Victober Book Plans

Kate Howe is a delightful Booktuber whose channel has great reviews of mysteries, fairy tale retellings, and classic literature. Every October she hosts a reading challenge of her favorite genre, Victorian literature. Since my last few months of reading have been heavy on theology, I'm looking forward to joining her for some lighter books.

First, I'll be doing the read-along of Jane Eyre. (My 12th time to read it.) In addition I've combed through my Kindle to see if I have any books from that era that I might tackle. Here are the top contenders:

A Dish of Orts - Essays by George MacDonald

Scenes of Clerical Life by George Eliot (three of her early novellas)

Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell (or Gaskell's bio of Charlotte Brontë)

Apologia Pro Vita Sua - Spiritual autobiography of Cardinal John Henry Newman (or his novel Loss and Gain)

I'd like to explore at least two of these Victorian poets: Francis Thompson (GK Chesteron was a fan), Thomas Hood, John Clare, Mathilde Blind (who wrote poems in protest of Darwin's view of man), William Ernest Henley, Jean Ingelow or Algernon Charles Swinburne.

I'm also considering a book of love letters between Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Should be fun!

The link to Kate's introductory video is here. 

Blessings,

The Five Most Influential Books in My Life

While preparing for my latest move, I came across a letter I wrote to my mom a few years ago about the five books (apart from the Bible) that have had the biggest impact on my life. These are not necessarily the books I have loved the most, but they all had a profound effect on my behavior.

1) Jane Eyre influenced me as a teen to stay true to my convictions no matter what.
2) My Utmost for His Highest showed me that Christianity is not for wimps.
3) Edith Schaeffer's books reinforced what my mother taught me about the value of making a home where people are loved and nurtured into the Kingdom.
4) How to Really Love Your Child by Ross Campbell radically changed my parenting style.
5) British author Anthony Trollope transformed my reading tastes from "I will read almost anything" to "Don't insult me with your fluff." (!)

What about you? What books have most influenced your life?

Blessings,

The Genius of Jane Eyre

As an INTJ I rarely gush, but I could jabber like a fool about Jane Eyre. I've read it so many times that I've lost count. I remember writing a paper about the book for my Freshman Composition class in college and having my professor scoff at my infantile gleanings. Whatever.

Thirty-five years later I may not be any more of a literary expert, but I am certainly much more familiar with its main characters and themes. I've read the Brontë family canon and various books about the siblings, but Jane Eyre still stands out to me as the brightest of the family gems.

It's stunning to think that a sheltered pastor's daughter in Victorian England was capable of such beautiful writing, witty repartee, and insights into human nature. This time through I saw dozens of metaphors. parallels, and incidents of foreshadowing that I never noticed before. If you've never read Jane Eyre, please read no farther because I'll be including spoilers.

I loved it that the previous owner of my copy of Jane Eyre
had marked one of my favorite passages.

My favorite discovery was looking up the meaning of Bridewell, one of Rochester and Blanche's charades in Chapter 18. Oh my word! Is it just a coincidence that Bridewell was the first English prison? Could the reference possibly refer to Rochester as a prisoner in a loveless marriage?

Several rich contrasts hit me for the first time in this reading: Jane visited her dying aunt in the room where she had been sent as a child to ask forgiveness for wrongs she had never done. Eight years later she gives her full and free forgiveness there. Then there were the two horrible Reed sisters vs. St. John's sisters. And both Rochester and Jane disdain the worth of their rivals so much as to not be capable of feeling any real jealousy (Miss Vale's lover and Blanche Ingram respectively.) Both St. John Rivers and Mr. Rochester exert a certain power over Jane. She gladly calls one of them her "master" and retains her own identity in his company, but she says of Rivers, "vivacity in me was distasteful to him. I did not enjoy my servitude."

I loved all these revelations because it shows high tightly-knit the story is. It's MUCH more than a  Victorian sensation novel. Someday I'd like to read the annotated version. I'm sure it would reveal even more of Brontë's genius.

Blessings,

Happy Birthday, Charlotte Brontë!

