Jane Eyre

My favorite book now has been my favorite book since I was 13-years-old. It's Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. It's the story of an orphan 18-year-old girl who becomes a governess for the ward of a wealthy man (Mr. Rochester) and ends up falling in love with him. The day of their wedding, she finds out that he has a secret wife that is insane and lives in the attic. He begs her to stay with him anyway, but she leaves him. In the end, the insane wife sets fire to Mr. Rochester's house and Jane gets to be with him.

So, to someone who hasn't read the book, that might sound incredibly ridiculous. But, the book is beautiful and well-written and my summary doesn't do it justice. I think I love this book so much because I see so much of myself in Jane. She is a very quiet person, but she's smart. She doesn't long for wealth or prestige. She only wants a quiet life with someone to love her. Unlike so many book heroines, Jane isn't a great beauty. I always hated the books where all the guys were constantly vying for the attention of the heroine because of her great beauty because that's not what life was like for me (or the vast majority of girls). Mr. Rochester isn't your perfect Mr. Darcy either. He's not incredibly attractive and has personality flaws. But, he loves Jane and she loves him and they make their relationship work. That's so much more realistic than many books. I also love that Jane has an innate desire to do the right thing no matter what. Even when she's desperate to be with the one person who has ever shown her love, she leaves him because she knows it would be morally wrong to stay with him. In one part of the book, Mr. Rochester pretends to be in love with a gorgeous, immensely wealthy woman. Jane's jealousy is very well written and as a teenager, I loved that the book echoed similar feelings I had. Reading the book made me feel understood and that someday I too would have happiness like Jane's if I kept trying to do what was right.