Jane Eyre progress

Due to the glory of revision and exams, I haven't actually gotten very far with Jane Eyre - I'm now at Lowood School - but having read so many recommendations for it, I thought I'd write a bit about what I think so far.

I actually read about half of it when I was about 10, but - understandably - I think it was a bit too ambitious, so I never finished. Now, I hate it when that happens, because you can't start from where you were because you don't quite remember it, but I don't really like rereading something I half remember reading already! I always have to wait a good four or five years before I can read it again without remembering what's about to happen.


So having left it sufficiently long enough to forget most of the scenes, I'm now reading it again. One thing I have to say is I think Jane herself is a brilliant narrator. She feels very honest in her observations and I find her quite refreshing in the energy and pluck she has. I didn't expect her to be so ballsy!


Another, slightly odder thing I love is Jane's taste in books. I really like that she likes travel books with pictures, and not novels. I always assume that the protagonist of books like Jane Eyre will be a great reader in the traditional sense, but I really like how Jane's taste is very individual.


The only thing that's bothering me a bit with it is that some of the characters seem a bit too simplistic; Aunt Reed just too horrible and Miss Temple a bit too nice. Maybe that was Charlotte Bronte's intention, in order to portray Jane's childish point of view? I'm interested to see if that will change as I get on with the novel, and Jane grows up...