I like to read at least one classic novel a year, and now that so many can be downloaded for free on Kindle, it was a matter of choosing which one. When I saw that a new film version of Jane Eyre will be released in March, I decided Jane Eyre would be the one.
Jane Eyre was first published in 1847, under the name Currer Bell, because Charlotte feared it would not be published if a woman's name appeared as the author.
Wikipedia has an excellent entry on this novel, exploring its many themes. While I was reading the novel, I was certainly aware of gender bias, class distinctions, the search for acceptance, plus passion and romance, the influence of religion, but the things that struck me as I read were first, the education of young women in those days amidst the most prejudicial males ( reminded me of our times, when the most strident voices for anti-abortion are male), and second, the often odd behaviour patterns of Rochester. Why did he lead her on so much to get closer to her - disguising himself as a gypsy, pretending to court Lady Ingram, misleading her into an almost bigamous marriage?
There's no question it's a highly literate novel, and a wonderful story, with many layers of meaning. Charlotte and her sisters lived a great life of full imagination even while being so secluded - it's amazing that she depicted life - especially romance - so accurately and so fully. I really can't recall whether I ever read the novel previously, but it was an engrossing, enlightening read. I love the sentence: "Reader, I married him" - I felt she was reaching out to communicate with all her readers down through the last 150 years, and it's almost as if she was talking directly to us all.
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