Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

It's been very long since I posted a review. I was reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Reading a classic after long years had been a wonderful experience. The pace of the reading was very much different from reading a best seller.

Summary

Jane was an orphan who was sent to live with her aunt Mrs. Reed who never had a special liking for her. She kept Jane for she was asked by her deceased husband to do so. Jane Eyre was her husband's niece. Little Jane had to face her nagging cousins all the time. Soon she was sent to Loowood school where she befriended Helen Burns who  died  due to consumption. Though short span of time, Helen influenced Jane a lot.Her life changed when she had gone to Thornfield Hall and met the rough Mr. Edward Rochester. He fell in love with her madly. They were about to marry when the bad news struck Jane like a thunder bolt. She was always sure that there was some sort mystery in Thornfield Hall that kept alluding her for quite sometime .She used to hear scream occasionally in the Thornfield Hall that sent cold shivers down her spine. She was not sure what was it all about.

Mr. Edward Rochester was already married to a woman named Bertha Mason who was a  lunatic. She was kept hidden in the Hall and it was her scream that was heard occasionally. Jane could not marry her beloved ,Edward for if she married him, she would be called his mistress as his wife was alive.

Jane left Thornfield Hall against her master's wishes. After a tiresome journey, she reached where she met the next twist in her life. She was exhausted and famished and sought asylum in a Moor House where lived the Rivers family. Ten months had passed.She was friendly with St. John and her sisters Mary and Diana. The more delightful news was that she got a family who was originally her family. Jane was St. John's cousin and their uncle who was their mothers' brother died leaving Jane his possessions that made her independent.  It was in that same Moor House St. John proposed to her and asked her to become a missionary's wife and accompany him to India. Jane was ready to accompany him not as a wife but as a sister which St. John was not ready to accept.

Another thought was gnawing her - the thought of her master and beloved, Mr. Edward Rochester. She had written to Thornfield Hall seeking Mr. Rochester's whereabouts. But she did not receive any reply. She decided to seek it by herself and set on to Thornfield Hall ,where once her life was about to change.  What she had to encounter was a ruined mansion where her love blossomed. She also learned that a disaster struck her master's mansion and his life in the disguise of his mad wife Bertha. Out of her lunatic fury she set the mansion ablaze and died accidentally falling from the top of the house.

Mr. Rochester had to pay a heavy price.His hand was amputated and he lost his sight when he was struck by his mad wife on his head with something heavy . After this tragic incident he was keeping himself aloof and was staying with his servant John and his wife. His joy knew no bounds when he met his Jane. Soon they were married.

My thoughts

Jane Eyre was an independent young woman who knew her thoughts as well as herself. She always maintained a tranquil equilibrium between her earthly desires and her principles. She straight away told to Mr. Brocklehurst that she read Bible, but was not in favour of psalms. Though she loved Edward, she was not ready to become his mistress.

I liked Jane a lot. Reading classics were not an easy task for me. But I really enjoyed this one. A totally engaging read.