Rating: 
Summary: It doesn't HAVE to be a drag....
Review: I gather this is required reading at a lot of high schools these days, and I'm sure that a lot of today's high schoolers do indeed think of it as a drag. It sure doesn't have to be, though, if you read from a larger perspective.To fully appreciate today's world, it helps to understand the attitudes and experiences of the past, and JANE EYRE is one of the novels that helps us understand. The book takes an orphaned girl taken in by an unloving aunt, and follows her into an unhappy school experience and ultimately into as good a career as a woman of that time and station could hope for, that of governess. Well, this is one of the earliest gothic novels and true to the genre, you know the girl's going to fall in love with her employer who, unfortunately, has a deep and dark secret. There's tragedy of sorts here and there's triumph, all told against the mores of a bygone era. There's much to learn and to enjoy here if you open up to it. It is dated, and not 100% relevant to today's life, which is why I give it four rather than five stars. It may be helpful to read and compare JENNA STARBORN to JANE EYRE. The former pales horribly by comparison, but by setting the story in the future, today's reader may gain a better understanding of the original story.
Rating: 
Summary: Romance & Everyday Life
Review: When I first read Jane Eyre, I (and I think many others) was taken in by the odd combination of romance and ominous overtones that makes Jane Eyre such a unique book. Of course, the Victorian-era writing and social commentary also made an impression. But upon reflection, underneath all of this is a story of people with difficult lives learning to find and accept each other and hopefully coming to peace and happiness despite long odds. Maybe my second reading just comes from a twenty-first century mind reading things into a nineteenth century book that just aren't there. But to me, the book does have the feel of a modern story of hardship as well as a Victorian story of people trying to overcome their backgrounds to find love. Jane Eyre tells the life story of an orphaned girl sent away to a harsh boarding school by a cruel aunt. Despite the harsh nature of the school, Jane thrived at the school since she is finally out from her aunt's crushing dislike for her. She graduated and took a job as a governess for a girl in the care of a mysterious man who spent much of his time traveling abroad, Mr. Rochester. At first, the two do not like each other. This is compounded by the fact that Jane thinks she is plain looking and not worthy of his company. But the two develop a peculiar friendship, and there are many signs that their feelings are deeper. But Mr. Rochester is busy courting other ladies at the time. Mr. Rochester also seems to have a secret that he will not divulge to Jane but may have serious consequences for her. Jane's job as a governess and the friendship that develops make it seem that the book will quickly become a Jane Austen book (which of course, would not have been a bad thing) in which the man and woman from different classes find love with one another, but from the point of the friendship blooming, Jane Eyre takes a few remarkable twists and turns that I had not expected and that make for real page-turning. But it is as much the quiet desperation of both Jane and Mr. Rochester and their struggle to find each other despite this that makes Jane Eyre a book truly worth reading and treasuring.
Rating:
Summary: Sure it's dated, but it's enjoyable if you let it be
Review: I read this in order to compare it with JENNA STARBORN, and there's no doubt but that this is the true classic with its Gothic overtones and its portrayal of a strong and independent woman in times not supportive of such strength and independence in women. Many will have difficulty with this book, because it's rich in detail and rich in mood. Today's readers may need patience and understanding to enjoy this. If one relaxes and accepts the book as a portrait of the thinking of the era in which it was written, one can relate it with today's society. Basically, this is the story of a woman guided by her inner values. As such, it's not really a book for guys. On the other hand, it tells of a style of life far from that led by today's high school girls, and therefore takes careful reading. It's classic, and if accepted as a Gothic romance that reveals the thinking and attitudes of the time when written, it's a timeless story that speaks to all.
Rating: 
Summary: Jane Eyre -- Who cares?
Review: When I picked up this book, I was expecting Jane Austen, and instead had to contend with the foul Bronte way of writing: dry, emotionless, humorless -- and plain dull. I did get through the book with some effort, but I found it very bland.
Rating:
Summary: A Timeless Classic!
Review: Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" is one of the best literary works I have ever had the pleasure of reading. It has the ability to keep you riveted, unable to put it down. Jane bears an uncanny resemblance to modern day women in that she is independent and strong willed. I had never even heard of this book before attending college and I almost feel cheated. This book does an excellent job of pointing out the many peaks and valleys one will have in their life. The author was able to use her own first-hand knowledge of having suffered through loss in her work.
Early in the story we see that Jane has a thirst for knowledge as she finds solace in various books. As an adult she uses her own education to help her become a teacher. She also comes to know love not once but twice. First with Edward Rochester, whom she eventually leaves due to his deceitful ways only to return to later, and second with St. John Rivers who is a missionary on his way to India. Jane doesn't stay with St. John because she believes him to be looking towards her more as a possible missionary than as a wife.
I eagerly recommend this book to anyone. It is a masterpiece of literary artwork and lengthy as well. I believe that the young women of today could benefit greatly from reading this book for it will teach them how to stand up for themselves and what they believe in. In my opinion, "Jane Eyre" is a must read!
