7. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I remember reading this book when I was in 9th grade and absolutely loving it.  But I remembered so little about the story.  Of course, I knew Jane Eyre was a penniless governess who falls in love with her employer, Mr. Rochester, and he with her.  I remember the mysterious happenings on the third floor of the mansion and even the fire.  But that was it.  When I started reading this book again, it opened with the story of Jane as a ten-year-old being mistreated by her aunts and cousins.  Was I even reading the same story?  She went to a boarding school?  She ran away from Mr. Rochester after learning that he had a wife?  I thought she learned that at the time of the fire.  Where did these cousins come in?  Wow, isn't it amazing the things you can forget over forty years' time?  Since I have never seen movies made from the book, it was almost like experiencing it for the first time.  Which was pretty neat.  What can I say?  It's a great story, a great romance, and Jane Eyre is a great character.  I love how strong she is (except for when under the thrall of her cousin, St. John.  He was creepy.) She had such moral conviction and deep passion.  I love that neither she nor Mr. Rochester were good-looking, but were attracted to the better qualities of the other, and maybe even some of the faults.  The story captured me.  True, I found the dialogue to be stilted and silly; but probably true to the time the book was written.  It sure took a long time to say anything, didn't it?  But the book is a classic, and I can certainly understand why?  I should try to not wait another forty years to read it again.  Here's a quote I picked out from many good ones:

"We know that God is everywhere; but certainly we feel His presence most often when His works are on the grandest scale spread before us and it is in the unclouded night-sky, where His worlds wheel their silent course, that we read clearest His infinitude, His omnipotence.  I had risen to my knees to pray for Mr. Rochester.  Looking up, I, with tear-dimmed eyes, saw the mighty Milky-Way.  Remembering what it was -- what countless systems there swept space like a soft trace of light -- I felt the might and strength of God."

The book is filled with some great thoughts on Diety, right and wrong, morality versus immortality, even religious over-zealousness.  Good lessons that don't feel preachy because the story is so enthralling.  If you want to read a classic, I recommend this one.

Rating:  4.5

I realized that I posted this review on the wrong post.  If you want to see my other book reviews, please visit Framed and Booked.