Resp to JimInWV 9/19/98 resp to Peter (opinion JE 9/15/98)
Posted by Jessica on September 25, 1998 at 01:26:13:
In response to Does Jane Eyre wear well?, written by JimInWV on September 19, 1998 at 23:36:34
] I read Jane Eyre when I was your age Peter, and I was very enthused
] about it then. But rereading it now, in middle age (50), it seems
] a bit contrived to me, especially the part when, after receiving the
] proposal from St. John Rivers (itself rather unbelievable), Jane
] receives the "mental telepathy" call from Rochester. A bit much to swallow!
] As a romance, I don't think Jane Eyre can compare to Persuasion,
] which I regard as JA's best work. Nothing in Jane Eyre can top the
] beautiful letter that Frederick leaves for Anne in Persuasion, IMHO.
]
I read JE as a teenager and was, "enthused" also. At 44 now I have
studied social commentaries and customs of the times in which the
story is set. St. John's proposal was the proper thing to do as
people of the opposite sex did not travel/work together for any
length of time unless family or married. As for the, "mental
telepathy thing", I have often had a, "feeling" to contact someone
I love and found they did have a need at the time.
As for Frederick's letter to Anne in Persuasion, I am as
enthusiastic about this piece of literature as I am about Jane's
return to Edward. Both stories are excellent examples of
passionate love stories without the need to put the main
characters in bed to spice up the stories.
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