The Final Verdict - Part 2 / Summary

Comparing Jane Eyre and Jane - Part 2 and Conclusion:  

Hello again, readers!  To continue from my former blog entry, and to conclude this review, let's now talk a bit about our main characters. We will start with Nico Rathburn, the modern version of Edward Rochester.  You might guess I prefer Rochester. You'd be correct. Rochester was imperfect, certainly, and the first impression we get is that he is a self-important boar. However, he also showed weakness and a vulnerability at times, making him somehow likeable. In contrast, Rathburn had an air of vanity and haughtiness, in spite of his sordid, reckless past. He never seemed unnerved or off his game.  He also wasn't completely smitten, nor in adoration or esteem of Jane Moore, as Rochester was with Jane Eyre; at least not until the very end of the story, which did not afford the reader time to truly appreciate the nobler qualities of Nico Rathburn.

On to River St. John.  He's also as expected - a direct twin of his prototype, St. John Rivers. Both of these men are rather controlling and manipulative, and Jane was right to leave in both cases.

When one considers the choice Jane Moore had to make at the pivotal point in the story, versus the choice Jane Eyre had to make at that same point, there was not a draw for this reader to pull for Jane Moore to return to Nico Rathburn, as I did with Miss Jane Eyre and Mr. Edward Rochester. Mind you, I did not wish for Jane Moore to stay with River St. John and go to Haiti, either.  I simply wanted her to leave both of them and pursue her education!

While Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester started off on rocky footing, they began, slowly, to appreciate one another, then depend on each other.  This grew into mutual respect and an formidable bond. Jane Eyre and Rochester first formed a genuine friendship, which eventually flourished into fondness, affection and, finally, true love.  The relationship between Jane Moore and Rathburn ultimately fell short for me.  It was almost too cliché.  A rock star, a worldly man, who's been surrounded by drugs and groupies for decades, falls for the plain, unassuming young woman. As an aside, I was not pleased with the immorality and vulgar language often prevalent in Jane. Perhaps you can't have a modern novel about a rock star without those elements, but that's not appealing to me.

Finally, let's further explore our two leading ladies. I found Jane Moore to be fairly uninspiring. Simply stated, she was rather unremarkable.  In contrast, Jane Eyre had to traverse traditions native to her era. She had to break her chains of oppression and forge an unconventional path to becoming an independent and highly educated woman. She was formidable, strong, intelligent, determined and tenacious. Jane Eyre left Rochester for reasons of propriety, showing strength of character.  She demonstrated a will to guide her own life and realize the future she had envisioned for herself.  As I recall, our present-day Jane reveals she does not know why she ran away from Mr. Rathburn.  Her actions are often without careful deliberation and lack strong conviction.

IN SUMMARY: 
In my estimation, a winning and effective, fresh version of this classic tale would have maintained the concepts and characters native to Jane Eyre but known when to deviate, while still retaining the essence of the original narrative. Also, Jane Moore would have aroused esteem and respect and inspired her present-day readers to pattern themselves after her, just as Jane Eyre has done, time and time again. Miss Jane Eyre has a vitality and a fortitude her modern successor fails to possess.

In retrospect, if I had read the modern-day version of this story first, it would likely have been more interesting and persuasive than I found it to be, having read it in succession. However, if I had read it first, I believe I still would have been dramatically more impressed by Jane Eyre, for all the reasons stated.

In the final analysis, while Jane amounts to an entertaining read, it hardly holds a candle to Jane Eyre, which arguably is a timeless classic that will endure for ages to come.

 - - - - - - - -  The End - - - - - - - - - - 

I hope you enjoyed my blog about these novels and can relate to many of my musings.  More importantly, I hope you thoroughly enjoyed reading both books and forming your own opinions.

The Final Verdict - Part 1

Comparing Jane Eyre and Jane - Part 1:

After reading Jane Eyre and the modern version, Jane, I find that I far more enjoyed Jane Eyre than its counterpart. The classic novel's brilliant author, Charlotte Bronte', wrote Jane Eyre, in a time past, which worked brilliantly for the novel. Its characters and the script are captivating and convincing. We are swept back in time to a period of traditions, wisdom, decency and grace, in the mid-1800's. The reader is propelled back in time to an era that is unknown to us, or one we have at least not physically experienced; yet, it is one we can readily imagine ourselves stepping into, relishing every aspect of the setting and the epoch. It was eloquently written. The artful language used by the author, while difficult at times to understand, stretched our intellect and our imaginations. Jane Eyre provided darkness, intrigue, suspense, drama, joy, laughter, sadness, tears, cleverness and also gave us true heroes and heroines.  That's everything a masterful novel should be and more!

In contrast Jane - our modern-day version of the original - lacks intrigue and enticement, at least for this reader.  The story does not allow us to fall in love with the child, Jane, as its predecessor did. In the original, we follow Jane Eyre with great interest, and we are rooting for her success, right from the beginning, given her tragic childhood and the dire hardships suffered at the hands of tyrants and malicious children and adults.  The remake starts with an older Jane, about 19-20 years old, giving us but a brief synopsis of her child hood.  We are simply told that she is neglected by her parents and treated rudely by her siblings, making her a bit insecure and downtrodden.  Yet, in divergence, we are also told she is privileged enough to go to one of the most prestigious universities in the United States, Sarah Lawrence. This Jane is hardly an indigent case.  Her life was not as oppressed in its foundation as her prototype. I found I was not an immediate faithful supporter, nor beholden through heart and soul to our new lead character, Jane Moore, as I had been to Jane Eyre.

As the modern story progresses, it is analogous to that of its predecessor.  The characters and their narratives are almost perfectly correlated to those in Jane Eyre,  yet have slightly altered names and different occupations, in limited cases.  However, the names and other differences pertaining to each character do not vary enough for the reader to be even slightly challenged to ascertain who they are in relation to the classic tale.  Initially, I found that to be quaint, even amusing at times.  After a while, however, it became lackluster and terribly predictable.  I thought, "Can there be no intrigue, no novelty, no interesting twist in this story to make the reader more enticed?"

Don't get me wrong.  The 2nd book was not without merit or entirely uninteresting.  I liked that Mr. Rathburn seemed to love and care about his daughter, Madeline, more than Edward Rochester did for his daughter, Adele.  I liked that Jane Moore often seemed a bit more sociable and made friends a bit more easily than did Ms. Eyre.

There were certainly parts of Jane which I found believable and enjoyable to read.  Sadly, there were other parts that were completely unfathomable.  As one example, keeping a woman who is insane locked in an attic, in today's world?  That is highly unlikely.  There are so many government agencies to which such an action would now be reported.  Also, with the money our rock start, Nico Rathburn (fka Edward Rochester) had, why would he not have sought the very best psychiatrists and facilities to help this woman?  Such action likely was not possible in the days of Jane Eyre.  The facilities then were not nearly what they are today, nor were there doctors trained and specialized in treating such illnesses.

My next blog entry will be PART 2 of this "Final Verdict."  In it, we will contrast and compare the characters, side-by-side, discuss the relationships between them, and wrap with a final book summary.  Keep reading!  

Jane - Chapters 26-27: Embers Left from Earlier Fires ("Continuities" - by Walt Whitman)

Jane - Chapters 26-27:

The title of this blog entry is a small excerpt taken from a poem, "Continuities," by the great poet and journalist, Walt Whitman.  The verse read:

"The body, sluggish, aged, cold-- the embers left from earlier fires; 

The light in the eye grown dim, shall duly flame again."  

[The entire poem can be found here:  Continuities]

I must give Mr. Whitman his due.  I love his poems, and I felt this particular title was appropriate, given the decision we readers know Miss Jane Moore must now make, as this book reaches its climax.  Will the abiding love she feels for Mr. Rathburn win the day, and will she return to Thornfield Park in an attempt to renew her relationship with him?  Or, will logic and reason rule the day, and will she stay with River St. Johns, doing humanitarian and philanthropic work for the remainder of her days?

