Jane Eyre

I am a massive fan of classics, so I knew beforehand that I was going to love this one.

The writing was perfect. I specially enjoyed the thought provoking chapters while Jane was at school, but I don't think I could take any more of those boring assessments of the physiognomy of others. Indeed, I'm afraid my physiognomy might not be agreeable to the likes of Lady Ingram. 

I could see myself in Jane. That arrogance and stubbornness of hers is not entirely lost in me. Her religious compass, though, was hard to follow and I often had to remember myself of the context and the time that it was written due to its exaggerated piety and the occasional notion that being religious was more important than being a good human being. 

(I could also visualize the Ingrams perfectly, more specifically my fist in their faces)

Mr Rochester's fame preceded him. The notion I had before reading the book was that he would be in the same category as Mr Darcy. I was sorely mistaken. The realization of his true character caught me off guard - I wasn't exactly expecting him to be such an abusive man. He was not only abusive to his wife (keeping someone locked in a room is not a sign of respect or care, let alone love), but to Jane as well since the start of their relationship surrounded by lies. He only stopped the abuse when he was made dependent and vulnerable, thus being prevented from causing any further harm. 

The book contains several red flags about domestic violence and abusive relationships and Jane went back to it. The realization of it torn me inside: on one hand, I loved the book; on the other, I don't want to enjoy a book with such a main character as Mr Rochester.