Jane Eyre Reflection

For the most part, I thought Jane Eyre was a pretty decent book. It was killer to read but the story was super interesting. There was so much going on throughout the novel. Some parts were great while others definately could have been left out.

I think it was an appropriate addition to our unit because it is a true coming of age tale. And unlike Catcher in the Rye, it was from the perspective of a young girl. That was refreshing. It worked with the theme and tied in ideas nicely. I can't find any reason why it didn't fit into the unit.

I did enjoy this book and do think that it should be taught in college literature courses. In college. Not high school. It would be great in Women's Lit. Or just a freshman english course. Jane Eyre just isn't one of those novels you can do justice in high school.

Who is Grace Poole?

Grace is an interesting character to say the least. I think I have come up with a reasonable explanation so I wanted to share it with you fine people.

Grace Poole is Adele's mother, the quote-on-quote "french singer". Rochester made up the whole story about Adele's birth and his relationship with her mother. I think that Grace is the woman that Rochester fell in love with as a young man in France. Adele was born but Grace eventually went crazy. Some mental disaster. Rochester was still in love with Grace but knew that he couldn't be married to an insane woman. It was all about status and appearance. But since he loved her, he took Adele in and let Grace stay with them as a seamstress in the estate. That is why she is still here. She is being taken care of and even though she terrorizes company at times, Rochester still keeps her around. I ask myself why would he keep this insane woman around his daughter and the fact that she is her mother is the only reasonable thought I can muster.