These final two chapters begin by Jane describing that essentially River attempts to use guilt as a tactic for enticing Jane to come to Haiti with him. He keeps providing her with more and more books about the lives, conditions, and work that is waiting there for them to do in order to save these poor people. Jane relays how each book is slightly more heart-wrenching and horrifically sad than the previous. Eventually, she gives in, despite Diana's counsel and desperate pleas for Jane not to go with River on this journey. Jane is left feeling as though she needs a change, and that, further, it would serve her well to make a significant difference in the lives of others. She decides it would be purposeful to go with River.  I think what Jane loses sight of is that many of the lives that could use changing are right within her line of sight.  I think that is true of many of us.  We seem to have blinders on, looking right past people we could help within our sphere of influence, gazing past them onto what we deem to be greater works or deeds of kindness. Sometimes you need to look at what is right in front of your eyes.   I believe that, at this time, the people who need Jane's love and influence in their lives are those closest to her, both in her heart and nearby to her, locally. These would be people such as Diana, Maria, and, yes, also Nico Rathburn. She has changed their lives already, creating love, comfort and joy where previously those things were lacking in some way. She has, in this moment, allowed River to put proverbial "horse blinders" on her, convincing her that she will only be able to live a meaningful life if she joins him on this humanitarian trip to Haiti.

When Jane informs River one evening that she has made the decision to go to, he hugs her and then kisses her. Previously, Jane was feeling that this was something she wanted to happen, but now, as it happens, she realizes that this is not what she wants.  It does not feel right to her, and she almost immediately feels very uncomfortable with River, especially in this type of relationship. She openly tells him that she knows he does not love her, and, further, she does not love him.  River does not even remotely try to object to those statements. Instead, he tells her that overtime they might begin to feel love, because they will have no one but one another in Haiti to turn to. Wow!  Major romance going on there!  (Sarcasm written all over that).  She leaves, and tells River she needs time to go think about what she is feeling and whether she can go with him or not. While away, Jane tries to convince herself that this is still the right thing for her and that she is just being foolish, wanting love from him.  Then, suddenly, a song comes on the radio, and, of course, it is one of Nico's. It is a new song that he has written.  The song is about Jane!  He sings about her "being his hands and his vision." This is obviously another subtle reference to "Jane Eyre." In that novel, Mr. Edward Rochester loses his hand and his sight after a terrible fire occurs at his mansion, started by his crazy wife. After the song ends, Jane hears about a premier of his movie happening at the movie theater not too far from her. She asks a taxi driver to take her there. While on the ride, the taxi driver begins to discuss Nico Rathburn with her. He tells her that he feels bad for Nico, and Jane begins to become very worried. She abruptly asks if he is dead. The driver responds that Nico is not dead, and, hearing these words, relief suddenly washes over her and she forgets to listen to much of anything else the cab driver tells her.

Jane gets out of the cab at the cinema, goes in to watch the movie, and sees that it is a documentary. Naturally, she sees her own story playing out on the screen. The quick engagement, the crazy wife, the fleeing, the search party for her, etc. She begins to feel bad and realizes what she truly did to Nico Rathburn and how very much she hurt him. Towards the end of the movie, Jane discovers another tragedy has occurred. Thornfield Park has burned down, in the same manner as it did in the classic novel, "Jane Eyre."  Nico's ex-wife, Bibi, is now dead, and Nico Rathburn crushed his hand in the process of trying to save her. Jane leaves the cinema feeling overwrought with sadness, realizing that she must return immediately to see Nico. This was the sign she was awaiting!

Jane returns home to tell River she cannot go with him to Haiti, and he pleads with Jane not to go back to Nico.  She tells him she must.  River is incredulous and terribly disappointed in her, but Jane follows her heart. The "embers from earlier fires" have indeed ignited again!  She packs her bags and gets on the train.  At first she has no idea how she is going to find Nico now, but, by the end of the train ride, she has decided to go to the police station. When she arrives, she states that she has a lead on a missing person's report that Nico filed about her some time past. At first, they do not know if she is actually Jane Moore, considering she looks so disheveled, but she shows them her ID and they begin to reminisce on the case and rejoice in her being found. She goes to freshen up, and then a police officer brings her to Nico Rathburn's new house. The cop tells her that they were given a lead on her when she worked in a soup kitchen, but the source was unreliable, so they did not follow it. That was terribly negligent on their part, in my opinion. Why wouldn't the police follow every lead?  It would not have fit well into this story if they had.  Our author would not have been able to analogously follow the classic storyline of "Jane Eyre." If the police had followed the lead and quickly located her, Jane never would have met River and his sisters, nor lived away from Thornfield Park for so long.  So, it is.    

As Jane arrives at Nico's new residence, she goes to the door and a security guard answers.  After stating who she is, the guard allows Jane to come inside. Jane meets a nurse (Louisa) who allows her to fix Nico a cup of coffee and bring it to him, informing Jane that " he will be so glad to see you" and that "he keeps a picture of you at his bed." Jane brings the coffee into Nico.  He does not get up to check who has come in, and he assumes it is Louisa. However, he smells Jane's scent from her soap when she gets close to him, and he begins to question who is actually there. Jane speaks, and he turns around and comes to her. They embrace one another, and it is a real point of love reuniting. They spend a great deal of time catching up.  Jane teases him about River, but when she sees it makes him gravely depressed, she stops and becomes very serious, reassuring him that she does not have feelings for River in the least way.

Nico then asks Jane what brought her back to him.  Had she heard his new song?  Had she heard about the accident?  Had she heard from someone about Bibi's death and knew he would now be a free man, able to truly be with her?  Jane told him that it was all of those things.  However, she added, it was because she realized that she loved him and needed to be with him more than anything else in the world.  He had also longed for this day.

Jane feels alive again, as she hadn't felt in so long.  Nico Rathburn feels the same.  As the story comes to its end, we are not told if they marry, or whether that is even in the plans as they move forward together.  What we know is that they are blissfully happy together, at peace with where life is and excited about what the future holds.  Life is complete for Jane Moore, being again, finally, with the love of her life, Mr. Nico Rathburn.  

Jane - Chapters 23-25: A New Life for Jane Martin

Jane - Chapters 23-25:

Jane has started her new life with the three siblings and begins her first day working at a soup kitchen. While there, she describes how the people are destitute and in dire need and how it makes her appreciate what she has and that the St. John's took her in.  She is very grateful, because she knows they did not have to, and it was a great show of kindness and philanthropy. This made me begin to think about how blessed I am and how we, as a society, should not ever judge others who do not have as much as we do, or look down upon them.  Instead, we should help them, share our blessings and our goods, and always be kind. In both of these novels, Jane at times was frowned upon or dismissed as less than what she was, either because she had nothing or because someone judged her incorrectly. No one making such judgments knew her circumstances, how hard her life had been, nor how much she had just gone through to reach the state she was in at the time.  In this case, no one could imagine the several ordeals Jane had faced in the past forty-eight hours. It made me consider how often I could be doing a better job of serving others, instead of making false judgments, or wondering what a person's motive is. As a society, I would like to see us all strive to do a better job of being selfless, instead of selfish or self-focused. Although we still need to be cautious and careful, being judgmental is wrong and it is an attitude we should never carry. Jane reflects on how Diana so willingly took her in and considers the people she is serving in her job at the soup kitchen, and suddenly she is thrilled to be serving them. While she works, River is watching her closely, although she does not realize it, until she is doing her last bit of service and feels him standing close behind her. It seems as though he is assessing her, but not as to whether she is doing a good job, rather whether the work she is doing is pleasing to her mind and soul instead. While Jane is cleaning some pots and pans, River asks her how she is doing and whether or not she truly finds joy in the work she is doing at the soup kitchen. Jane responds that she genuinely is enjoying the work and is very happy to be helping and assisting others in need.  River seems quite pleased at this. As I read this, I thought, "and so it begins." This is already the start of the relationship which flourished Jane Eyre and St. John Rivers. He is beginning to notice her humble and missionary-like attributes.  He sees her as a potential benefit to a cause he is so eagerly involved in. I find this to be a bit confounding, because he is not exactly using Jane, but at the same time, he is not exactly NOT using her, either. He sees her as a great instrument in the hands of God to assist him in his work. I suspect that River (if this storyline follows a similar course to that in "Jane Eyre") will most likely find affection for Jane, but it will manifest itself as affection which is not based on romantic love, but more on practicality, involving logic, reason, and a like minds that produce a stable friendship.