April 21, 2016 marks the 200th birthday of author Charlotte Brontë. I owe her a tremendous debt for introducing me to great literature when I discovered Jane Eyre in the 8th grade.

Some links for Brontë lovers:

The Life of Charlotte Brontë by Elizabeth Gaskell (99 cents)

Jane Eyre on Kindle Free

Jane Eyre at Audible, read by the wonderful Juliet Stevenson

11 Lessons that Women Can Learn from Jane Eyre

I'm an unabashed fanatic for all things having do to with Jane Eyre, so I enjoyed this article in the Huffington Post about lessons we can learn from her. I would have left out a couple of the more self-centered ones and would have added the one that influenced me most the first time I read it.  Jane was willing to give up her chance at happiness because she wanted to be true to herself and to God. As a young girl I was astounded by her courage and her convictions and wanted to emulate them.

Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt

Normally I avoid books about extremely unhappy families and whose protagonist’s main vocabulary words are “shut up” and “stupid.” But having been won over to the YA fiction of Gary Schmidt through The Wednesday Wars, I was willing to take a chance on his Okay for Now.

Doug Swieteck is a minor character in Wednesday Wars, a fellow seventh grader to Holling Hoodhood. In this book, it is now 1968 and he’s heading into 8th grade. His dad has a new job in a new city and Doug is dreading all the changes.  Because of his very broken family, he and his brothers are mouthy and rebellious. In Marysville Doug is quickly labeled a “thug in training.”

A lot of heartbreaking things happen in Doug’s life from the mean trick his father plays on him for his twelfth birthday to the return of his brother (minus his legs) from Vietnam.  I shed many a tear while reading about his life.  I shed happy tears, too, over the grace extended to Doug by several compassionate adults. In so much of today’s media the kids are smart and the adults are dumb.  I loved it that Okay for Now has many sympathetic and wise grownups (an eccentric playwright, an elderly librarian, a kindly science teacher) who help Doug to break out of his hoodlum mold.

The themes of brokenness and wholeness run throughout the story. My favorite part in the book is when Doug decides he is no longer going to contribute to the brokenness all around him. His first step in that direction is just to keep his mouth shut when he wants to say something mean. Interestingly, Schmidt uses a series of Audobon paintings to wake up Doug’s heart and imagination. There’s even a thread about Jane Eyre that I especially enjoyed.   

Doug’s philosophy has been that if everything is going right, then disaster is about to strike. As he matures through his experiences, he learns to let go of his fear of the future and enjoy the good things that come his way, which is the inspiration for the book’s title. Instead of, “Things are bound to get worse,” he comes to peace with life when it’s “okay for now.”

Although Doug’s sarcasm will appeal to the junior high crowd, I think many of the references to the 1960’s (filmstrips, space travel, ditto machines) will appeal to older readers. Being familiar with Jane Eyre and John James Audobon made this book quite a treat.

Books I Read as A Child

Carrie at Reading to Know had a great post about the kinds of books she read growing up.

It made me start thinking about my own reading history - and it is not pretty.

Although my dad had wall to wall books in his office, I remember reading mostly comic books.  My brother loaned me his Mad Magazines and the nearby used bookstore had Classics Illustrated comic books (which probably ignited my passion for classic literature in later years.) In high school I read Grace Livingston Hill books every day.  I also remember my mother reading bedtime stories from East of the Sun and West of the Moon.

I have two very distinct memories of "ah-ha" moments with books.  Once (when I was about eight years old) I was lying on my parent's bed reading a huge, gorgeously illustrated version of The Wizard of Oz and thinking it was "the coolest book ever".  Later in 8th grade I accidentally discovered Jane Eyre on the library shelves.  As a shy, plain kid trying to live out my Christian principles in a seemingly hostile world, I thought Jane was my best friend.

I had a remarkable 4th grade teacher who read Shakespeare and poetry to us.  I credit her with the fact that I became an English major in college.  There, of course, I was exposed to fine literature for practically the first time.  I always felt guilty that while other students complained about their homework load, I was having a blast, getting to read whole novels every weekend.

