Classic Book Review: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Isabela Chieffi
6 days ago
2 min read

Information

Book cover of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. Features a portrait of a woman in black, serious expression, beige background. Classic edition.

Book Title: Jane Eyre

Author: Charlotte Brontë

Publisher: Smith, Elder & Co.

Publish Date: October 19, 1847

Genres: fiction, classics, literary, romance

Moods: dark, emotional, mysterious

Pace: slow-paced

Synopsis

Jane Eyre is about a girl who grows up feeling alone her whole life. As a young girl, she deals with unfair treatment from her family, whom she lives with. She goes to school and learns quickly and becomes friends with many people. As she gets older, she becomes a governess at Thornfield. She soon discovers many things about the estate, herself, and the people around her.

Personal Thoughts

I read this book for my AP Literature class, just like The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. However, this is one of the more difficult reads we had this year. Jane Eyre is the classic that 9th grade me thought only scholars read. In a way, I am becoming the scholar I thought others were. This is one of the hardest books I have read so far. But for something so challenging, the challenge was not interesting enough. Before, the hardest novel I had read was Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Not only was Frankenstein way shorter than Jane Eyre, but it was also interesting. There were no boring or dragged-out parts. Everything had a purpose.

I would like to add this is not a critique of Jane Eyre but rather a reflection of my own reading styles. I think Jane Eyre is a great book and it is revolutionary. However, it is not the perfect fit for me.

I have said a lot of negative things so I would like to end on a positive note. I think, for the time, the portrayal of Jane as such an independent woman was a brilliant idea and I loved to see how Charlotte Brontë wrote about it. I thought all the characters were well developed and complex. I liked the concept of a story having so much detail and taking you through such a long period of time, at least for a novel. I think a lot of books show you such a short period of time or only allude to their childhood. However, with Jane Eyre, it brought you through her childhood and I think this allowed Jane to be so complex.

Book Rating

★★★☆☆ (3.75/5) stars

I give this book 3.75 stars because I think it was a great book. As I mentioned above, I loved the concept and the way it was written. The only reason I didn't give it 4 stars was because I didn't feel enjoyment or motivation to read this book. Other than that, I liked it!