Some time ago one of my cousins commented that they hoped that I would relate how much this book, Jane Eyre", has changed me. The presumption is, of course, that one cannot read this book without being changed. That presumption is, in fact, completely true. I put this book up there with C. S. Lewis' Til We Have Faces in that regard. That book you come away shaken, however, and I think with Jane Eyre I came away more grounded.
The first change I've noticed has been that I use semi-colon's a lot more. No joke. Whether I'm doing it right or not I'm uncertain but even my wife has noticed that I'm using them; excessively. Also my language is slightly more elevated. Funny story aside; My wife and I had a coffee date sans children and so walked through the snow to our local mermaid branded, Moby Dick reference shop. On the way home she used the word "abed" (as in "It won't take long til I'm abed") which only endeared her to my heart more. She mentioned that her coworkers have some issues with her elevated language. Apparently she uses the word "awaiting" and people think it's a typo.
The second change is possibly more controversial, but I'm all about "saying the horrible thing" as a writer. I hold little back, so admitting my bad stuff comes naturally. So...here it is...*sigh* I've had little regard for women as writers. Now, I say that, but you have to understand what writing by women I've been exposed to. Anne Rice (yes...she's a "master" and I can't stand her), Stephanie Meyer (Twilight...really? I've seen better writing on a nutritional facts label), Anne McCaffrey (just never got into it), and a few others I had to stop reading just a chapter or two in. I don't know what it was. I started to think of most female writers the same way I think of female comedians...very, very skeptically. Men and women are inherently different. They focus on different things when they right, and value different perspectives so I wasn't sure I'd ever find a female writer to be compelling at all...ever. With Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte, I have found just that. They are two of the greatest writers of all time in my book, not just the greatest female writers of all time. It's almost worse now because I feel fully justified in my criticism of the Rice and Meyer and will hold writers of both genders to an even higher standard. Of course, my problem is likely that I haven't been exposed to enough GOOD female writers and that is something I'm very happy to remedy...72 novels from now. So far, though, Bronte is as good as any writer can be, in my book.
The most significant change as a result of having read Jane Eyre has been a strengthening of my resolve. Her internal speech on the purpose of holding to one's values in the face of challenge altered me the moment my eyes made sense of the words. My faith in God, my values, my principals are for times of great difficulty, for when I am "insane", for when I'm not being rational rather than for when I am rational. Helen was clearly a softening force towards this. There is such strength in Jane I hope to be able to emulate in my own life. Most of my life I have spent, fortunately, being very who I am. Come to think of it that was a compliment that a girl used to take the sting out of a break up. "You'll be OK. You are so who you are and that is so admirable." I'm still not quite sure what to make of that, but I digress. Knowing that one of my newly admitted heroes was that way it certainly makes me feel in good company and like I'm on a right path. Yes, I'm nearly 40 and I'm worried about whether or not I'm on the right path.
When I was knee deep in Jane Eyre my wife asked if I was enjoying the 100BYSRBYD. I said that I very much was. When she asked me what was enjoying the most I took a moment to think. There was so much to pick from; wonderful characters, borderline poetic writing, sweeping vistas, etc. For me, the enjoyment comes primarily from the fact that these characters have a certain set of values, virtues, and principals in common with me. It is extremely gratifying to know that these things I share with the writers, by way of their characters, are things that endure. They are not fads. They are not pointless. They've lasted and speak to us as humans in our language and in our time, not just the 150-250 years ago that they were written. Certain things persist through time and through the waves of fashionable thinking, and I quite happily have discovered that I have somehow dedicated myself to those things. Eventually the world will forget about yoga pants and dude-bros, but the virtues in Jane Eyre will endure.
Pax,
W
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