Soon after their discussion in the soup kitchen, another woman comes in and begins to talk to River. It is apparent she has a crush on River. Her name is Rosalie, and it is very obviously the beautiful woman (from the classic, "Jane Eyre"), who was the daughter of a very wealthy man.  In the classic novel, this woman was Rosamond Oliver.  She and her father often gave significant amounts of money to the school where Jane worked.  In this modern remake, Rosalie is a preppy college girl who, when Jane asks about her later, River says is only working at the soup kitchen to get her service hours in. River obviously likes her, but he does not consider her genuine enough for the kind of life and work he wishes to pursue. I find his approach towards Rosalie to be conflicting and, frankly, hypocritical. He definitely has a crush on her, but due to his assumptions about her character, he refuses to entertain the possibility that she is more than surface deep and that they could actually work together. Also, River talks about wanting to serve and provide aid to others.  He says he wishes to spend his life being a servant for God, being entrenched in humanitarian aid, not living a life of frivolity, yet he does not consider that he is openly judging another person who's life and desires he does not fully know and perhaps he may not understand fully. Rosalie invites him to a party, but he declines very quickly.  Later, she asks Jane out to lunch to ask about River. Jane tells her that she does not know much about his feelings for Rosalie but promises she will ask him. At this point, a bit of foreshadowing occurs, when Rosalie asks Jane if she and River are together, as a couple. Jane denies such a notion, stating that she views River only as a brother, nothing more.

Not too long after this conversation with Rosalie, Jane begins to have feelings for River, beyond that of just a brother.  One evening, while Jane is assisting River with learning French, Jane believes River is going to kiss her, but then he leaves without doing so.  He came so close, she muses! After that, she begins to fantasize about such an occurrence, and Jane tells herself that if he does try, she will allow to happen.  Yet, her heart and mind remain conflicted.  Mr. Rathburn continues to rather persistently flood her thoughts, reminding her of a love she has never experienced anywhere else but with him. She fears she will never feel the same about another.

A little while later, Jane comes home from work to find River there.  He is usually not home when she gets there in the afternoon. When she walks through the door, he says her name, her REAL name. Jane begins to panic and wonders how he found out. Then, River opens up a tabloid picture of Jane in a wedding dress with Nico Rathburn on the day of her wedding. After talking to her about it, River informs Jane that a woman from the soup kitchen found it and remembered Jane. He implies that Jane is far more materialistic and content living a frivolous and meaningless lifestyle than he thought she was.  To make matters worse, when Maria arrives home, he informs her that Jane has something to tell Diana and Maria.  He then hands Jane the photo, basically demanding she tell everyone the entire story of her former life and divulge all there is to know! I found River's actions to be incredibly audacious and terribly unkind in this instance, demonstrating how selfish and unfeeling he can be. He does not stop to sincerely inquire of Jane why she did not tell them or consider how she must have been feeling through all of this.  Instead, he simply dismisses any regard for her feelings and puts her in a very precarious position, forcing this out into the open.  It was now impossible for Jane to keep this matter just between River and herself.  Jane opens up and tells Diana and Maria the truth, and they respond kindly.  They are very understanding and not at all judgmental toward Jane about the entire matter. They take pity on her and understand why she changed her name and did not tell them, so that Jane might be afforded the opportunity to start her life anew. After this, River watches her even more closely than before.  He does not completely trust her, and he seems very intent on discovering everything he can about Jane Moore.

As a backdrop to all of this, River has asked Jane to help him practice his French for his mission trip to Haiti. In the course of their practice and tutoring sessions, River gives Jane a book about a woman who served in Haiti and her experiences there. Jane is at first confused, but, to this reader, it is quite clear what is going on. He has already made up his mind that he wants her to come to Haiti, because he believes she could be useful. He works up the courage to tell her his hopes and his plan.  Finally, he springs it on her. He meets her at her work and, on the way back, as they are walking home, he discusses the possibility of her coming with him to Haiti. Jane is taken aback at his proposition. She says she will consider it, but deep inside she feels very unsure. Every time they are together, Jane feels as though he is waiting for her answer.  Although she is not ready to give an answer yet, the more she considers it, she cannot find a reason to not go with him to Haiti. Jane still considers it a good idea to discuss the matter with Diana, who adamantly implores her not to go. She reasons that Jane still has college, love, and her whole life ahead of her and that leaving to go to Haiti with River would be a terrible idea and would thwart Jane's other future outlooks. This leaves Jane feeling terribly conflicted.  Through it all, Jane still rather constantly thinks of Nico Rathburn.

I am wondering what other devices River may employ to get Jane to go; if Jane will eventually decide to go with River; or if she will choose to return to Thornfield Park, after all this time. It is apparent to me that the love Nico and Jane share is deep and enduring.  It may be most eloquently described, as Judy Garland once said, "For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul."  This is why I believe she will ultimately decide to return to Nico Rathburn.  We shall see.

Jane - Chapters 20-22: Tragedy Strikes Again - The Wedding Part 2

Jane - Chapters 20-22:

Chapter 20: Now, we have finally reached their wedding day!  A small, informal wedding it is to be, planned to occur in a small chapel.  Mr. Rathburn is rather unceremonious, cavalier and hurried.  His lack of attention or affection towards Jane and Madeline causes Jane to begin to tear up at their private wedding, and he apologizes to her.  Suddenly, just like in Jane Eyre, Mason rushes in with a marriage license and protests the marriage on the grounds that Mr. Rathburn is already married to Mason's sister, Bibi Oliviera.  Then, just as in Charlotte Bronte's novel, they all return to the house and see Nico Rathburn's wife, Bib.  The difference in this story is there seems to be much more love still in existence between Mr. Rathburn and Bibi, when they are seen together.  He states she has schizophrenia, which may have been what Rochester's wife had, but in those times they may not have known what it was or how to treat such a condition.  Just as I had mentioned several blog entries back, Mr. Rathburn believes he was the cause of her onset of schizophrenia, due to their rather prolific drug use, while he was in his younger days with Bibi, both living the rather reckless life of a rock star. Due to this exposure of Rathburn's current marriage to Bibi, Jane's wedding to Nico is abruptly canceled, and she is, as one might expct, devastated.

After all is said and done, and the wedding protestors have left, Jane locks herself in her room for hours, waiting for Mr. Rathburn to come seek her out.  Nico, simultaneously, is waiting for Jane to emerge from her room and come to him.  They eventually have the same basic discussion as Jane Eyre did with Edward Rochester; yet, it is nowhere near as beautiful and eloquent as what occurred in the classic novel.  In this story, I did not feel the same intense love and passion between Jane Moore and Nico Rathburn as I did with Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester during these moments.  In contrast with the tears and despair shown by Rochester, Mr. Rathburn gets angry and quite agitated.  In reaction, Jane becomes despondent and slightly scared by Rathburn.  She returns to her room will full intention to leave the premises.

Chapters 21-22:

Jane packs that night, in her preparation to leave Thornfield Park. She reluctantly leaves Thornfield Park and everything she knows, and prepares to venture out into the world with no plan and very little money. At first, one might take this as a rather rash and ill-considered decision, but Jane describes for the reader her reasoning as to why she chose to leave in the manner that she did and why it was the best decision. Most of her reasoning pertained to the fact that Mr. Rathburn scared her a bit and,  despite her love for him, she knew she needed to go and make a new life for herself.  She also resolves to go somewhere where he cannot find her. However, I wonder if Jane is actually trying to convince herself that she has made the right decision. Jane flees to a town called New Haven where the University of Yale resides. She assumes there will be college students, relatively cheap housing, and plenty of job opportunities at Yale.  Sadly, when she arrives she realizes that housing is far more expensive than she planned for, she isn't a very appealing potential roommate, considering she has no job or much money, and she cannot get a job, because she is not qualified to do much and has no references to provide. Her last, and most promising, reference was Nico Rathburn, and of course she does not want him to know where she is.

Once on the road, Jane begins to stress and become frantic over the idea that she has no place to sleep that night, and no food and no money. She goes to a café in the town and gets a bagel while there. She was greeted by a waitress that was very kind and takes care of her well.  As Jane sits in the quaint establishment, Jane studies the pages of a yellow book advertising a homeless shelter or a boarding house. Jane pays her bill and ventures out to find some place to stay.  She comes up with nothing and finds herself destitute and weary.

