Classic Romance

Jane Eyre far exceeded my expectations. What made me cringe at eleven made me swoon at twenty-three.

Bronte masterfully draws the reader into the improbable romance between Jane and Edward while maintaining Jane's feminism and virtuous morality. Although the reader knows that a relationship between Jane and Mr. Rochester should be improbable, Bronte captures her readers by maintaining realism through Mr. Rochester's flamboyant character and Jane's practice of self-control. The complications of social status, age, and relationships both strengthen and deepen the characters of Jane Eyre, creating persons the audience can relate to.

Of course, I wonder if Jane is a partial refection of the author herself who was the daughter of a minister but fell in love with a married man. Jane's inner thoughts concerning her love for Mr. Rochester must have come from a mind which was also self-disciplined to overrule the emotional tendencies of the heart.

So after twelve years and a second chance, Jane Eyre has made it onto my "must read" list. The themes of retribution, love, and virtuous morality have created a story that I will gladly read from cover to cover.

Austen vs. Bronte

If you ask a lady what her favorite book is, I'll be you'll get one of two answers: Jane Eyre or Pride and Prejudice. Ironically, those who cherish Jane Eyre can't stand Pride and Prejudice and the Austen lovers tend to loath the Bronte fanatics. What's the big deal?

Of course, for the majority of my life I have been an avid Austenite (though I have yet to get through Emma--to much a of girly novel for me). I loathed Jane Eyre on principle. Now I am faced with a perplexing problem: was I wrong to set the two novels at odds? Can I not love both?

Honestly, I do not find the two novels comparable. Bronte's novel is a macabre romance while Austen's remains a light romantic comedy. The events of Pride and Prejudice occur in a few short years, while readers of Jane Eyre grow with Jane from adolescence to maturity. Austen presents a window into the social life of the times while Bronte challenges social and religious conventions.

And here I am perplexed: can one truly justify upholding one while degrading the other? Both captivate the audience drawing the reader out of reality. Both romances correctly address the inner conflict of the heroine while creating a charming hero that any girl could fall in love with (despite Mr. Rochester's age). Truly if you were to ask me "Austen or Bronte" I would have to retort "both," for both have become treasures of my library.

A Shining Light

"A friend loves at all times and brothers are born for trials." (Proverbs 17:17)

When Jane entered Lowood school she needed one thing: a friend. True, she needed acceptance and academic training, but she needed a companion who would do more than accept her--she needed to be loved. And for this need Bronte creates a shining light: Helen Burns.

I find it interesting that Bronte chose to name this deep, insightful character Helen Burns. Up to this point, Jane has lived in a world of darkness and despair. What light has shined in her life is faded or a cheap reflection. But Helen is a true light, just as her name suggests. She shines through the darkness of Jane's former and current surroundings burning truths of Scripture into the poor orphan girl's empty, dark soul.

From the start Helen admonishes Jane to "Read the New Testament, and observe what Christ says, and how he acts; make his word your rule, and his conduct your example." The light that shines within Helen is not produced out of her own good works. Helen shines because she reflects the perfect light of Christ.

Throughout the few, short chapters in which Helen is mentioned, Jane finds herself surrounded by warmth and honesty. A fire in Miss Temple's room is a physical picture of the warmth Jane feels in the company of Miss Temple and Helen. Jane remarks that "I never tired of Helen Burns; more ever ceased to cherish for her a sentiment of attachment . . . How could it be otherwise, when Helen, at all times and under all circumstances, evinced for me a quiet and faithful friendship, which ill-humor never soured, nor irritation ever troubled?" How many of us could say that we have a friend like that? How many of us are a friend like Helen Burns?

Helen's static, deep character is discussed briefly in comparison to the expanse of Jane Eyre, yet, both times I have read it I believe I've wished to be more like Helen than any other character. Oh, that my life would be a living testimony to others. Oh, that I would graciously accept criticism in order to be perfected into the image of Christ.

Oh that I may be a Helen Burns--a shining light burning forth for Christ.

Poor Orphan Girl

In my first reading of Jane Eyre, I became so grossed out by the relationship between Jane and Mr. Rochester, that I completely forgot the beautifully descriptive language Bronte used to describe Jane's unfortunate childhood.  I was crushed by the impact of Bronte's words. Jane's torments became my torments, her fears my fears, her frustrations my frustrations, her passions my passions. The poor orphan child longed desperately for the one thing she was not given: love.

I wonder how Mrs. Reed could treat her niece this way? Why did no one care for this poor orphan girl who was cherished by her uncle? What kind of life would make a child of 9-10 consider a poorly run school a haven from a house filled with the finest things the world had to offer?

Bronte masterfully sketches the unfortunate, but necessary childhood of Jane. Having read the novel once before, I know that some themes will return later in the book--darkness and mystery and unrequited love--but I'm also anxious to see what else Bronte will teach me in my second reading. After all, there's a world of difference between a fourth grader and a college senior. Maybe the situations of this poor orphan girl will prove crucial after all . . .

Second Chance

Have you finished reading a novel and thought, "why did I just waste my time?"

{If you say this every time you read a book, I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to those bibliophobes who are as bound to reading as some people are bound to coffee.}

Those destested books get put on a bookshelf to gather dust or thrown in a bin and are eventually donated to a charity or thrift store of some sort. Either way, the future of that book is bleak--dust or destitution.

I was in fourth grade when I read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte for the first time. And, I must admit, when I finished reading I really did feel as though I'd wasted hours of my all important 10-year-old life. For those of you doubters, yes, I understood the general outline of the story. So, why didn't I enjoy this classic of British literature that so many bibliophobes like myself relish to read time and time again?

I thought the story was gross. I was a fourth grader reading about a lady who marries a man 20 years her senior--I was bound to dislike the book. For the past 13 years I have avoided Bronte's masterpiece like the plague. First impressions die hard. But, the time has come for me to give Jane Eyre a second chance. I can't promise that my opinion will do I complete 180, but I do promise to read with better understanding. Stay tuned as I reread this classic from cover to cover.

What novel have you read that you felt was a waste of time?

Have you ever given a book a second chance?