Plunged back into Victorian times

"I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will."- Jane Eyre

I am so overwhelmed by my newly found love for this book that I hardly know where to begin. Written about a half century after Jane Austen published her novels, Jane Eyre is a wonderful story, and I need no convincing to classify it as a classic piece of English literature.

Charlotte Bronte published Jane Eyre in 1847 under the pseudnym Currer Bell. Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell were the names that the Bronte sisters had given themselves, to use in publishing. Both of Charlotte's sisters wrote novels as well. I have tried to read some of the other Bronte works, such as Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, and Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte, but could never really get into them. Jane Eyre is the most popular work to come from that literary family, and the only one that I had a strong desire to keep reading. I got so into it, that I read 4/5 of it in a day. It is also a very long book. Most editions are over 400 pages, making it one of the largerst novels that I have ever read.

I really loved the character of Jane. Her mein isn't contained in the pages. She has real struggles, and believable feelings. It was extremely refreshing; I cannot recall the last time that a character has seemed so alive to me. She is also not a "perfect" heroine. She makes mistakes, and has to ask for forgiveness a lot. She, over the course of the novel, comes to know that she is a sinner, and Christ holds the key to forgiveness. Faith is a prominent theme, and I think that in the character of Jane, a lot of the values that Charlotte herself held, can be seen.

From the beginning of the book, the ending is extremely predictable, but events between the beginning and end are not. The plot twists are crazy enough to suck someone in, but real enough that they are not unbelievable. Events that might seem cliche aren't; Charlotte Bronte did it first, and mastered it. Aside from the plot, the manner in which the narrator, Jane, speaks is engaging too. Compared with our difficulty of reading old English prose of the same period, Charlotte's prose is clear and enjoyable. It has style without being wordy. It is timeless enough that I reached only once for a dictionary; the word, by the way, was "conflagration," which means "a destructive fire;" Good to know.

Another thing I noticed was the attention to detail. Even the most minute action of a minor character is recorded, without making the flow of the story slow down or feel monotonous. When I write fiction, I find myself taking out many of the interesting little details, because I find that it burdens my writing. Charlotte Bronte has no such problem. Jane Eyre, is full of detail, and the talent of the author can be seen in the fact that her description is never boring.

I hope that if you have not already done so, you will pick up Jane Eyre, and give it a whirl. It is delightful, and I cannot remember when a novel grabbed hold of me in such a way. Happy reading to you.