That was thirty years ago and my reading tastes have evolved a lot.  When my children were young we read hundreds of books in the Sonlight Curriculum - a treasure trove of previously undiscovered titles.  Classic Literature is now the meat and potatoes of my reading diet, and I read more non-fiction and devotional literature than I did as a young wife and mom.  Somewhere along the way I lost my taste for fluffy romance novels, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy a fine love story now and then.

One of the joys of blogging has been meeting other lovers of excellent books and comparing our reading journeys.

What Would You Want to Read While Marooned on a Deserted Island?

Abe books ask this age old question this week. (This link will take you to a short youtube video, but if you scroll to the top of the page you'll see the article and various book suggestions.) I'm glad they throw in The Bible and Shakespeare as givens, because you could definitely spend years reading those.  As for my other choice, it would have to be Jane Eyre since it's been my favorite comfort "food" for decades now.

What about you?

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

It’s impossible for me to be objective about Jane Eyre. Her story affected me deeply the first time I read it and through the years I’ve found the need to re-read it often. The introduction to my present copy of the book reads, “It fell like a meteor in 1847, and in more than a hundred years its glow has not faded.” In my case, the glow increases with time.

The book is many stories in one: a penniless outcast who refuses to be beaten down by circumstances, a woman who won’t compromise her principles no matter how tempting the offer of happiness, love lost and then found again, and many others.

This is at least my twentieth time through the book and I’m amazed at how long it has taken me to see the value of Jane’s year away from Thornfield. I must admit that I’ve often skimmed over the chapters about St. John Rivers and his sisters so that I can get back to Mr. Rochester and the “real” story. I’m astounded that I was such a blockhead. (I’m assuming that everyone knows the gist of this story. If you don’t, then be aware that plot spoilers will follow.)

Another blogger once wrote that it was important for Jane to leave Thornfield so that she could come into her inheritance and return to Rochester as an equal. But Jane had declared herself his equal (in heart and spirit) on more than one occasion so, to me, money was not the big issue. However, now that I’ve read the final chapters more closely, I must agree that they contain pivotal events in Jane’s life which cause her to return to Thornfield a much richer (though not in a monetary sense) and more self-assured young woman.

There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Jane and Rochester truly love each other, but the events in the latter half of the book clarify and, in a sense, purify their love. The whole distasteful episode with St. John starkly contrasts two types of domination. One man would gladly smother Jane for his own purposes, while Jane could call the other one “my master” without the slightest hint of self-negation.

Both Jane and Rochester come to important realizations during their separation. Beforehand he had wanted Jane as his wife no matter what the cost. But later, “Violent as he had seemed in his despair, he, in truth, loved me far too well and too tenderly to constitute himself my tyrant; he would have given me half his fortune, without demanding so much as a kiss in return, rather than I should have flung myself friendless in the wide world.” (p. 444)

Jane was so love-starved when she arrived at Thornfield Hall that it is no wonder she fell in love with the first man who showed her respect and kindness. That is why her time away is integral to the story’s satisfying conclusion. Given the same circumstances, who wouldn’t succumb to Rochester’s proposal? But Brontë does not leave us with a heroine who greedily grabs for her one and only chance at happiness. Instead Jane must make hard moral choices. And in leaving she learns that she can find fulfillment even apart from Rochester. She develops rich friendships with Diana and Mary. She experiences deep contentment in teaching the village school girls. She comes under the power of a cold, implacable man and succeeds in wriggling from his grasp. In just a year she progresses from heartbroken governess to confident young woman who returns to Rochester with her eyes wide open. Ironically, Rochester, though physically blind, now “sees” better than ever. He has come to believe in God and His mercy even before Jane’s return. The closing dialogue is the delightful converse between two adults whose love has been tried and found to be true. Deeply satisfying!

Worthwhile Movie #4 - Jane Eyre (2011)

I found out today that the new Jane Eyre had been released on March 11th. A quick look at the movie listings confirmed it was not being shown in our area so I turned my mind to other things. But my persistent husband kept looking until he found it showing in a city 80 miles from here. Forgetting all of our afternoon plans, we jumped into the car and headed out.

