I read Jane Eyre as a teenager and had forgotten (or never appreciated) its brilliance. I ordered the book in both tape and in paper and was mesmerized while reading and listening simultaneously.

How I loved this character: her rebellions, her truthfulness, her adherence to a moral code forged through, from, and within every experience. The young woman who placed self respect above that of society to provide fulfillment to her life. She knew life as laden with suffering yet her joys were as intense as her sorrows were passionate.

Bronte presents everything through Jane’s insightful vision: character, landscape, events. She makes even Rochester – a complex figure if ever there was one -- a comprehendible and loveable person; transforms a harsh landscape to one in which even the most delicate of colors become visible.

And what a cast of characters she gives us: bullies, fanatics, saints, sinners, gentlefolk, the odd, the colorful, the strange, the lonely, the lost – we meet them all thanks to Jane’s perceptive vision.

The depth of Jane’s inner dialogue, her witty yet guileless repartee, her wonderful blunt openness and willingness to love are the parts I most loved. Jane is the consummate learner … drawing from every experience and encounter wisdom to apply to her own life. She worked hard to give others the space to be themselves and, in doing so, almost missed the great love awaiting her. Rochester must have been at his wits end to draw from her a protestation of love … though I found his method disrespectful. Rather than expose himself to rejection, he plays with her feelings.

It is testimony to Bronte’s inner life that she who, as far as we know, never had a great love, who eventually married but did not love her husband, and who refused sustenance while dying-- preferring an early death rather than prolong a loveless life -- could write so passionately and eloquently of love.