The perpetual shortage of good reading material has sent me running back to my bookshelf in an effort to find something... anything to read. It has also caused me to grapple with a long-standing pet peeve. (So, please excuse the rant that is to follow...)
I find it frustrating when people make lofty judgments based on topics that they know nothing about. One peek at the list of Facebook groups that I have been invited to join over the past year is sufficient evidence of that. My new conviction is this "Read it before you talk about it, then rant and rave to your heart's content!"
The first prejudice to tackle? Why, 'tis Jane - not Austen (Horrors! You know me better than that!) - but Eyre, Jane Eyre. After being subjected to a truly gruesome movie version in my childhood, I have had zero inclination to read the classic novel. So, I have professed my hatred of Jane Eyre far and wide. It has, at last, caught up with me. So, I got it on CD - complete and unabridged and will begin it in earnest.
Even now I am stealing myself for marriage proposals of extraordinary length, and refusals that encompass still more chapters. Also included - a charming hero who courts the innocent affections of his employee while he hides a crazy wife in the attic. Lovely!
Or, perhaps amids the pathos that is Jane Eyre, I might find a friend - another young woman who learned from life's adversities and emerged triumphant.
Stay tuned - more re-thinking Jane to come!
2 comments:
very well written beth! :)
granted, mr. rochester was rather a bit of a cad for a while, but the over-arching themes of redemption and forgiveness in multiple situations are what make jane eyre a truly worthwhile read. and the musical is top notch, too, should you be inclined to investigate that as well. ;)
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