I have read the book so many times that every movie version disappoints, but I was pleased with this particular rendering of the story. The cinematography and costumes were fabulous. "Jane" was extremely well done by Mia Wasikowska. I understand that movies have to cut out a lot of scenes and dialogue because of time restraints, so I missed some of my favorites. On the other hand, this film had a few quotes from the book that are often left out of other versions and I was delighted to hear those.

Cary Fukunaga, the director, took a minimalist approach to the movie. Jane's horrible childhood is seen, but only briefly. St. John River's weirdness is underplayed. The soft, melodic soundtrack never overpowers any of the scenes. The dialogue is good, but almost sparse at times.

The biggest letdown was Mr. Rochester. I could never quite warm up to him, but then again the perfect Mr. R. is only in my head. Overall this film will be a treat for Jane Eyre fans.

Jane Eyre - The Music

The other day while running errands I switched on the radio and was amazed to hear strains from a favorite movie soundtrack. It was amazing because it was from a 1970 made-for-TV movie of Jane Eyre (George C. Scott and Susannah York version) that is only offered in horrendous form on cheap DVDs. As a teenager I wore out my record of this music. All these years later I still have fond memories of the film and its music. Frankly, I just assumed the music was no longer available. Silly me! A little research on iTunes showed that all of John Williams' music is still out there for the taking.

Another excellent source of music for Jane Eyre fans is the Broadway musical.

Charlotte Bronte's Birthday - April 21

In honor of Charlotte Brontë’s birthday I thought I’d quote one of my favorite passages from Jane Eyre - when Jane's trying her best not to fall in love with Mr. Rochester:

No sooner did I see that his attention was riveted on [the other guests], and that I might gaze without being observed, than my eyes were drawn involuntarily to his face: I could not keep their lids under control: they would rise and the irids would fix on him. I looked, and had an acute pleasure in looking, - a precious, yet poignant pleasure; pure gold, with a steely point of agony; a pleasure like what the thirst-perishing man might feel who knows the well to which he has crept is poisoned, yet stoops and drinks divine draughts nevertheless. (from chapter 17)

This is a lovely book which I have revisited many times in the last 30 years.

Would Jane Eyre Be Your Best Friend?

I´m typing from a library computer because we haven´t got internet hooked up at our new house yet. I miss blogging, but haven´t had much time for reading so I guess I´ll have much more to say by next week. I was pleased by this article mentioned at the Bronte Blog. I have often thought of Jane Eyre as a "friend", but would never have had the nerve to say it. When I was very young I even considered her my mentor. I liked the things Lesley had to say and if you´re a Jane Eyre fan, I think you´ll enjoy them too.

Dark Quartet by Lynne Reid Banks

Because I love Jane Eyre, I’ve read a lot of biographical information about the Brontës through the years. The latest book was Dark Quartet: The Story of The Brontes by Lynne Reid Banks. “Dark” is the key word! If it had been the first book I’d read about the Brontës I would never have continued reading their published works. The whole bunch of them, according to Banks, were tight-lipped, mean-spirited and utterly devoid of hope. The only bright spot in their lives was the publication of Jane Eyre after which three of the four of them died (!) This book is a fictional account of the Brontës’ lives based on actual research. In the introduction Banks writes, “The facts were my stepping stones…Where there was no solid factual ground, I have felt free to guess…to invent.” Her inventions were disappointing, to say the least.

One of the most powerful episodes in Jane Eyre is in Chapter 21 when Jane forgives her Aunt Reed for lying about her and cheating her out of family ties and a possible inheritance. I kept thinking of that scene as I read about the Brontë family. Assuming there was any truth to the portrait painted by Banks, nobody in the family would have been capable of writing the lines, “You have my full and free forgiveness”. They were all too petty and self-absorbed.

A better, more balanced book is The Brontes: Charlotte Bronte & Her Family by Rebecca Fraser. Fraser freely writes about the question marks connected to Brontë history, but doesn’t attempt to give sloppy, easy answers to each one of them. She quotes from many letters written by Charlotte and others which paint quite a different picture of the family. Yes, they had incredible hardships, but Charlotte’s sweet spirit and faith in God shine through even her worst difficulties.