SeptembEYRE Check In: Jane Eyre Complete!

When I finish that last page of a book, I am generally left with mixed feelings.  My obsessive-compulsiveness-must-finish-things-I-start sings a happy song, but the more rational side breaths a heavy sigh because those characters cease to be a part of my life, excepting my memory, of course.  But, oh, I do love the ending of Jane Eyre! 

In the last section, Jane runs away from true love, namely Mr. Rochester and a life where she is valued for herself, which left me feeling disappointed and wondering what Jane actually thought she was going to accomplish by abandoning Thornfield.  In this final reading, Jane redeems herself.  She is confronted with forced “love” and an indecent marriage proposal by the cold, manipulative St. John.  St. John disgusts me even though there seems to be some similarities in the personalities of Jane and St. John, including their phenomenal stubbornness and reliance on utmost morality.  For his marriage proposal, St. John demands: “A missionary’s wife you MUST – you shall be.  You shall be mine. I claim you”.  Really, St. John? You think demanding a girl to marry is the best approach?  I read this part like St. John was correcting himself by changing the “must” to “shall”, to appear less harsh.  It didn’t work for me, and thank goodness, Jane did not fall for it either.  There were periods where Jane’s rationality could almost see herself following St. John to India, but she also knew that it would be the death of her soul and so she declined . . . multiple times. 

What I love best about Jane comes out in this section: her compassion and sensibility. While she hardly flinches at the announcement of her large inheritance, she is overcome with excitement when she learns that the very friends that took her in are her close relatives.  I am so happy for Jane!  Jane longs for a family to love and cherish her.  Finally, she can feel like she belongs somewhere.  It doesn’t take long for her to think of Mr. Rochester again.  So to complete her happy life, Jane searches for Mr. Rochester and finds him crippled and alone.  Without a second thought, she marries the man and ties herself to a life of service.  This is true love.  And true to Jane’s character where she needs to be useful and valued.

Although I do love how the story ends, I find the last small section with the letter from St. John an odd way to end the novel. I spent a good portion of the novel believing Bronte had a negative attitude toward organized religion and Christianity.  Brocklehurst and St. John, both apparently godly man, are represented in an unfavourable light and, in fact, do not exemplify the life of Jesus.  So why, then, would Bronte end with these words of St. John: “Amen; even so come, Lord Jesus”, a sentiment believed by most Christians?  For me, I found this somewhat perplexing. Any thoughts?

To end, the quote I found most meaningful in this section describes true love and marriage.  For all of us in long-term relationships, take this to heart:

“ I hold myself supremely blest – blest beyond what language can express; because I am my husband’s life . . . consequently, we are ever together.  To be together is for us to be at once as free as in solitude, as gay as in company.  We talk, I believe, all day long: to talk to each other is but a more animated and an audible thinking.  All my confidence is bestowed on him all his confidence is devoted to me.”

This first read-along of mine has been a great experience. I liked getting to know the fellow SeptembEYRE-ites and hope to see more of you ladies in the future!  For now, read on!

SeptembEYRE Check In: XXI-XXIX

Finally, the section I’ve been looking forward to, when all is revealed!  The mystery surrounding Thornfield Hall and all the sinister events turns out to be Mr. Rochester’s crazy wife!  Crazy pants! But first, let’s back track . . .

Yay!  Jane and Mr. Rochester are engaged!  As I suspected, evil Ms. Ingram declines any romantic gesture by Mr. Rochester because of “a rumor”, which I can only guess comes from the “gypsy”.  The month-long engagement does nothing to satisfy the romantically inclined.  While Mr. Rochester attempts to transform Jane into a lady that she isn’t, Jane turns cold and practically reclusive.  I understand that she has a lot to process and she is the sort to over-analyze each situation, but you two are supposed to be IN LOVE!!  I guess this is Bronte’s way of suggesting to the reader that perhaps this marriage might not occur.  Sadness!