Feeling desperate, she returns to the café, probably hoping to see the kind waitress and ask for advice, and Jane finds the restaurant hours indicate it is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. She decides to go in and order another bagel. This time, she encounters a different waitress who is unkind to her and, out of sheer exhaustion and despondency, Jane begins to cry.  Thankfully, Jane's previous waitress comes over, asks Jane why she is crying, and Jane tells her of her defeat in finding shelter for the evening and her general lack of a place to live. The waitress takes compassion on her and tells Jane her name is Diana. She represents the Diana of Jane Eyre in this story. Diana takes Jane home to meet her brother River and her sister Maria. Jane has just met the St. John family!  The brother is now River St. John?  I found that comical, honestly, when compared to St. John Rivers in the classic novel, Jane Eyre.  I don't know whether to find Lindner's adaptation unoriginal or pleasingly identical. It might have been fun, once in awhile, to have a bit of guesswork involved, to bring a bit of suspense to the remake.  It is not to be, I suppose.

In keeping, also, with the original novel, Jane disguises her last name and changes it from Moore to Martin.  She is given a hearty welcome by the St. John siblings, but Jane quickly grows ill and has to stay in bed for a long time. This is also reminiscent of Jane Eyre; except, in this novel, I find this to be a bit melodramatic, due to the fact that Jane did not have to spend even one night in a bad place and, despite the fact that the food she had was a little less than what she normally eats, it was still at least some sustenance. The most, at least that I can tell, which Jane endured that day was a great deal of stress.

When Jane awakens, the three siblings help her eat and ask her many questions, just as the three siblings did in Jane Eyre. She answers the, but intentionally keeps her answers vague.  The siblings discuss with her about living there and paying a small rent for an extra room when she can get a job, to which River says she can volunteer regularly at the soup kitchen with him until he can find her another a job. He certainly is a humanitarian, as was St. John Rivers in the original story. Jane readily accepts his offer, and there is some foreshadowing of a romantic encounter occurring between them.  You see this from Diana's intent observance of Jane and River, and also Jane describing River as "one of the most attractive men [ she ] has ever met." I only wonder if Jane Moore will return that affection to River more than Jane Eyre did.

The concluding significant event in these chapters is that Jane wraps her phone in white tissue paper and mails it off to a place called "35 Oak Street, Sacramento, CA. " She does this to eliminate any chance of Mr. Rathburn finding her.  Here we see foreshadowing again.  Our author, April Lindner, makes it quite apparent that this will likely come back around in the story at some point.  I predict it will not have to do with Nico Rathburn; rather, it will open a completely new door in Jane's life.

However, at the end of the day, I suspect all may turn out as it did with Jane Eyre.  It would be nice if our author would bring an element of surprise with some unexpected and unique twist in the remaining storyline. All, so far, has been just about as expected and highly analogous to the original.  Still, I am enjoying the modern day journey, with Jane Moore.  

Jane - Chapters 14-19: Home is Where the Heart Is

Jane - Chapters 14-19:

Picking up where we left off in the previous entry, Jane Moore has now returned home from a short visit with her siblings.  Nothing monumental occurs, except, perhaps a feeling of closure.  Jane has reached a sense now of growth beyond her painful childhood and memories. In turn, she has become a more self-confident woman, independent of the demons of her past.

As previously mentioned, Jane returns to Thornfield and first sees Mr. Rathburn who has informed her the guests have all left.  This is not where their encounter of the day concludes.  A bit later, Jane decides to take a walk, and as she is about to go back inside the house, Nico Rathburn meets her and asks her to continue her walk, only with him along as well.

Just as in the classic, "Jane Eyre" Jane has a similar experience to that of her counterpart. Rathburn tells Jane he has found new work for her in Ireland and that she will be very happy there.  She inquires of him whether he is going to be married to Bianca Ingram.  He responds affirming his intent to marry Bianca, and Jane weeps.  Later in these chapters we find that Nico only told Jane he was intending to marry Bianca to gauge Jane's response and to make her jealous.  I am shocked and horrified! Seriously?  This was one of the most hurtful and inappropriate things to do to this young woman.  Why lie to her?  Is this some mind game you are playing, Mr. Rathburn?

At this "admission" from Mr. Rathburn, Jane informs him that if he is going to marry Biance, she (Jane) must leave.  She tells him it would be too much for her to bear, as she is in love with him.  At this, Nico expresses his true emotions and confesses to Jane that he loves her, too. At this point, Jane is completely confounded.  Who could blame her?  She, initially, does not believe him.  After much discussion and convincing, Jane is finally brought to an assurance of his love and feels overwhelmed, but also overjoyed.  Nico then kisses Jane, and then - well, do you remember how I predicted that instead of the next step being Rathburn's proposal of marriage to Jane (as Rochester proposed to Jane Eyre), that, in this modern version of the story, the situation would likely end up being something a bit tawdry, like "let's go to my room"? I was correct.  That's exactly what occurred.  I feel rather upset that she did not resist the temptation. This illustrates exactly what I am talking about with regard to the moral decay of society. In the time period Jane Eyre was written in, young men and young women were often not allowed to stay together alone for any lengthy period of time, if they were not married.  Some had chaperones everywhere they went!

After their night together, Jane finally began to see herself as someone who was beautiful, and I believe this is a further breakthrough in her self-esteem.  I find it terribly sad that Jane could not find her self-worth from her own character and virtues beyond the physical to feel her own worth.  When one bases their worth on the attraction of interests of another, that is dangerous.  When things go awry with that person, one will find her self-esteem dwindles again.

Nico then takes Jane into the city to go shopping and buy her more clothing. In fact, he wishes to buy her an entirely new wardrobe.  Jane is perplexed and even a bit agitated, because she feels as though he does not love her just the way she is, but is trying to transform her into someone more befitting his world.  Thankfully, she picks something simple and pretty for his concert, but she objects to changing her entire style of clothing.  When they are back in his car, he suddenly asks her to marry him.  It was not well planned, and rather spontaneous, but Jane accepts! (I would want something far more romantic!)

Upon their return to Thornfield, Jane Moore has the same encounter with Lucia that Jane Eyre had with Mrs. Fairfax.  However, it does not seem to bother Jane Moore as much as it did Jane Eyre.  In further contrast, one thing Jane Moore does have to deal with, which Jane Eyre did not, is the media fairly persistently infiltrating her life, as pertains to her relationship with Nico Rathburn.  This does seem to upset her for a bit, but she is able to shake it off and manage it well over time.  Jane Moore appears to have, over the course of her time at Thornfield, become a much more strong and independent woman, with a secure and immovable spirit.  I am happy to see that!

Due to media articles and photos, Jane's sister, Jenna, calls her and tells her that she saw her recently in a  magazine, pictured with Nico.  She lies about inviting Jane to her wedding and explains how the invitation likely got lost in the mail.  She then asks Jane to please come and bring Nico Rathburn as her guest.  The audacity!  To make matters worse, just as in "Jane Eyre," Jane Moore is visited by the crazy woman who rips her veil apart and leaves her room.  Jane asks Nico if there is anything he is keeping from her, and he does not tell her the truth about the secret woman.  He lies to her about Bibi.  Mr. Rochester kept his deep, dark secret from Jane Eyre, by omitting the facts.  Mr. Rathburn is lying to Jane, by direct commission.  Jane, because she loves Nico dearly, naturally trusts him and fears hurting him or upsetting him; thus, she does not bring it up any further.  I feel so sorry for Jane Moore right now.  This situation is going to get worse, before it gets better.  

Jane - Chapters 11-13: Bravery, Silence and Sensiblity -Closing the Doors on the Past

Jane - Chapters 11-13:

At this point, the story departs from the potential romance between Jane and Mr. Rathburn, and turns its focus on Mr. Ambrose Mason.  Our author aligns his character to that of Edward Mason, in this coming of age, modern take on Jane Eyre.  He, too, has a violent, bloody encounter with the crazy woman, and Jane Moore has to help assist Mr. Rathburn in cleaning it up and taking care of Mr. Mason, just as Jane Eyre did for Mr. Rochester, with Edward Mason.  One thing I have never understood about this part of the novel, in either case, is that both Jane Eyre and Jane Moore are not more inquisitive of what all of this has happened!  They do not ask detailed questions about Mr. Mason nor about the insane woman.  Or, at least they do not consider it for very long, before moving on to concern themselves with other matters.  Why?  Who would not be all over that and unable to rest until they came to a complete understanding of the situation?  Who would not be concerned for their own safety?  One other thing I will say about this novel, in relation to the original, is that - in this story - Madeline takes a bit of a back seat to the lives of Jane Moore and Nico Rathburn, whereas in the original novel, Adela is far more central to the storyline and referenced far more frequently.  Jane Eyre was more focused on Adela and was more concerned with her well-being and learning than it appears Jane Moore is with Madeline.  Perhaps that is because, in earlier centuries, a governess was employed not only to care for the physical needs of the child or children they were charged with, but, more importantly still, to formally educate, refine and mentor young minds until the children reach suitable age of adulthood.  The modern day role of a nanny is to care first for their physical needs and to insure also their overall emotional well-being.  The role of a nanny now is largely what the family or the individual hiring the nanny ask for that person to do, but it usually involves making sure children stay on certain schedules and routines for eating proper meals, napping, engaging in some social activities, and getting to and from school on time.  That could be why Madeline is not nearly as much an essential part of Jane Moore's life, as compared to how Jane Eyre's relationship was with Adela.

