Pix - I just finished the Fevercrack and I blame you!

And it was totally cracktastic.

BTW Katha Pollitt loves the new JE movie.

Hamlet's Raspberry:

[link]

Upon reread (I hadn't read JE since my teen years) I was mostly struck by how much of a selfish manipulating a**hole Rochester was. Also, I apparently blocked out much of the St. John stuff since I had no memory of it being almost a third of the book.

I was mostly struck by how much of a selfish manipulating a**hole Rochester was.

Well, yeah. He was within minutes of committing bigamy before Jane learned the truth about his wife. Not exactly a fine, upstanding human being.

Yeah--not sure how close the movie was to the book, but he came across as very manipulating of a naive young girl. Rather than touched by the ending, I was rooting for her to take the damn inheritance and have some fun and meet other people who were less emotionally abusive than him!!

I don't know -- I thought part of the point was how St. John was this upstanding missionary do-gooder, but really, as Maysa said, a joyless prig.

And while Rochester was, in fact, ready to commit bigamy, he was also trying to make everyone happy, within certain parameters. He wouldn't commit Bertha to an asylum, which I give him points for, and he knew Jane wouldn't live in "sin," as it were. Rochester was deeply flawed, but he was also kind and generous in his own way. Adele is an example, too. Many other men would have had nothing to do with her, or at least not had her in their home.

It was interesting-- I just read a novel that was a retelling of Jane Eyre set in 1929 Hollywood against the backdrop of films transitioning from silents to talkies. The trick here was that Jane was transformed to the male character and Mr. Rochester was female.

I had actually looked forward to the gender switch, especially given the setting, but unfortunately, this book played it poorly.

I probably haven't re-read it since my early 20s, but I read JE obsessively throughout my teens. St. John just...uhg. Got so tired of him that I'd often skip those parts.

Thinking about it now, Rochester's jerkiness showcased how Jane could stand up for herself. Which, honestly, I think was a big draw for me, her challenging this formidable grump.

I've always had a thing (chicken, egg?) for uh, challenging people. Not precisely healthy, but I'm well wary of it.

My poor copy is so tattered and worn, it is amazing it still is in one piece.

I fell in love with child Jane, and never fell out. Standing up to Aunt Reed, and to Brocklehurst? I wanted to cheer while hugging her and giving her tea.

I just picked up Lord John and the Private Matter, by Diana Gabaldon, and I realize I've lost a lot of the details about his appearances in the Outlander books (except for the main one). Has anyone else read them? Is that going to matter?