Not Assigned: Jane Eyre

"You examine me, Miss Eyre," said he: "do you think me handsome?"
"No sir."

Burn!

I'm reading Jane Eyre this summer. It's taken me about 3 months to complete it because of the summer I've had. The picture to the right stuns me. Both of the characters here are so much more handsome than they are in the book. In fact, both of their characters are the way they are because they're not attractive. But I guess no one wants to see ugly people on the big screen (ha-ha). What stuns me even more is that this film was directed by Franco Zeffirelli. If you know anything about his work, you'd know he directed Romeo & Juliet in the 1970s and also Jesus of Nazareth, to name a few. His Jane Eyre was done in 1996. That is a lot of accomplishment! I have not seen his rendition, but I hear it is not very good. (Zeffirelli is 86 now.)

Enough about the film. I have not finished Jane Eyre yet, but I wanted to recommend it. Growing up, Jane Eyre was just another book students groaned about having to read. I even had a close friend refuse to read it because she loathed it so. I guess when you're in high school, you hate assigned readings and you aren't very interested in the depressing life of an orphan. I was personally never assigned to read the book, and I am glad. Usually that would ruin a book for me, in hindsight. Books that were ruined for me? Catch-22, Crime & Punishment (Don't think I would've read it anyway), The Lord of the Flies (GOD I hate that book), and a lot of Poe's work. I am off topic. In short, Jane Eyre was nothing but another assigned reading in my eyes.

With the convincing of my roommate, I decided to pick up the book for my summer reading. Jane is the kind of girl I can relate to. She is somewhat plain on the outside but has dreams and hopes on the inside. Even though she's led a horribly simple life, she too wants to be romanced and to see the world. Her chance finally comes when she is asked to come to Thornfield, a great mansion owned by Edward Rochester. Finally a change of scene from the cold orphanage she grew up in and taught at. When she arrives, she is pleasantly surprised by the kindness of Mrs. Fairfax, the housekeeper. She is relieved to be somewhere she is wanted and appreciated. As governess of Miss Adele, Mr. Rochester's "ward", Jane is content but is still missing excitement. All this changes when Mr. Rochester finally comes back to Thornfield.

What I really like about this book is that Jane undergoes severe tribulations in her life, and yet she still, like any girl, longs for love. We get to share her obession over Mr. Rochester, like we would share with a friend. Thoughts of "where is he?" "will I get to see him today?" are like what would be flowing through my mind if I were in love with someone. Jane even has to compete with gorgeous women for Mr. R's attention, who hasn't been through that before? I really admire the straight-forward relationship Jane and Mr. R have. Jane does not hide her thoughts, she is true to herself and Mr. R seems to really admire that.

I recommend this book to anyone who can overlook its "summer reading list" facade. Definitely a chick book, but so worth the read. I give it an A+