After that horrid night of caring for a bloody and severely injured Ambrose Mason, Jane then gets a call from her sister, Jenna, regarding her brother, Mark.  Jenna states that Mark has come to stay with her and she cannot have him there.  She begs for Jane's help.  Jane asks Mr. Rathburn for the time off, and he does not wish for her to leave, but finally allows it.  She leaves, visits her siblings, and discovers they are largely both unhappy in their lives.  She finds herself missing Thornfield Park, realizing that, for the first time in her life, it actually feels like a home and a place of comfort for her.  When she sees her brother and sister, for that matter, they do not treat her any differently than they did as children.  Jane finally finds her voice and tells them how they have made her feel for so many years!  She tells her brother that he was abusive to her as a child, just as he is to his girlfriend now, and she tells her sister that she is incredibly self-involved.  She has boldly found self-confidence!  Although this break through in Jane's courage occurs, no other benefits to her life seem to be gained by this encounter.  Unlike Jane Eyre, she does not receive a letter about a wealthy uncle or anything related to that.  Perhaps Lindner is trying to create a parallel to Jane Eyre, from the standpoint that - in this turn of events - Jane did not become rich in wealth; rather, she became rich with gumption and has reached a pinnacle of positive directional change for her life ahead.  I am not sure, but I assume this visit with her siblings may come up in the story later and may end up meaning something more than it appears at first glance.

At the moment, however, Jane returns to Thornfield Park, and first she sees Mr. Rathburn.  This is not a surprise, given she is in love with him.  When he sees her, he tells her how happy he is to see her and that all of the visitors previously there have left.  Before Jane can even mention Bianca Ingram, Rathburn mentions the void of her presence, presumably because he wants Jane to know he will solely now be focused on her.  Jane, in turn, expresses how thankful she is to be there and her gratitude, also, for him.  She then, feeling slightly nervous, departs swiftly and goes to bed.

I am simply now awaiting the day when he tells her she is actually the love of his life and not Bianca Ingram. (We know that day is coming, right?!). I suspect, sadly, as this novel is a remake of the classic, Jane Eyre, that this romance, too, will eventually come to a tragic and abrupt ending, likely falling prey to the crazy woman on the 3rd floor. If only Jane Eyre and Jane Moore could meet, Jane Eyre undoubtedly would give Jane Moore some very helpful insights.  Jane Eyre would advise our modern-day Jane all that is likely to come her way.  She would tell her that all eventually will end quite gloriously, but, before the quiet stream of bliss comes a rushing river of torment and heartache, so hunker down and be prepared.  Although Jane Moore does not realize it, you, my readers, and I know she will soon be in the thick of the raging waters.  It will be interesting to see how Jane Moore handles it all!

Jane - Chapters 6-10: Rochester is a Rockstar! Getting to Know Nico Rathburn.

Jane - Chapters 6 - 10:

In these chapters we really start to see the story line of this book come to life in the present day. We see Jane Moore's love begin to flourish for Mr. Rathburn and a deeper, more amiable, side of him come out as he engages her. At the forefront of this section, Jane and Mr. Rathburn have a heart-to-heart discussion, flirtatious encounter, and then grow closer as he takes her out to dinner with Madeline, and previously as he taught her to swim. He tells her all about his wives, Celine especially, his relationship with Maddy, and his affairs in the music industry. I was a bit surprised Nico Rathburn was comfortable enough to be so forthcoming and personal with her, considering he had only known her for about a week. However, hypothetically, I would imagine if his entire life was plastered all over tabloids and in the news, it would be pretty easy to become an open book with someone that lived under your roof.  Soon after these encounters, Jane finds herself starting to like him, probably more than she even realized at that moment. She also asks herself the very same questions I, or any reader, would ask. "Why is he treating her differently than the other servants?" However, unlike Jane, I have the answers to this, because I have read Jane Eyre, and the stories remain simpatico. Yes, he is treating her differently, and it is because he considers her, and feels about her in a much different manner that he does the others.  He likes her and enjoys the insights she brings, which other people in his life do not seem to avail him. Soon after these events, Nico Rathburn begins to ask Jane for her opinion on a lot of things.  For example, he asks her opinion on the outfit he should wear on his album cover. He also takes more interest in her personal interests and in her care and well-being. He asks her to stay on the property and create her art there, for her own safety. While I do consider that it would be good for her own safety, I also believe he requested this, so that he could have her around more often and have her readily available to him. He begins to show her places on his property to do her artwork, and just as they are becoming close, he leaves. He goes off to do some concerts and have more business dealings.  Jane is unsure of when he will return, similar to when Mr. Rochester leaves in the original story of Jane Eyre.  As one might expect, precisely as happened in Jane Eyre, our present day Mr. Rochester (Nico Rathburn), returns and he, too, brings a group of people back with him.  This time it is his bandmates and the women in their lives.

An unexpected (unless one has read Charlotte Bronte's predecessor novel) visitor tags along with this group. Her name is Bianca Ingram!  Does that sound familiar to my blog readers?  Bianca Ingram is Mr. Rathburn's photographer.  She appears to be one for whom he has great affection. Jane sees her, and much like Jane Eyre did, acknowledges she will never look like her or be a love interest of Mr. Rathburn's. Yet, Mr. Rathburn continues to request Jane's presence at every event:  dinners, rehearsals, even when everyone Is just simply hanging out.  In all circumstances, Jane is required to be there. A band member, Dennis, begins to hit on Jane, and it makes her very uncomfortable, but Mr. Rathburn tells him not to try anything with her. This seems odd to me considering Bianca Ingram is right next to him.  Curiously, some women in the group befriend Jane and take her to the bathroom to giver her "a makeover." Jane begins to reminisce about when her mother tried to do this for her, but rather admonished her appearance in the process and how Jane snapped back at her.  [Jane Moore really suffers from deep insecurities!] When the women finish with Jane's makeup, they tell her that she is quite beautiful, and they want her to go see Mr. Rathburn.  Jane is shy and refuses!  She is far too nervous. She continuously reminds  herself that he will never love her.

To Jane's surprise, Nico asks her opinion of Bianca Ingram as his girlfriend.  I hate mind games, and I think this guy is playing with Jane's mind, or seeing her reaction to his questions about Bianca. He tells her that he cares about her opinion.  He is not stupid, so he can obviously see that she likes him to some degree. Yet, he goes to her for dating advice and her opinion on his prospected girlfriend. Jane feels even more confident that Nico will never have a love interest in her.  How could he?  After all, Bianca is more fitting of someone with his lifestyle.

Jane later has her fortune told through a tarot card reading some of the women do, and the reading tells her that there is hope with Nico.  She largely brushes it off as inconsequential, because she does not believe in fortune-telling.  I wonder if this tarot card reading is meant to provide the reader with foreshadowing.   Perhaps.  We shall see!

Jane - Chapters 1-5: Meet Our Modern-Day Jane

Jane - Chapters 1-5:

I must say that - at this point - "Jane Eyre" has become one of my favorite books.  So, when I first thought of reading another novel which, as I understood it, was essentially a modern-day rewrite of such a classic, I admit I felt a bit confounded and disinterested.  I thought, "Why would someone try to replicate such a masterpiece?" Once I began to read this, however, intrigue began to replace my objectionable feelings.  For one, the timeless and unforgettable Mr. Rochester is now a rock star?  This sounds like it may be a very entertaining story!

