From the Archives: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte first posted on 11/26/2016

As with Great Expectations which I reviewed a few months ago, Jane Eyre, is a 19th century coming of age novel in which the main character looks back on their life and recounts the experiences the've had and the lessons learned.  Tbere are a number of similarities between these two great classics and differences too but I have to say I much prefer Jane Eyre, a novel that touches on so many themes and which also presents us with a young woman, Jane Eyre, without friends or family trying to make her way in the world.

When you consider that Charlotte Bronte published Jane Eyre in 1846 that is remarkable.  One passage stood out for me in terms of the feminist aspects of the book.  Jane is 18 and a teacher at Lowood Institute, a boarding school for poor girls where Jane's Aunt had callously shipped her off to when she was 10.  Jane has been at Lowood for almost half of her life and though the school is much improved and Jane has a steady income she wants something different:

"What do I want?  A new place, in a new house, amongst new faces, under new circumstances.  I want this because it is of no use wanting anything better.  How do people do to get a new place.  They apply to friends I suppose; I have no friends.  There are many others who have no friends who must look about for themselves and be their own helpers; and what is their resource?   I could not tell; nothing answered me; I then ordered my brain to find a response and quickly ...I got up and took a turn in the room; undrew the curtain, noted a star or two, shivered with cold, and again crept to bed.  A kind fairy in my absence had surely dropped the suggestion on my pillow; for as I lay down it came quietly and naturally to my mind - those who want situations advertise - you must advertise in the - Shire Herald".

After placing the ad Jane receives an offer from a Mrs Fairfax who lives at Thornfield Hall and works for Edward Rochester, the master of the estate.  Mrs Fairfax is seeking a governess for young Adele who is a ward of Mr. Rochester.  Jane accepts the job to teach Adele and comes to live at Thornfield and so begins the passionate yet rocky romance between Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester.

For me the main attraction in this novel was Jane Eyre who narrates the book but I was charmed by Mr. Rochester too, a brooding Byronesque hero who says to Jane at one point: "nature meant me on the whole to be a good man, Miss Eyre, and you see I am not".  But actually Mr. Rochester is a good man.  Jane would not love or respect anything less.  Granted, Mr. Rochester is flawed.  Life has dealt him a bad hand but he has good qualities too and courage when called upon.

Jane Eyre when it was published was a phenomenal success with readers on both sides of the Atlantic.  The literary critic Elaine Showalter said that women everywhere were reading Jane Eyre and a kind of Jane Eyre mania took hold.  A fascination developed as well with Charlotte Bronte and later with Emily Bronte.  Having now read Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre I can only marvel at how much genius could exist within one family.