Really well written and I appreciate how you interwove Jane’s journey with your own.
If you haven’t read it, I recommend Wendell Berry’s essay “Feminism, the Body & the Machine.” He points out that while women work jobs for independence, mastery, a sense of achievement, etc., at the end of the day, they usually also work for an employer. When we talk of our “careers”, male or female, it’s worth asking who truly benefits from your labor.
Thanks for the book recommendation Johanna, it sounds like something I’d like!
Having pathways exist that can help women get some degree of independence from unhealthy situations (whether it be a bad relationship or a bad job) is important, but we can never be economically independent of everything, because the economy is by definition a web of relationships! The key, I’ve found, thinking about how to leverage the choices we do have to create and strengthen positive ties and loosen the grip the negative ones have over us.
I do love Charlotte Brontë, ever since I was forced to read Wuthering Heights at the tender (and not so romantic) age of 16. Since then, I've come back to my work and found myself in awe of her writing, and all of the intermingling themes she was able to weave together in her works.
It's heartwarming how you've managed to weave her observations about the feminine with your own; all in all, I find all of this returning to the greats of the past to be more useful than ever in an age of slop content.
Thanks for taking the time to read! Yes, I agree a lot of modern fiction and film is slop these days, and I'm getting so much more out of reading 19th century novels than contemporary books right now. In terms of modern writers, I love Cormac McCarthy, but I have difficulty finding other novelists that I really love, and mostly stick to sci-fi and fantasy as a genre when reading new/newer books.
Wuthering Heights was actually written by Charlotte's sister, Emily, and there was a third (and slightly less famous) Brontë, Anne, who also wrote two novels. I am reading one of Anne's novels now. They had different writing styles, but there is an interesting blend of the gothic with psychological realism with all three.
God, you're right. I had forgotten it was Emily who wrote it (it's been so long). I bought a copy in Hungarian for my wife, but she's never read it. Oh well.
I've always been a huge fantasy reader, and I've some revisited some favourites as I've started to write fantasy for a living. So, if that's your jam, I might recommend some authors. To me, the 80s, 90s, and 00s were the golden times of fantasy, and in particular, I'd recommend David Gemmel -- he was always my favourite. Garth Nix also looms large in my mind, his books Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorrsen, are great examples of female protagonists done well (if you're into that kind of thing -- I was).
If you're looking for female writers specifically, I might recommend Sara Douglass. Threshold was absolutely brilliant, and again another good example of fantastic female character writing. She was also responsible for Starman and its sequels (it's a trilogy), which again were brilliant.
I've basically just listed all the books that influenced me most in my youth. At least in terms of fantasy, which really, was all I read outside of school and university. Of course, video games had a massive influence, but I don't want to ramble now, do I? :)
This is so beautifully written. The part that makes me chuckle is when both Rochester and St. John expect Jane to pack her bags and follow them, just because she doesn't have much going on. Even with almost 200 years apart, I'm amused by how very little has changed. I've written up my take on Jane Eyre as well, and would love your thoughts: https://chaosandpoetry.substack.com/p/subtle-feminism-hidden-in-plain-sight
Thanks so much for your kind words! Cool to read someone else’s reflections who also just finished the book.
I agree with your take that Mr. Rochester ended up walking through fire for Jane and that them getting married in the end doesn’t spoil the book. Brontë doesn’t spend much time on Mr. Rochester’s redemption, because the book isn’t from his POV, but some small details I think are meant to tell us that he didn’t run away from his responsibilities — he ends up maimed from the fire because he risks his life to try and save Bertha’s. In the beginning, Mr. Rochester tells Jane he wants to reform and live a more honest life, and I think the fire puts him to the test. He has done his own growing-up by the time they reunite.
Yes, I feel that pre-fire Mr. Rochester appeals to Jane’s feminine/emotional/intuitive/mystical side, while St. John appeals to Jane’s Christian virtues, and neither one by themself is enough, the two sides must be integrated.
It's so true, neither one of them were enough. It's really both sides of her I suppose. Thanks for taking your time to read through. Really appreciate it. I'll be doing Wuthering heights next week, learning the sisters a little closer :)
Really well written and I appreciate how you interwove Jane’s journey with your own.
