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Title: Jane Eyre (Norton Critical Editions)
ISBN: 0393975428
Author:
Charlotte Bronte
Publicate Date: 2000-10
Publish: 2000-10
List Price: $12.25
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $9.11
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $8.00
Amazon Merchant Price: $10.97
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1: Stands the Test of Time
Charlotte Bront?? skillfully weaves together a memorable study of a woman's life, from childhood to adulthood, and of the unique challenges she faces. Jane Eyre is a wholly unprotected young woman, forced to make her way in the world in the only position she can respectfully acquire: that of a governess. Bront?? herself was a governess and understood the distinct misery such a situation can cause. A governess in the Victorian age was a woman in social limbo: she was held to be above the station of the servants, meaning she was not accepted into their society (it would appear insultingly condescending on her part), and yet underneath the status of the family, who would shun her. A governess was one of the loneliest women in the world. Luckily for Jane Eyre, she is welcomed into the limited society at Thornfield and is even held in affection by her young French pupil. However, her world is turned upside-down upon the return of Mr. Rochester to his home. The bond between the tortured master and his young, inexperienced governess is strong and immediate, and the passion that grows between them is inevitable and consuming.
I would not dream of spoiling the delicious mystery and dramatic plot by saying much more. One can easily get carried away when discussing this book. I will say, however, that the book is beautifully written, if somewhat preachy, and the characters themselves are remarkably believable. No one is perfect in this book. Mr. Rochester is domineering, Jane herself is a little too morally strict for modern tastes, and many of the other characters, most notably St. John Rivers, have obvious flaws. This all combines to make the story, which is fiercely romantic, much more accessible than it otherwise could have been. I believe that any reader of both Victorian literature and modern romances and mysteries will enjoy this enduring classic.
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2: Great for anyone who's ever been in love...
Simply Stated: This is a story about the importance of not committing your life to love (to marriage) until you know who you really are. In order for you to have a successful, truly successful (by which I mean happy, rewarding, ever-growing, intellectually and emotionally stimulating) marriage, you have to be able to clearly identify and assert what matters to you: who you are, what you want and need in order to be fulfilled on both a daiy and on a lifelong basis.
Figuring that out may mean leaving someone you love (as it does for Jane), or hurting someone who loves you (as Jane must do), but the only way to return to the 'right' relationship (or to find the right relationship) certain you won't 'lose yourself' in it (lose your mind, lose your direction, lose your hope), you must first strike out on your own and endure (with your own strength, determination, and defiance) some hardships. You must try on some alternative lives (so you won't wonder about them later, won't sit at your kitchen table saying to yourself, "what if", won't bemoan the choice you've made when the going gets rough), and wear them around for a while, like so many shoes in a shoeshop. Sometimes, it takes walking around in heels for a while before you can really enjoy being barefoot. And it takes being barefoot for a while before you can truly appreciate that versatile, enduring and practical comfort of your tennis shoes.
The bottom line is, this is not just a message for women, or about women. It's about people. People in love. And while the book is pretty old, and the language is sometimes alarmingly eloquent, and the character's day-to-day lives involve horses not cars, and talking not internet, the message in it (and the way it's conveyed) is still highly relevent, highly accessible, and highly enjoyable...and I highly recommend it.
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3: buy this edition
If you're thinking of reading Jane Eyre, and you want to understand it, this edition is the one for you. The footnotes are very helpful, explaining the allusions to the Bible or older literature that you might not pick up on, as well as some of the vocabulary. The contemporary reviews in the back are great - everyone must read Elizabeth Rigby's review. Our culture has changed so much, we don't understand how revolutionary books like Jane Eyre once were. The essays of modern criticism are also very helpful. Someone did a very good job with this book.
A few reviewers wrote that Jane Eyre is not entertaining or something. Actually, it is if you understand it. To me, Jane Eyre is up there with Shakespeare, the Great Gatsby, Catcher in the Rye as some of the deepest, most well thought-out stories I know of. It is a book to read 2 or 3 times before you draw your conclusion.
So - in short - read Jane Eyre, and use the Norton Critical Edition.
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4: Painful
All of the drama in the novel is packed into the last 30 pages. The rest of the book is incredibly dull.
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5: The only edition to buy
This review is aimed more toward the Norton edition than to JANE EYRE. We all know this is a classic. Bronte was simply a genius and a harbinger of romantic, dramatic, gothic, and horror writing. (However, it still irks me that she couldn't end a simple sentence with a period. Every declarative statement, it seems, must be qualified with a colon or semi-colon. Oh well. Sign of the times.)
As for the Norton edition, it's the only one to buy. Bronte makes the assumption that you have read the Bible cover-to-cover a zillion times, and for those of us who have not read it through once, Norton's annotations are more than helpful---they're essential to understanding the novel's Christian allusions. This edition also provides the reader with critical essays, contexts of Bronte's life, Bronte's reactions to critics of her day, etc.
Bottom line: you can get the Dover Thrift edition for a couple bucks, but, if you are interested in giving this classic more than a cursory read, this edition is worth the extra money.
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