I actually have a tendency to feel more sympathy for Mr. Rochester than Jane in this section.  We learn a lot of the history behind this gentleman including how his family scammed him into marrying into an insane family . . .for money (which might suggest the role of marriage back in those days).  And this crazy wife is the same woman that is currently locked in his attic and wreaking havoc when she can.  Okay, okay, perhaps locking another human in a closet isn’t exactly appropriate, but you have to feel for the man.  What’s he supposed to do?  With no other choice, he attempts to find an equal, someone to share his life with.  And, after traveling the world, he comes home and finds plain, yet incredibly stimulating, Jane.  I’ll admit, Mr. Rochester generally confuses me. He has such an abrasive exterior (I guess both physically and emotionally) but then he pulls out these amazingly romantic lines and I can’t help but love him.  At the proposal, Mr. Rochester says “My bride is here . . . because my equal is here, and my likeness.”  Sooo sweet.   I empathize with Mr. Rochester and his desire for a happy life with a happy wife.  I really just want him to be happy and I don’t see any way out of his situation but to find someone who will understand his predicament and love him back.

And then there’s Jane.  The life of Jane Eyre is by no means easy and she is a strong and admiral woman for enduring the hardships she does with such stamina and self-awareness.  However, I believe some of these same qualities also constitute her downfall.  Her stubbornness and fundamentalist religious beliefs drive her from Thornfield Hall in the middle of the night to a non-existence, begging for her subsistence from complete strangers.  Moreover, the quick departure by Jane is mostly driven by selfish desires.  If she stays, she feels like her feelings will persuade her to stay.  The marriage of Mr. Rochester to his first wife, in my mind, does not signify marriage.  Jane, although believing that she is following the religious and social rules of the day by not staying with Mr. Rochester, forgets the other truly Christian attribute of love and forgiveness.  What would Helen Burns say or do? No one in the village through which Jane passes, except St. John, feels compassion and takes in desolate Jane.  Hopefully, this act of goodwill by St. John will show Jane that she too can love and forgive Mr. Rochester.

I feel like we’re not done with the relationship between Mr. Rochester and Jane.  But maybe that’s my “watch-too-many-romantic-comedies” personality hoping, wishing, dreaming that they’ll find each other and accept each other with all their faults. We’ll see! Only one week left!

SeptembEYRE Check In: XII-XXI

I hate being late for things, but alas, I am late writing my thoughts about this second SeptembEYRE reading.  For this, I apologize to my fellow SeptembEYRE-ites.  Being away on the weekend allowed me to catch up on the reading but not to organize and write down my thoughts.  Sadness, I know.  But I’m here now, so let’s do this thing!

It’s incredible how many different plot layers Bronte has woven into this novel.  On the most basic level we have Jane’s coming of age story, where Jane travels from torments of Gateshead to the lifeless Lowood boarding school and now to Thornfield where Jane really comes to life. Intermingled with the development of Jane, we have the complicated relationship between Jane and her employer, the less than handsome, ever-so-mysterious Mr. Rochester.  Mr. Rochester’s story is another sub-plot.  Who exactly is he and why all the drama?  And the life of this secretive gentleman is inevitably tied to whoever is haunting the attic.  There’s just so much to this story!  I’m loving it!

Throughout the novel, Jane’s introspection and self-analysis allow us to see how she is developing as a strong solitary woman.  However, I find that Jane has a tendency to over-analyze.  And I know, from personal experience, this only leads to trouble and/or unhealthy self-deprecation.  For example, Jane tries to convince herself that she is no match against the exquisitely beautiful Ms. Ingram and proceeds to draw herself and a fictitious portrait of Blanche.  Of course, she draws herself quite plain and unattractive while Blanche Ingram is picture perfect (pun intended?).  Is this really a productive exercise?  Doubtful.  And as proof, several pages later, Jane reminds herself “you have nothing to do with the master . . . he is not of your order . . .keep to your caste”.  Need I remind everyone: love is in the eye of the beholder!

Which leads me to the relationship between Jane and Mr. Rochester.  I am a sucker for a good love story.  Even though I find Mr. Rochester a curious and confusing character, I really just want him to admit that he has feelings for Jane.  Of course, like most love stories, this one is also complicated by a third party, namely the arrogant bitchy Blanche Ingram (Ugh).  In Jane’s earshot, she describe Jane: “she looks too stupid for any game of the sort”.  Wow.  I guess people really weren’t more polite back in the day, like my romantic would like to believe.  But, back to the love story . . . I know Mr. Rochester says he will marry Ms. Ingram, but I still hope for Jane.  And I will hope, until the very last page.

