Unfortunately, books like Jane Eyre suffer from being seen as ”romantic books for girls” which can easily lead to disappointment. 😔

Personally, i loved the book when i read it years ago but i didn't see it as a cute romance. For me it was a the story of a woman's pursuit for independence in a time when women weren't considered capable of this. The romance was merely a ploy device.

I agree... We were discussing this book on our British literature course as an example of toxic man in life of women. I think you may like "Wide Sargasso Sea". It's basically a fanfic that follows the story from the perspective of Bertha and paints Mr Rochester in a completely different light.

I don’t think anyone thinks this is a cute romance lol

who in the whole world would say they love m.rochester? not on my watch lol
the book though is great and I think its such a classic that everyone must read it. the movie is also great!

Feminist criticism of the book is not too kind to Mr Rochester. The Man literally locked his sick wife in the attic and wanted to replace her with a new, younger model because of reasons.

I read it in my teens and was very confused as to why everyone loves it so much.

Now I don't want to read it

I don't want to read it

Okay. I’m not gonna read it. If you find anything better than Pride and Prejudice, please let me know... standard is set!!

I always hated this book