April Lindner, our author, gives our new "Jane Eyre" the name of Jane Moore and makes the entire context of the storyline, as well as the characters, more contemporary.  However, the similarities between these two ladies of completely different eras are amazing.  The two are following nearly identical paths in their lives.  I was expecting numerous differences in the two novels, but this author is remaining steadfastly analogous, at least in the beginning chapters, to the original script of Jane Eyre.

In the first five chapters, I find the story already to be quite interesting, but far more simplistic than that of Jane Eyre. Not that this story is bad or poorly written, quite the opposite in fact.  The author uses great techniques regarding suspense, pathos, detailing, etc.; however, the language is far more modern, as one might expect regarding the setting of this novel, yet that almost makes me a bit sad, as it clearly exemplifies the dilapidation of language in our time. When reading Jane Eyre, although it was hard to understand at times, due to the fact that the vocabulary, sentence structure, terms and word forms, were far more elaborate and advanced than is used most frequently today.  The way they spoke was far more eloquent, sophisticated, and striking than the language of today. Another part of this book that I do not care for, and certainly in stark contrast to Jane Eyre, is how crass it can sometimes be. The difference in the two eras is quite prominent and manifests itself not only the decline of formal speech and language, but also in the amount of coarse language used (e.g., cursing, crude humor, etc.).  There is also far more sexual reference and innuendo in this book. In this book, "Jane," our author portrays how we as a society have dwindled in morality and have become far more promiscuous. In Jane Eyre, there was no mention of any sexually indiscriminate behavior or such activity outside the bonds of matrimony.  In fact, as we saw in the exchange between St. John Rivers and Jane Eyre, single men and women did not travel any distance together unless married. Evenly occurrences of public displays of affection or discussion of private intimate matters were rare and frowned upon. In this modern version of the classic, we read of the maids gossiping about sexual escapades, talk of wanting to sleep with Mr. Rathburn (the estate owner and wealthy rock star), and many other things of such a nature. We see Mr. Rathburn and his bandmates openly flirt with women and make sexual suggestions with women, which never would have occurred in Jane Eyre's time, especially not in public. People of that era appeared to be far more reserved, refined, and adhering to rules of chastity and virtuosity.

Despite these differences in modern day social norms expressed in this novel, versus that of the 1800's depicted in "Jane Eyre," the book contains far more similarities to the original novel by Charlotte Bronte than differences, especially as relates the plot and basic storyline. The characters all have strong, undeniable parallels.  Even the scenes and the sequencing of those, is identical to that of "Jane Eyre."

Mr. Rochester is now Mr. Rathburn and is a rock star living in a mansion inside Thornfield Park. The little French girl Jane Eyre once was governess to in this novel is still French, but is now a child named Madeline.  Her mother, while not a French opera performer, is now a French pop-star, likewise named Celine. Before Mr. Rathburn married Celine, however, he had a previous marriage to a woman named BiBi, from Brazil.  BiBi had to go through therapy and rehab after they were married, and she has not been heard of much since then. This circumstance sounds quite familiar in comparison to Mr. Rochester's wife, Bertha. The workers in the mansion are all quite the same, as well.  Lucia is the Mrs. Fairfax of this novel, and she is quite kind, but efficient, seasoned, and resolute, just as Mrs. Fairfax was. A woman named Brenda is our modern-day Grace Poole, and she, too, has a drinking problem.  Brenda takes care of a laughing, crazy woman who lives on the third floor of the house.  And, as you might have guessed, this crazy woman tries to kill Mr. Rathburn by lighting his room on fire, just as what happened to our beloved Mr. Rochester. Mr. Rathburn grows close to Jane in these early chapters, and is already starting to cherish her, at least her presence in Madeline's life. Mr. Rathburn begins to flirt with Jane, and is far more unabashed about it in this novel, than Mr. Rochester was with Jane Eyre.  He is also far less abrasive with her and the servants than Mr. Rochester had been. Yet, the material similarities to life and circumstances cannot be denied.

Our present-day Jane is very similar to Jane Eyre. Jane Moore is genuine, kind, and pleasant in appearance, but certainly not gorgeous. In this story, our Jane grew up with parents, and was not an orphan, as was Jane Eyre, but her parents largely neglected her as a child, favoring her older brother and sister, leaving her with deep insecurities and feeling less than valued. This is a nod to Jane Eyre's childhood of severe neglect and abuse at the hands of the Reed family.

This novel begins with Jane being 19 years of age, her parents recently being deceased and leaving her destitute.  They left her little to nothing in the way of material goods or money. Jane Moore has a sister, Jenna who is far prettier, more favored, and more popular than Jane, and it seems to be something that haunts Jane, much as Jane Eyre felt about Georgiana and Eliza in relation to herself. Jane Moore attended Sarah Lawrence for a short while, but ends up having to drop out due to her now inability to pay the tuition, due to the loss of her parents.  She then seeks employment as a Nanny.  Jane Moore has little to no family and is not into current-day fads.  She also lacks much knowledge about movie stars, music icons or any famous, for that matter. She reads and speaks French and is a proficient artist, just as was Jane Eyre.  She is also just as shy, yet also just as loved by Madeline as Jane Eyre was by Adela.  The storyline is also quite similar with regard to the first acquaintance of Mr. Rathburn.  Nico Rathburn almost runs into Jane Moore in the street when she is walking.  She subsequently meets him back at the house and realizes it is him, but continues her care of Madeline.  Nico calls to meet with her often, and they grow quite a bit closer.

All in all, April Lindner does an impeccable job of showing a strongly correlated plot to that of the original, however not enough to be plagiarism or lacking uniqueness in its own right. I find the novel thus far to be well written, even if it is more popularized; thus, the language is more rudimentary and simplified, to align it with today's norms.  Necessarily, Lindner has to show the decline of societal refinement and sophistication from the 1800s to what we have become today.

It will be interesting to see, as this story carries on, how the crazy wife situation will play out and why she has gone insane.  It will also be interesting to see the budding romance between Rathburn and Jane Moore, and whether the outcome is the same.  My prediction is that it will be.  First, BiBi, Mr. Rathburn's Brazilian wife, considering a divorce has not been mentioned, will have gone crazy due to drug usage. I can only imagine the life of a rock star's wife. I also wonder if Mr. Rathburn is going to propose to Jane, or if he is going to make an attempt to sleep with her, instead of asking for her hand.  I certainly hope it is not the latter, but I would not be too surprised. I am also curious if a Mr. Mason-like character will surface in this novel.  We shall see, and I can't wait!  I find this work to be interesting and not any less dramatic than Jane Eyre.  It is also a little comedic, which is refreshing. I applaud April Lindner for being able to take an incredibly deep and heart-wrenching story of love, passion, trials, pain, and suffering and transform that story into our modern world, where things are far more loose morally, more materialistic, and far less cultured and articulate than that of the 1800s, yet still maintain the essence, the beauty, and the timelessness of Jane Eyre, as written by Charlotte Bronte. I am excited to see how this reconstructed classic will play out, with its modern-day characters (with whom we can more readily identify and relate) and in the more present-day setting and culture.  Will there be any unexpected twists and turns, or will the journey and ending continue its current and nearly identical path?