I think what sets Bronte’s novel apart from the Austen novels is the darker, mysterious (some might call gothic?) aspects.  Whereas I find Austen’s novel purely romantic, Bronte adds more drama to her story.  Obviously something strange is happening at Thornfield involving the attic and someone called Grace Poole.  Now, since I’ve read this novel previously, I’ll admit I know more about what’s going on there, so for the time, I will not comment on this.  However, I had forgotten all the vicious attacks!  I’d be scared if I was living at Thornfield hall!

Now to end, I’ll end with this quote that I thought especially provocative and one to live by.  It is Jane at her finest:

“I can live alone, if self-respect and circumstances require me to do so.  I need not sell my soul to buy bliss.  I have an inward treasure born with me, which can keep me alive if all extraneous delights should be withheld, or offered only at a price I cannot afford to give.  The forward declares, ‘Reason sits firm and holds the reins, and she will not let the feelings burst away and hurry her to wild chasms.  The passions may rage furiously like true heathens, as they are; and the desires may imagine all sorts of vain things: but judgment shall still have the last word in every argument, and the casting vote in every decision’”. 

SeptembEYRE check in!

First, let me say that I am THOROUGHLY enjoying this first blog event of mine.  Not only are real people actually reading my blog, but they’re also leaving comments! Yay!  This is very exciting.  I promise, this week, I will be a better blogger and return those comments.

What’s more, having a prescribed reading pace means I have no excuse not to read.  With the cooling temperatures outside, I’ve been doing most of my reading in the comfort of a bubble bath; so let’s just say I’m thoroughly enjoying Jane Eyre!

In this second or third read-through, I’ve come to respect Jane’s resilience.  Perhaps in my “old’ age, I’m more sensitive to the cruelty of fellow humans.  Regardless, Jane’s childhood lacked the love every child desires and deserves and this fact alone saddens me.  Actually, I forgot how dark Jane Eyre is.  It’s a far cry from the love-struck Bennet girls of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.  However, Jane’s hardiness allows her to endure her early childhood in both the Reed household and in the dismal boarding school.  I don’t know what is about orphan children that make them speak their minds.  When reading how Jane’s “scarcely voluntary” retort to her Aunt Reed, I was immediately reminded of Anne of Green Gables, another young orphan who believed strongly in her own opinions.  With both of these young girls, we know that whatever (and I mean, WHATEVER) will be thrown at them in the subsequent chapters will be ably dealt with by their sense of justice.

Ghosts, supernaturals, or spirituality take up a significant portion of this novel so far.  This is another reason why I might consider Jane Eyre a dark novel.  The red chamber is a scary place!  And we can only imagine that Thornhill is also haunted.  Aren’t all old houses haunted?  Hmmm, only time will tell, I guess. 

I am vaguely aware of how this story plays out, but it is interesting to pick up on new aspects as I re-read this great novel!  I can’t wait for part two!

SeptembEYRE

September is the month of firsts, which is why I’m always excited by this month.  Generally it marks the beginning of a new school year, with the hopes of great accomplishments.  Well, today marks another first for me . . . .Septemb-EYRE signifies my inaugural participation in a blogging event!  I’ve seen these things from time and time, but never considered myself a serious enough blogger.  Well, forget that sentiment.  I’m diving in!

This first post is meant as an introduction to myself and why I’m reading Jane Eyre.   If you want to learn about me, why I started blogging and what I do for my real job, check out my very first blog post here.

Now to the novel . . .I love Jane Eyre.  I love most classics from this era including all of Jane Austen’s novels.  I’ve read Bronte’s novel two times, I believe.  But since I have a tendency to forget what I read (hence keeping track via a blog), I’m sure this rereading will be like reading it for the first time.   Besides, the spine on the edition I’ll be reading has yet to be cracked.  My parents gave me this keepsake several years ago, but with so many new books to discover, I put this aside.  No longer! 

Thanks for the great idea to read this fantastic novel.  Now, to crack that spine . . .

See you next week!