Jane Eyre (1847) (edit title/settings)

• Rated 5 stars

“Yes, I read this book AGAIN. How could I resist when I came across this special edition printed in 1942, with the original lithographs inside the cover too. And I also found a monthly newsletter, dated 1942, issued to the members of the Heritage Club, 595 Madison Avenue, New York, in which they wrote a review about the book, published 95 years earlier in 1847.

I truly enjoyed reading this again.

The protagonist in this story, namely Jane Eyre, is a plain looking girl, with a very strong backbone. She had guts to stick to what she believed in, especially when it wasn't easy at all, and even when it wasn't what her heart wanted. She wasn't afraid of hard work, she was brutally honest, and even though she paid absolutely no attention to wealth and materialism and beauty in a fashion sense, she appreciated her life and the beauty in it wholeheartedly.

And aah, the language. Oh! There are some paragraphs I have to read out loud because they are so beautifully written, the English is so ... well "English".

There's a part in the story where she is very tempted to do something that is against her principles, and those around her are supporting her to do this thing. If she doesn't, she loses her home, friends, everything she knows. This is what she says:
" I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more un-sustained I am, the more I will respect myself. 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 rigour; 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 it's throbs. Preconceived opinions, forgone determinations, are all I have at this hour to stand by: there I plant my foot."

The strength of her countenance is remarkable.
”

• Rated 5 stars

“This book is so well writen. One of the few sad stories that I will read.”

• Rated 3 stars

“Jane's inability to make a decision towards the end of the novel drives me crazy.”

• Rated 5 stars

“One my favorite classics. I read this for the first time while riding in a tour bus across the French countryside, which made the story even more alive to me. The subtle darkness of this book makes it even more likable.”

• Rated 4 stars

“Good book, you keep reading because you want to know what happens next.”

• Rated 4 stars

“This is the book that made me love literature in high school. I love the ugly protagonists, and it has my kind of ending.”