Jane Eyre - Chapters 35-38: Jane Follows Her Heart Back to Thornfield

Jane Eyre - Chapters 35-38 / Conclusion:

At the start of these chapters, Jane is feeling highly uncomfortable around Mr. Rivers due to his  asking her to marry him. While Jane is uncomfortable, though, he seems to be quite calm and collected. At first, I was confused as to why he did not seem more enraged or offended, but then I quickly knew that it was because he assumed that Jane would "come to her senses" and make the clear "righteous choice" and eventually decide to marry him. How presumptuous and misogynistic of him? In this encounter, he essentially informs Jane that if she does not marry him, she will be condemned and not one of God's servants, as he presumed she was. Here Charlotte Bronte is trying to subtly show the way that in reality (of that era and even still to lesser degrees today), people will sometimes use religion as a way to coerce and almost punish people into doing something or being what they view they should, or some men take a controlling position with women in their lives.  This is very true of many eastern world countries still to this day. I am thinking, as I read, surely she will not say yes. Jane must stick to her principles, stand her ground and not let herself fall into this torment and control that Mr. Rivers is attempting to pose. But, she almost succumbs! "How could she?" [I am screaming inside my head!] I always considered Jane to be far more strong willed and as a woman who stands her ground, yet she begins to succumb. However, it is a momentary lapse, in consciousness, thankfully. She suddenly hears a voice calling to her. She runs outside to find what it is and where the voice is coming from. Suddenly, Jane recognizes it to be Mr. Edward Rochester and is snapped out of her state of submissiveness to St. John Rivers.  Jane then firmly decides not to marry St. John, rather to leave in the morning for Thornfield Hall. When she arrives at the Inn just before Thornfield, she decides to simply proceed on and travel the couple miles further to Thornfield on foot. She slowly creeps through the garden up to the house sprightly, acting almost as a school girl would in the presence of her crush. This demonstrates the intense love Jane feels for Mr. Rochester. Acting as a young school girl, giddy, nervous and jittery, she carries on walking toward the mansion. The woman inside her feels different emotions.  She longs to hear his voice and feel his touch on her skin and on her lips.  She is yearning for the man she adores.  She is certain now that she must be bound, for her entire life, to her one and only true love, Mr. Edward Fairfax Rochester.  Even though she has a new found independence, this intense and abiding love will not allow her to tarry alone. After Jane has walked quite a while, she finds there is little left of the former grandiose home besides ashes, broken marble and stone, and burnt ruins!. She begins to feel inner despair and torment, still not knowing what has become of the people who once lived here and what tragic event happened which caused this glorious structure to burn to the ground.  Most of all, she is dying to know, where is her Edward?

Jane returns to the Inn and requests the worker who brought her dinner to sit and talk with her. She asks him many questions as to the current state of Thornfield and inquired to know the past events which occurred there to bring it to its ruination. He begins to tell Jane much of her own story while living there!  He tells her of a governess who once lived there and how Mr. Rochester had fallen madly in love with this young woman and, further, how once the governess left Thornfield, Mr. Rochester almost went mad.  He also tells her the events regarding how the place burned down.  He informed Jane it was due to a fire caused by Mr. Rochester's crazy wife, Bertha, in attempt to kill Jane, who she still thought was there. Jane then discovers that the only life lost was that of Bertha's, but sadly her Mr. Rochester was hit by a beam which struck him blind and crushed his right hand, which had to then be amputated. At this moment, Jane knew she had to see him! She quickly desired to know his whereabouts and to be taken there. She was taken kindly by the chaise driver to Rochester's little cottage in the woods.  When she arrived, she took the last almost mile on foot and found Mr. Rochester at the door. He seemed despondent as he stood feeling the rain. After he returned inside, she went to the house and was let in by John's (the servant) wife. She proceeds to bring a tray of water and candles to Edward.  Soon after, Mr. Rochester realizes it is Jane by touching her hands and arms and hearing her voice. At first, he believes himself in a dream, but Jane assures him that he is not.  At this, the sweetest, most charming and scintillating moment happens. Jane Eyre describes for the reader that, as they talk, she sees calm, love, joy, and light return to Edward's face. She brings him the happiness he has been lacking, and she, too, feels elated!  These two become the light and the joy they each have been missing. Jane completes his soul and his being more than the return of his lost hand or his sight ever could. She brings him joy and comfort when previously, despair left him discontent and longing. He does the same for her.  I hope one day I will love someone so much and they will love me in the same manner that I am their hands, their sight, their pure joy, and their fulfillment.

Jane proceeds to tell Mr. Rochester that if she can be nothing else to him, she wishes to be his nurse, his caretaker, and she wishes to do all she can for him. I find it amazing the things love can do for someone. I would say Jane is naturally a very giving and kind person, but the fact that she is willing to give up being married, having children, and doing all she could as a young woman, to take care of one she loves most is truly a blessing, an act of God, and a result of true, deep love. However, Mr. Rochester tells Jane later the next day that he does want to marry her and asks her to be his wife. He also tells her two other things that struck a chord with me. The first being that he called out Jane's name the same day that she heard it being called and decided to return to him. Jane never tells him the correlation between the two or her hearing his call, but she does associate the two as God's hand in her coming back. I think this exemplifies to us how God's will is far greater than our own and He will ensure that we follow His Plan for our lives as long as we are willing to listen and heed what He has for us to follow and accomplish. The second thing is Mr. Rochester tells Jane that her willingness to give up her own life for the well-being of his makes her humble and an amazing servant of God. This is an incredible event when considering the entirety of Jane's life. Jane is finally told that she is not a liar or a devilish person, condemned to a life of debauchery and loneliness, but that she is doing the right thing, is a wonderful person, is a woman loved by God, and a woman who has the full love of a man named Mr. Edward Rochester.

This novel could easily have ended by simply informing the reader that Jane was married to Mr. Rochester and their lives were now content. However, instead, Charlotte Bronte has Jane Eyre finish the story by giving an account of many a character we met along the way: Adela, Diana, Mary, herself and Mr. Rochester and, also, the accounts peculiarly conclude with Mr. Rivers. Jane tells us that at first announcement of her marriage to Mr. Rochester, St. John did not answer, but after some months, he finally did, wished her well and told her of his time in India. She then details how St. John is a wonderful and joyful servant of the Lord, yet that he will probably never marry now. Why,  might one ask? Because he is most likely nearing to return to Heaven to live with God.  Jane describes how, when this does occur, he will not be sad or afraid.  Rather, he is ready and overjoyed to return to Heaven. Jane states that she knows this by his words in his letters and she ends the book with this sentiment from Mr. Rivers, " My Master,” he says, “has forewarned me. Daily he announces more distinctly, ‘Surely I come quickly!’ and hourly I more eagerly respond, ‘Amen; even so come, Lord Jesus!"

In reading this phenomenal book, I have discovered that it is not only book about a love story, but that is far more than that. It is a book about love, yes, but it is also a book about tragedy, hardship, faith, devotion, selflessness, despair,  joy, heart break, family, and becoming the people God intends us to become.  As we journey with Jane throughout this novel, we see her life unfold in miraculous ways.  Her life goes from something of destitution and terrible hardship, into one that neither she nor I as the reader imagined it could ever be.   While it was still not picture perfect, it was joyful enough for her, and I believe that often times, we search too hard for the ideal instead of making the ideal out of what we do have. 

Within our own homes, lives, friends, and family, we must set as a goal our own earthly idea of perfection and continue to strive for it, but be happy along the way with what we have.  Be grateful, each and every day.  Find joy in our current state.  Become who you are destined to be and do not let anyone hold you back. Search for the beauty within people, not only on the surface but well within, too. Offer love and sacrifice for those who need it most. In these things you will find true joy. Know that even when you feel no one else loves you, God and Jesus Christ do. They know you.  Above all, be faithful, be kind, listen to your heart and to the promptings of the Spirit, and in the end, trust far beyond your own hand.  Trust the hand of God who sees your beautiful painting of life in its entirety instead of the corner of the frame which we can only view a little at a time.  Jane had faith that He knew who she could become, and she walked the path of her destiny to a beautiful outcome.   We must all gain the self-worth she had and believe greater things will come, and above all, settle for nothing less.    

Jane Eyre - Chapters 30-34: Starting Life Anew

Jane Eyre - Chapters 30-34:

In these chapters, we see the relationship between Jane and her new residents develop and grow. Finally, Jane regains a good portion of her health and is able to actually recommence studying, drawing, sewing, etc. She begins to converse more with Diana and Mary and show them her drawings. They each begin to teach each other - Jane to Mary in drawing and sketching, and Diana to Jane with learning German. This in turn begins to draw them all closer together, and they truly grow a sister-like relationship and bond. Jane is quite independent, however, and is still concerned with her life beyond them with regard to making a living for herself.  She does not want to stay there, simply becoming dependent upon them for her sustenance. She inquires of St. John if he intends to keep up his offer of finding her a job, to which he replies that he already has, except he delayed it until his sisters (Diana and Mary) have left, as he sees Jane seeming to be happy, getting along with them and making them, also, happy. I think this portrays a bit of a weird contradiction in his character. It is kind and considerate of him to take the time to find Jane a job, yet, it is inconsiderate and controlling of him to not discuss his change of plans with her and simply assume he knows what is best. This contradiction in character and controlling personality is not a one time occurrence with St. John. As Jane continues to describe his personality and his overall countenance, it is often described as very stern and cold, yet at other times he comes across as amiable and caring.  Soon we also learn that John, Diana, and Mary receive a letter stating that their Uncle John has been ailing and has died. Jane does not think anything of it and I believe, due to her lack of reaction, I did not either at first. But HELLO? Uncle John? Jane has an Uncle John as well, one who actually sought to give her his fortune and accidentally ruined her marriage to Mr. Rochester by informing Richard Mason that Jane was going to marry the already betrothed Mr. Rochester. Perhaps it is a far off assumption, but usually parallels such as these do not occur in novels by coincidence. I remain uneasy and anxious to know who their Uncle John is or if he will emerge later in this story.

