Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre

by Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre is full of emotions and thoughts so it's very dramatic almost like a tragedy but not completely. Jane Eyre's childhood strengthens her independence because she grows up parentless and lives with her aunt and cousins who despise and abuse her constantly. She thereafter attends a charity school and meets her first friend, who is in someway the opposite as herself. Her friend, Helen Burns, dies after some years and Jane has to continue her life alone. At first I think the book is an tragedy because once I think something good is finally going to happen, something unexpected turns the happiness into sorrow. Jane moves to Thornfield Hall to become a governess. She falls in love with her employer Rochester and they are soon to be married when Jane discovers a terrible secret that forces her to leave Rochester and Thornfield Hall. Once I think the story will end happily with Rochester something terrible appears. But after she leaves, the whole plot twists and all the puzzles seems to fit together. She discovers she actually has relatives, three cousins. All her feelings of loneliness disappears, she now has a place to call home. But while reading this I sense a little bit of grief from Jane, because she misses her love of her life and that makes her to go back to Thornfield Hall. When she comes back she discovers that Thornfield Hall has burnt down, but everyone are alive. Rochester becomes blind and his confidence has totally disappeared. The most touching scene in the book I think is when Jane comes back for Rochester and they embraces each other. Jane Eyre is no longer dependent by Rochester's fortune because she has earned her own fortune. They marry and have one son. The ending is really emotional and you feel that all her childhood misfortunes has paid of and she has no longer any grief over anything.

Even though Jane Eyre don't have a good childhood she grows up in a very rich environment and has her whole life full of fine opportunities. She grows up becoming very diplomatic but she still chooses to be a governess. A lot of children at that time have many opportunities to get some education. And while other girls tries to marry rich and wealthy men, Jane searches for her other half and wants love. Her independent heart leads her to Rochester.

The main characters in the book is Jane Eyre, whose early life story is told in the book and she is the narrator in the book. The other people I think are the most important people in the book are Edward Fairfax Rochester, St. John Eyre Rivers and Mrs. Reed. Edward Rochester is the master of Thornfield hall. He is a typical Byronic hero, he is highly educated, sophisticated, mysterious and a bit criminal but in the end a good hearted man. St. John Eyre Rivers is a clergyman, very reserved and simple minded. Jane and John becomes good friends and later on they finds out they are cousins. John proposes to Jane but not for love, rather to be his missionary wife. She doesn't give in but returns to Rochester. Mrs. Reed  is Jane's aunt by marriage, who adopts Jane but neglects and abuses her. Her dislike of Jane continues to her death. Mrs. Reed makes Jane the person she becomes, independent, reserved and very careful.

Everything Jane doesn't have growing up with Mrs. Reed she gets from Mr. Rochester and St. John. While growing up she doesn't have any relatives or that's what she feels, but when she finds out she has three cousins she gets utterly joyful and has totally forgotten that she has ever been lonely in her past. Mr. Rochester is Jane's soul mate and his likeness and equal. Even though he is 20 years older  than her they love each other truly. Mr. Rochester gives the love that St. John can't give to her and therefore she marries Mr. Rochester instead.

In the whole autobiography Jane Eyre is in search for her equal and she wants a place to belong to and have someone who understands her. It is a very dramatic and romantic story. The writing style is influenced by the romantic era even though the setting was in the Victorian era in England. It has a lot of cliffhangers and Jane describes her emotions very dramatically when she feels down, and when she is happy she describes those moments as if those moments were the best moments in her life.

The autobiography becomes more interesting because Jane Eyre tells the story as a flashback and sometimes she reflects about her feelings that she has at that very situation. When I read the book I get the feeling as if I was listening to a bedtime story. Maybe because I read the book in the night but rather because her writing makes me think though as she told her life story to me peronally. She builds up the story so delicately, the whole story starts with Jane sitting by a window and reading a book. She then explains her whole childhood from that situation and sometimes she comments some situations that is important to her.

One of the most popular sentence in the book is "Reader, I married him" in the conclusion in last chapter. She then caries on telling her present, she has one son and Rochester regains his eye sight again and they are very happy. It's such an happy ending that is why it's not an tragedy. It's a  romantic autobiography.

Her language is very diplomatic and I get the understanding that the author is highly educated. All the people she associates with is also in the same social class as her, so sometimes it's hard to follow the story-line because she goes back to her present time and then after awhile she went back to her flashback. But when she goes back to the present she usually...