Is it any wonder this book as been shelved among the timeless classics? The two times I'd tried to read this book before I couldn't do it and now I don't know why. How many books can you read that leave you in an incredibly wonderful mood that lasts longer then just the few minutes after you've finished? How rare is it to find an author who can really evoke and stir raw, real, and pure emotion from you? How often do you find a book that is so true to what love is, what life is, and the mercy of God?
This is so much more then just a story. I don't even know what to call it. But this book . . . all while I was reading it, I couldn't help but think, "That is what love is! That is what love should be like!" Too much nowadays we read books and see movies that portray love as something that is - yes, good and wonderful, but for some reason also can't be achieved without first experiencing the physical half. Those stories lose so much! Jane Eyre is a pure, good novel that shows you what love really is. Never have I felt a story more then while reading this book. Love doesn't have to be physical or passionate in order to be real. It needs to be pure and true and good. Love perhaps is something we sometimes take for granted. Jane is someone who understands a life without love, but also she knows what a life with true love is. Not modern "TV love" so to speak, but real love. She knows and understands . . . so much.
Through all her trials, she remains with her unfailing faith. She had more right then many to falter, to murmur, to wonder what God wanted of her. Although she suffered so much, she always turned to God for relief and always did she somehow gain it. Not immediately or as you would expect, but it was given. This book portrays perfectly that rewards aren't given right away, but through diligence, perseverance, and patience, we will one day see the grace of God. Even Mr. Rochester who had just as much right to complain as Jane, learned and appreciated just as "his little fairy" did.
Also in this book is the sweetest, kindest, most angelic character ever written. I've read Jane's friendship with Helen Burns three times now and also have I (here comes a spoiler for those of you who have never read the book or seen the movie) read of her death. Each and every time, her unfailing gratitude and love amazed me. For someone who has always been treated ill by others, who was cast off by her father, and was robbed of the chance to live a full life, she never once complained. On the contrary, she was grateful. And she taught Jane so much. Jane wouldn't have been the amazing person she grew to be if it hadn't have been for Helen.
Now I'm beginning to ramble. Sorry. Suffice it to say, I've never read a book as wonderful, amazing, stirring, or romantic as this. As much as I love Jane Austen books, I'd still name Bronte's the greater romance. This is a book that I think everyone should read, even the men. It may just seem like some lame, boring classic that English teacher's may force you to read, but it's not. It is so much more then that. As strange as it may sound, not reading this, you really don't know what you'd be missing. This is an adventure all it's own.
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