I had better warn you, friend, that I am a passionate reader. Reading is my number one choice of leisure time activity. Give me a book and a comfy seat, and I am content for the afternoon. Give me a good book and the afore mentioned seat, and I am gone for the day. Give me an EXCELLENT book? I will purposefully stay up all night in order to finish it to prevent my family from suffering too much neglect!
Having said that, if you've no patience with books, I will forgive you for skipping the rest of this blog entry.
I always detested Jane Eyre. I had no patience with her. I thought her totally blind to the obvious red flags waving in her face. I was frustrated at her for failing to allow her curiosity to drive her to find the truth hidden in plain sight!
After reading it yet again, I have more empathy with her. You cannot judge Jane from a modern point of view. Any 18 year old today would have more street savvy and chutzpah to know that something was way off base. Modern girls have second-hand experience of life's hard knocks paraded before their view in mass media to educate them before their time. Jane was not a modern girl, however. She was young in more ways than one. She was innocence personified. Which, of course, is the point. She had no life experiences from which to draw in order to recognize the red flags. She had not lost innocent trust. She had nothing to draw from to prepare her for the vastness of dark and sinister fate.
I think many young people fall into Jane's trap. So blind in love that they don't see the red flags waving before them. It is truly amazing that so many stumble through the blindness of youth and still manage to make successful marriages! And yet, the divorce rate seems to attest to the many who remained blind.
But, back to Jane. I am reconsidering her as a heroine because of her poise and presence throughout adversity. She is ever kind, despite the way the world has treated her. A worthy role model, in my opinion. So, because of her gentle and loving perserverance, she has redeemed herself in my eyes and is now listed amongst literature's great heroines, at long last.
1 comments:
Interesting... for myself, I was always frustrated with all of the other characters in the book. Why couldn't they treat her with respect? Why couldn't they see that she doesn't understand and to please, please take the time to explain things to her. Jane Eyre is the epitome of quiet faith & hope.
What other books have you changed your opinion of?
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