If you haven’t read it, I recommend Wendell Berry’s essay “Feminism, the Body & the Machine.” He points out that while women work jobs for independence, mastery, a sense of achievement, etc., at the end of the day, they usually also work for an employer. When we talk of our “careers”, male or female, it’s worth asking who truly benefits from your labor.
Thanks for the book recommendation Johanna, it sounds like something I’d like!
Having pathways exist that can help women get some degree of independence from unhealthy situations (whether it be a bad relationship or a bad job) is important, but we can never be economically independent of everything, because the economy is by definition a web of relationships! The key, I’ve found, thinking about how to leverage the choices we do have to create and strengthen positive ties and loosen the grip the negative ones have over us.
I do love Charlotte Brontë, ever since I was forced to read Wuthering Heights at the tender (and not so romantic) age of 16. Since then, I've come back to my work and found myself in awe of her writing, and all of the intermingling themes she was able to weave together in her works.
It's heartwarming how you've managed to weave her observations about the feminine with your own; all in all, I find all of this returning to the greats of the past to be more useful than ever in an age of slop content.
Thanks for taking the time to read! Yes, I agree a lot of modern fiction and film is slop these days, and I'm getting so much more out of reading 19th century novels than contemporary books right now. In terms of modern writers, I love Cormac McCarthy, but I have difficulty finding other novelists that I really love, and mostly stick to sci-fi and fantasy as a genre when reading new/newer books.
Wuthering Heights was actually written by Charlotte's sister, Emily, and there was a third (and slightly less famous) Brontë, Anne, who also wrote two novels. I am reading one of Anne's novels now. They had different writing styles, but there is an interesting blend of the gothic with psychological realism with all three.
God, you're right. I had forgotten it was Emily who wrote it (it's been so long). I bought a copy in Hungarian for my wife, but she's never read it. Oh well.
I've always been a huge fantasy reader, and I've some revisited some favourites as I've started to write fantasy for a living. So, if that's your jam, I might recommend some authors. To me, the 80s, 90s, and 00s were the golden times of fantasy, and in particular, I'd recommend David Gemmel -- he was always my favourite. Garth Nix also looms large in my mind, his books Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorrsen, are great examples of female protagonists done well (if you're into that kind of thing -- I was).
If you're looking for female writers specifically, I might recommend Sara Douglass. Threshold was absolutely brilliant, and again another good example of fantastic female character writing. She was also responsible for Starman and its sequels (it's a trilogy), which again were brilliant.
I've basically just listed all the books that influenced me most in my youth. At least in terms of fantasy, which really, was all I read outside of school and university. Of course, video games had a massive influence, but I don't want to ramble now, do I? :)
Happy reading!
Thank you so much for the recs! I will definitely write these down and save them when I want to go back to sci-fi and fantasy.
This is so beautifully written. The part that makes me chuckle is when both Rochester and St. John expect Jane to pack her bags and follow them, just because she doesn't have much going on. Even with almost 200 years apart, I'm amused by how very little has changed. I've written up my take on Jane Eyre as well, and would love your thoughts: https://chaosandpoetry.substack.com/p/subtle-feminism-hidden-in-plain-sight
Hi Stephanie,
Thanks so much for your kind words! Cool to read someone else’s reflections who also just finished the book.
I agree with your take that Mr. Rochester ended up walking through fire for Jane and that them getting married in the end doesn’t spoil the book. Brontë doesn’t spend much time on Mr. Rochester’s redemption, because the book isn’t from his POV, but some small details I think are meant to tell us that he didn’t run away from his responsibilities — he ends up maimed from the fire because he risks his life to try and save Bertha’s. In the beginning, Mr. Rochester tells Jane he wants to reform and live a more honest life, and I think the fire puts him to the test. He has done his own growing-up by the time they reunite.
Yes, I feel that pre-fire Mr. Rochester appeals to Jane’s feminine/emotional/intuitive/mystical side, while St. John appeals to Jane’s Christian virtues, and neither one by themself is enough, the two sides must be integrated.
It's so true, neither one of them were enough. It's really both sides of her I suppose. Thanks for taking your time to read through. Really appreciate it. I'll be doing Wuthering heights next week, learning the sisters a little closer :)
Oh wonderful! I just reread WH myself. Current reading Anne’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.