Rating:
Summary: Truly a classic - read it more than once
Review: Reading Jane Eyre for the first time, I was engulfed in the novel itself: the characters, the plot, and the setting completely draw the reader's attention and make it difficult to put down. The second time, I read it slower, paying special attention to the characterization, something Charlotte Bronte is terrific at, and the various details that I may have overlooked originally, but which add to the general enjoyment of the novel. The third time, I read Jane Eyre for the language - Bronte's style is captivating: every word, every sentence has a beauty within it that a reader wouldn't want to miss. I read it, again and again, because her words made everything seem new and exciting no matter how often I read them. The explicit descriptions, the prolonged narration, the time she takes to develop the charaters - everything creates a novel that one can read over and over. This truly classic work of literature appeals to so many different emotions and strikes the fancy of probably anyone who can appreciate great writing.
Rating:
Summary: Brontë is a Genius!
Review: The novel chronicles the tragic life of a young girl named Jane Eyre. Orphaned as a baby, she is forced to live with her wicked Aunt Reed until she is sent away to school. The conditions are terrible but Jane recieves the education she needs to become a lady. She, then, becomes a governess to a young french girl at Thornfield Hall. Mr. Rochester, the owner of Thornfield, and Jane fall deeply in love, but there are many obsticles in their path to happiness. It is truely a dark romance.I especially liked the books wide variety of genres. This book has everything you could ask for and more. Jane is a character everyone can related to and Rochester is dark and mysterious. Charlotte Brontë is truely a genius.
Rating:
Summary: A Bronte Classic!
Review: A love story that will never change. Bronte felt her story had to be written to show the world that honest love could be sustained no matter what the adversary. I have read, watched and listened to this beautiful story since a young girl. Get to know this love story and you will be changed forever.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring and verbose
Review: This novel is not as it appears to be. English teachers may praise it, your girlfriends may gush over Rochester, and others "critically acclaim" it but I have studied it as a piece of literature as well as an entertaining classic. It is not as fabulous as they say. The protagonist is a quivering (and excuse the term but I am at a lost for another word at the moment) nitwit who yearns to be loved. Jane is an orphan who feels as if she would die if nobody loved her and yes, it sounds simplistic but this is exactly what she says. She comes under the employment of Rochester and becomes a governess to a little girl. Meanwhile, she dreams of flaming beds and hears strange noises from the floor above. The splitting of the oak tree during Jane's engagement to Rochester is just rubbish as a symbol of separation and tragedy. The real tragedy though, is the secret that Rochester keeps and for which, Jane accepts. I am amused by how several people believe that Jane Eyre is a feminist novel. I found Jane to be very comfortable lodged in traditional ideals although she makes an attempt to strike out with her own will. It was a struggle to finish the novel (had to, or I would fail my English exam) and to pretend to my enthusiastic teacher that I loved it. If you want real feminism without archaic English, read Carol Shield's 'Unless'. If you want melodramatic romance with just a hint of literature, read 'Wuthering Heights'. If you think that Jane is a misguided feminist, you certainly have to read Jean Rhy's 'Wide Sargasso Sea' who portrays Rochester's secret as a terrible colonial crime. I can understand that some people love this kind of stuff but there are types of people who hate 'Jane Eyre' - they're usually into contemporary novels, ask for their heroes or heroine to yearn for something more than love and for somebody to love them, and need metaphors that are more subtle that freakin' splittin' oak trees.
Rating:
Summary: Love, loss, and redemption
Review: Word has it that "Jane Eyre" is one of the most imitated novels in literature, having almost singlehandedly spawned the genre of romantic fiction which supplies all those erotic-looking pulp paperbacks you see next to the magazine rack at the supermarket. What I found in Charlotte Bronte's masterpiece, however, was a smart, resolute, and independent heroine who stands out like a beacon in a sea of Victorian fictional women. As if obeying some sort of literary convention, the book does have a sad beginning and a happy ending, but in between there are some very rich surprises: moments of mystery, tension, and ghostly images, delivered in a tightly paced narrative. Jane Eyre is an orphan who has spent the first ten years of her life with a mean aunt who mistreats her and the next eight years at a miserable school for indigent girls called Lowood. With this education, she qualifies herself as a teacher and secures a position as a governess at a house called Thornfield Hall. Her employer is a man twice her age named Edward Rochester, and her charge is his ward, a little girl of French parentage named Adele. Given that Jane soon falls in love with him, it might be guessed that Rochester is a dashing, noble, gallant gentleman; but no: He is unattractive, eccentric, shifty, assumes disguises, and rarely gives a straight answer to a question. These might merely be manifestations of a quirky, enigmatic personality, or maybe he is so evasive because he is hiding something from his past -- as indeed he is, and that "something," incriminating and dangerous, is locked up in Thornfield Hall, unknown to Jane and most of the servants. Rochester falls in love with Jane, too, despite his apparent attention to a conceited society woman named Blanche Ingram. After a short courtship and a marriage proposal, however, Jane breaks off with him when she discovers his secret. Abandoning Thornfield Hall for a new life, she meets a young parson named St. John Rivers who is planning to go to India to do missionary work and would like to marry her because he thinks she too would make a good missionary. Thus, she has had to reject two men in her life: the first because he was not honest with her and made her feel used and deceived; the second because he is not looking for a wife, but a co-worker. Jane is not foolish, but she is human. That she returns to Rochester does not mean she has decided to accept his faults, but that she realizes they have developed that special kind of mutually dependent relationship that only two people who are truly in love may foster. By the end of the novel, Rochester loses a great deal because of his mistakes, and Jane's love is his only redemption; Jane, on the other hand, gains much because of the strength of her character, and Rochester's love is the fulfillment of her desire.
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