Thoughts: Jane Eyre

Last night at about 11:13pm, I had some "profound" thoughts about this book and of course I said to myself, "Oh, I won't forget that.  I'll post that on the blog tomorrow."  I woke up this morning to a mental tabula rasa...oh well.  I really need to jot these things down before I drift off into sleep!  I really, really enjoyed this book. I knew the story pretty well from the various film versions out there, but it was nice to actually read it. I loved the language (words like lachrymose, syncope, repine, halcyon, ebullition, antipodes, and so on), the plot twists (just enough mystery, dark secrets, and gothic elements to keep us guessing), and yes, even the hint of melodrama (it is 19th century literature, after all!). I felt like I had a good sense of all the characters, despite it being a first-person narrative. I have to admit though at one point I thought to myself, "A) Did Rochester really think he could get away with having two wives? and B) For as level-headed as Jane seemed, why didn't she ask a few more questions?" And then, it became pretty clear to me that A) Rochester was desperate for stability and happiness (though I think he really did love Jane, but Charlotte had to convince me of this.  I think those "chance" encounters between Jane and Rochester successfully built up to the fact that he was seeking her out, rather than just bumping into her on accident.  Plus, I think the way he interacted with her and gradually confided in her throughout the novel established this as well.) and B) Jane was inexperienced at only 18 or 19 years old and probably got swept up in the moment and so, you know, asking about that menacing laugh from down the hall was clearly of secondary importance. I suppose the not-so-fully-rational, and even unlikely actions of the characters makes it all the more believable.  I appreciated that after all she went through Jane had a sound understood who she was and was determined to do what was right when the only person it mattered to was herself. (Although something about the possibility of a secret wedding in France or Italy was kind of intriguing.  But wait--this isn't Madame Bovary, is it?)

I read this review online and thought you might be interested too.

Some quotes I liked:

"I could not help it: the restlessness was in my nature; it agitated me to pain sometimes. Then my sole relief was to walk along the corridor of the third storey, backwards and forwards, safe in the silence and solitude of the spot, and allow my mind's eye to dwell on whatever bright visions rose before it- and, certainly, they were many and glowing; to let my heart be heaved by the exultant movement, which, while it swelled with trouble, expanded it with life; and best of all, to open my inward ear to a tale that was never ended- a tale my imagination created, and narrated continuously; quickened with all of incident, life, fire, feeling, that I desired and had not in my actual existence.

It is vain to say human being ought to be satisfied with tranquility: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it."
...

"Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless?  You think wrong! I have as much soul as you, and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty, and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you.  I am not talking to you know through the medium of custom, conventionalities, nor even of mortal flesh; it is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave, and we stood at God's feet, equal--as we are!"
...

I thought this was especially powerful:
"I care for myself.  The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained, I am, the more I will respect myself.  I will keep the law given by God, sanctioned by man.  I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mad--as I am now.  Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation; they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigor; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth? They have a worth, so I have always believed; and if I cannot believe it now, it is because I am insane, quite insane, with my veins running fire, and my heart beating faster than I can count its throbs. Preconceived opinions, foregone determinations, are all I have at this hour to stand by; there I plant my foot."
...

I would recommend Wuthering Heights by Charlotte's sister Emily, but it is very different from Jane (not to compare sisters or anything), so I'm not sure if you guys would like it as much.  I loved it (although you should know that most of characters are completely nuts in that book), so if you're up for trying another of the Brontës, I'd suggest this one.  However, I'm still thinking we should nominate Villette in 2012...

PS:  I received all of the rest of the books for this year on my porch yesterday afternoon.  Exciting! On a funny note, I ordered a new copy of Anna Karenina and it is almost an inch thicker than the older version I already had.  I'm skeptical.  It's probably printed on thicker paper, right? Hopefully it's just an inch thicker and not an inch longer!  ;)