JANE EYRE BOOK CLUB…farewell!
I want to thank all of you for joining me these last weeks in reading and discovering (or re-discovering) the rich and complex world of Jane Eyre. This has been terrifically fun for me, and has, in the very best way, reminded me of being in school again. (As an unrepentant nerd, who laid out her school clothes for the next day every night before bed, and always finished her homework a week early, my memories of school are some of the happiest of my life…so this, truly, is a good thing!)
I leave you all with this marvelous quote by Jasper Fford, author of the strange and wonderful book "The Eyre Affair" (a delightful fantasy/mystery novel in which our sleuth, Ms. Thursday Next, must figure out who is kidnapping the great fictional characters of British literature — snatching them straight out of the pages of their novels! Madcap brilliance ensues.) Anyway, you might like to read "The Eyre Affair" next, as a sort of palate-cleanser of light brightness!
Listen, this has been a beautiful encounter — with Charlotte Brontë, with all of you, and with unforgettable Jane herself.
There are books that are eternal for a reason. Now I get it.
I also leave you with one last thought. Perhaps the most famous line of "Jane Eyre" is this one:
"Reader, I married him."
Don't ever forget the power of that statement. Notice how Jane/Charlotte doesn't say: "Reader, he married ME." Whatever else Jane Eyre may or may not be (angel, minx, orphan, proto-feminist, Victorian paragon, love-struck teenager) she is ALWAYS the mistress of her own fate, the maker of her own choices, the captain of her own destiny.
Let us all be the same.
And a good night to you all!
Big love,
Liz
