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Anne Bronte creates a world in which the drunken, immoral behaviour of men becomes the norm and this may have been startling to contemporary readers - perhaps a reason for the book's panning at the critics. The narrative is built up delicately; first Gilbert; and then the racier, more gripping diary of Helen as she guides us through her married life; before returning again to Gilbert, whose tale by this time has become far more exciting as we know of Helen's past. Helen's realisation of the awful truth and her desperate attempts to escape her husband, are forever imprinted in the mind of the reader as passages of perfect prose.
One of the earliest feminist novels, the underrated Anne Bronte writes in this a classic, and - defying the views of her early (male) critics - a claim to the position of one of England's finest ever female writers.
It tells the story of a young woman's struggle for independence, against law and a society which defined a married woman as her husband's property. The novel, which uses extracts from her diary and narration from her neighbour, is very interesting and quite realistic.
It seems to me that the most interesting thing about the novel, is the build up of tension Bronte uses to sustain the reader's attention. It is stimulating and creates a little excitement in the book.
Helen Graham moves into Wildfell Hall with her son. She is a single mother and earns her living as a painter. Her neighbour, Gilbert Markham, takes a sudden interest in her and wants to find out everything about her. Although she is quite content being friends with him, she wants nothing more. As soon as he becomes too personal, she reminds him that friendship is the principal of their relationship. As they spend more time together, though, she learns to trust him and reveals the truth about her past. She is living at Wildfell Hall under a false surname, hiding from her husband who is an adulterer. The only other person who knows of this is her landlord, who Gilbert learns late in the novel, is in fact, her brother.
One thing which I found gripping about this story, was the build up of tension Bronte used. She took her time, revealing one thing, building up the tension again, then revealing another. She continued to do this throughout the story, and this is what kept me interested. It is a story, in which two people who love one another, are prevented from being together by society and their own natural reticence. We know romance often has this, but Bronte creates a strong desire in the reader for them to be together. She puts real obstacles in the way of their love for each other, such as the fact that Helen is already married and has a child to her husband. This therefore, causes the reader to understand the story more.
Beatrix Potter's life was a very private one, carefully hidden from the public eye, although she is known and loved by generations of children. Her life began in joylessness and solitude, with drawing as her one fascination.
In the book we follow Beatrix Potter through her sad childhood, her struggle for independence, her illfated love affair and happy marriage, and we learn about how she created all these charming and whimsical characters - Peter Rabbit, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, Jemima Puddle-Duck, Tom Kitten and so many more. The book is illustrated with old photographs, and pen and ink illustrations by Beatrix Potter herself. A must for any Beatrix Potter lover.
Britt Arnhild Lindland
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When the book begins, you are taken into Jane's childhood, and given a sense of what it's like to have no love, and no hope of the future. You can actually see the pain on Jane's face. Then at Lowood, you learn with her, and grow with her. Finally, on the night she arrives at Thornfield Hall you are overcome with anticipation for Jane. What is this life going to be like? Then when Edward Rochester appears, you hate him. You can't believe that he talks to her that way. After a while though, things soften, and Miss Bronte introduces a new feeling. Love. The painting seems complete when Jane and Mr. Rochester confess their feelings, and you wonder, what could possibly be better than this? The ending,(which I won't give away)is absolutely breathtaking. I cried for a half an hour when I read it. It was at four in the morning mind you,(the book was so good I could not put it down.)
The characters in the novel are whole, they seem like real people. Charlotte Bronte uses her pen to paint a wonderful picture, one can not help but be engulfed in the color. The book has lasted almost 200 years, I see no reason why it could not last forever. If you ever want to read a classic love story that defines the power of women in literature, then Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is it. I'm 16 years old, and if a teenager can be moved to tears while reading, it must be quite a piece of literature. I walked away feeling like I had taken an amazing journey, and found a new friend in Jane Eyre.
Years later when you pick the very same book up again, you can tell the scary, happy, or sad parts of the book by the location of the creases. Jane Eyre is such a book. It is one of three or four books who contentend for the multiple-crack champion.
I was assigned to read this book for an AP English class. Although I love to read, class-assigned books had a dubious history with me. Most, I felt, were boring or too pessimistic to find favor with me. I had heard many people talk about the book favorably after having read it in middle school. I put my hope in their past experiences and began to read. Although the first pages did not entirely confirm the praises the book had recieved, the book so far surrpassed my expectations that I finished the book in only a few days time! I would have read non-stop if it had been within my means to do so. When I did get the chance to read, I read as much as I could to the exclusion of food and family sometimes!
You may be wondering what about this book could make me such a fanatic. Well, I could give you deep literary criticism about the symbolism, the metaphors, or the imagery, but that doesn't really help you enjoy the story more, it only rounds out the meaning. Instead, let me tell you why you want to read this book.
This book combines passion and logic. An odd combination that don't often go together. Jane Eyre starts out in life full of passion and emotions, through torture and schooling, she learns to control her feelings and be ruled by logic. As she moves through life she struggles to find a balance between what her emotions tell her and what logic demands. Logic helps her through times when she feels abandoned and emotions guide her back to love when the tables are turned.
This book skillfully combines elements from nearly all genre and is sure to please anyone. It has action, romance, comedy, suspence, even the supernatural! This book is sure to put cracks in YOUR binding
I cannot express in words how this novel has touched my heart. The musical nor the movie will never ever return the stirring of emotion that I felt for Jane's character while reading it from the creative and romantic mind of Charlotte Brontë. I did cry when Jane witnessed the death of her very best friend, Helen Burns, in Lowood School. I felt bitter and angry when Mr. Rochester did not tell Jane about his first wife, but I also felt relieved when Jane and Mr. Rochester rekindled their love to face a new life together.
If there is one novel that will ever touch my heart, look at my life as a woman, and respect the heroics that women of past ages have undergone, this is the novel.
Jane Eyre: this will be a novel respected for ages to come.
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