Book Review: Jane Eyre - Highly Recommend

I loved returning to this classic that I have neglected since I first read it in high school. This is considered a classic for good reason. What a beautiful and morally uplifting book! When I read it as a teen, most of the beautiful spiritual passages slipped right past me. This time around, I wished I had been reading the book physically, so I could savor those passages. Still, it was a splendid choice for my car time listening.

Jane Eyre tells the chronological story of this character's life from humble beginnings to latter fulfilment and courage. Orphaned early in life, Jane's uncle takes her in but then dies. Her aunt and cousins spurn her and send her away to a harsh and sterile boarding school. I never tired of listening to her take on her surroundings and circumstances. She has pluck! She narrates with honesty and feeling.

Jane completes her education and works for a spell as a teacher at the school. Determined to pursue her own path, she places an advertisement for work as a governess. She has never encountered the feelings stirred by exposure to her commanding master, Mr. Rochester. Yet, secrets linger about the place. Her path is far from certain and life holds further obstacles to surmount.

While Wuthering Heights is full of atmospheric tension, this book fully develops the characters. It stirs relational tensions between intention and desire. As the secrets are uncovered, the reader walks alongside Jane Eyre in her travels and her travails with a desire to remain upright and true to herself. The writing itself is beautiful. The spiritual applications are appropriate. In enjoying this book, I want to seek further books by this fine author. I found a documentary on Kanopy about the three Bronte sisters and their alcoholic brother. It was very difficult to watch and makes me all the more impressed with the skills these sisters possessed and shared with the world.