In any regard, after all of the dust has settled and his sisters have set off, John offers Jane a job as school teacher at an all girls small school in another town called Morton. When Jane arrives she tries to be joyful, but after her first day as a teacher to girls who are not refined, not learned, in a house that is too small, lacking in amenities, and frankly, along with being in a dreary, lonely town, Jane feels despondent and lacking purpose.. She begins to have an inner torment as to whether her decision to leave Mr. Rochester, the love of her life, and Adela was the right decision. She says something that indicates to me that she will never love anyone else in the way that she loves Mr. Rochester. Jane states, "... [ N ]o one will ever love me the way he loved me..." When Jane gave him her heart, she gave him near all of it and kept very little, if anything for herself of it. Just as Jane is entrancing into this state of mind, considering what could have been in comparison to what her life is now, St. John Rivers comes to check on her at Morton. While he is there, a woman comes to see him and meet Jane.  This woman was Miss Rosamond Oliver. Soon, through her keen observance of the change in countenance of Mr. Rivers, Jane realizes that St. John is completely in love with Miss Oliver. From this point on, Jane continually asks him about her, but his answers are quite peculiar to me. We see that he keeps her at a distance not because he does not love her, but rather because he does and far more so than he knows what to do with the rare emotions. He is seeking a " missionary's wife " and her personality, while lively, joyous, vivacious, and of a high-class manner, is the opposite of a missionary's wife. I feel as though this could be part of the reason why he is so reserved and keeps himself almost blocked off to the world.  St. John Rivers views people in categories, as ideal or as unfit.  If you are reasonable and logical, then you fit his ideals. If not, you are simply a pleasure and a trifle he can not enjoy. What a cold life and a miserable way to view the world!

Jane subsequently meets with Miss Oliver, as she is the woman paying Jane and Jane agrees to draw a portrait of her. While Jane is working on it one day, Mr. Rivers comes to visit Jane and sees the art, and Jane asks if he would like a copy of it. While he is there, he notices a slip of paper Jane uses to rest her hand on while she does art amongst her work.  He is surprised, tears off a piece, and then hastily leaves. Jane goes to determine what it is he wanted from the slip of paper, but she only sees smudges of pencil marks. However, Jane and the reader soon discovers why he wanted, and left with, this torn slip of paper.

Mr. Rivers, in a later conversation with Jane, begins to bring up Mrs. Reed, Lowood, Adela, and a Jane Eyre. He tells Jane that he has received a letter from Thornfield inquiring of a Jane Eyre, but he only knows her as Jane Elliot.  He proceeds to tell her she does in fact resemble the description of Jane Eyre.  The details of her life matches that of Miss Eyre. Jane begins to become very unsettled and begins to inquire of Mr. Rochester. Despite all that Mr. John is trying to convey to her, Jane only wishes to know of how Rochester is doing, whether he is well, if has inquired about her, and what Mr. Rivers knows about him, if anything. This saddens me for Jane, because it is painfully obvious that he has become her obsession, and she is very much still in love with him. She is tormented daily in both mind and heart by the thought of him and her love for him. She has let the flame of passion burn her on her stake of reason till she has now become engulfed in the flames of love for Mr. Edward Rochester. Mr. Rivers tells her that he knows nothing of nor cares very little about Mr. Rochester.  Further, he informs Jane, the person he received the letter from was a Mr. Briggs, who is the lawyer of his Uncle John. I knew that this "uncle John" would come back around at some point! Mr. Rivers tells Jane that when he saw the slip of paper that had her name, her real name: Jane Eyre on it, he realized that they are in fact cousins, and she is the one that their Uncle has left all of his estate and fortune to. Jane sits in shock and is silent for quite some time. Having come from a background of poverty, punishment, a life of drudgery, and even mental and physical abuse, it is hard for her to comprehend that she is now capable of being independent and has come into riches!  Finally, Mr. Rivers informs Jane that she has just be granted twenty-thousand pounds. That today comes out to be about 2.1 million dollars! I could not even fathom coming from nothing and at the age of nineteen coming into that kind of wealth.  At first, this news baffles and even stymies Jane, but then seems to invigorate her, She begins to get giddy at the news of her actual relation to her cousins, the Rivers, and she then proceeds to propose that the four cousins split the money four ways, evenly.  She proposes they take five-thousand pounds each for Diana, Mary, John, and her.  As many people are not so generous, St. John tells Jane that she is being hasty and she needs to stop and consider what she is doing, before she simply gives away all her money.  At this point, however, her generous heart has already overcome her, and she chooses to do so anyway. This theme of looking beyond material matters is consistent with Jane throughout the entire novel.  She demonstrated this trait during her time in the Reed home, when she found more joy in her playtime with dolls, reading whatever books were available, and with her friendship Bessie, the servant, rather than trying to position herself for gain within the Reed family. She did so again when at Lowood, as she found beauty in the eyes, intelligence, nature, and personality of Helen Burns rather than with the beauty of her face or even her possible status in her former community.  Once again, she demonstrated similar wholesome values at Thornfield Hall when she fell in love with a man who was not particularly handsome and found the ones who were wealthy and of high social status rather unattractive, because she cared more about the love and personality of a person than the surface and social status of a being.  She feels that those carry little depth and meaning when it comes to lifelong endeavors or friendships.  When she was in her courtship with Mr. Rochester, instead of focusing on his wealth, she wanted only to be loved honestly, and for her truest self.  She did not wish to be showered with material things. The same character shines through against in this circumstance. She desires, finds joy in, and cares more about her family ties and one day finding a pure love she has not ever been able to experience far more than becoming a rich woman of stature and high societal class.

I stated in my last post that I imagined some kind of relationship would occur between Mr. Rivers and Miss Eyre. However, I did not comprehend that this would be the odd relationship it is discovered to become. I began to suspect something other than simple " brotherly love " when St. John Rivers requests, one day when he and Jane are alone while studying, that she forget German for a little while and help him learn Hindustani instead. I immediately found this to be odd as he had been studying it by himself for many days if not weeks up to this point. Then, a couple days later, he asks her to take a walk with him alone. I knew this must be a momentous occasion, something would occur that would completely change their interactions, permanently. Would he kiss her? Would he declare his love for her? No. Instead, he skips all of that and decides to ask her to marry him.  When he does, however, it is not in a romantic way.  Rather, it is in a matter-of-fact and almost stern way. He tells Jane that she is "an ideal missionary's wife" and informs her that he wishes to take her to India with him to serve the Lord. Jane, through all of his discussing and reasoning with her, realizes that she only loves him as a brother.  She further realizes he is not asking her to marry him because of love, rather because she is the sort of woman who might fit the role well. She explains to St. John that she will help him in the work of God and go with him to India, but she wishes to go, not as his wife, because she does not love him, but in the role of a pseudo-sister. He explains to Jane that "this is not good enough and does not fulfill the "work of God sufficiently." He firmly tells Jane that he will not accept her in this role of companion, unless she agrees to marry him. In her feeling of desire to please him, Jane is left feeling torn between her devotion and loyalty to family and to this man who saved her life, and her knowledge of what she feels so deeply inside for a man she is no longer with.

Personally, I hope she chooses not to marry him. Jane deserves true love, and she is not the type of person to conform to a life where she fits neatly into a predefined category, one provided for her by someone who wishes to confine her to their view of the most perfect suitable role for  her.  How can she marry someone who is not even in love with her, nor whom she will ever love, when she is still so deeply in love with Mr. Rochester? Simply, I believe she cannot and will not. To do so would poison her very soul.  To marry Mr. Rivers would be to douse her passions and the reawakened fire in her soul with sand and water.  I believe St. John would attempt to control her and strip her of her identity.  I say he would "attempt to."  I think her strength will surprise him, just as she once greatly surprised Edward Rochester.   I can't wait to read on!