Rereading Jane Eyre as an Adult

[happybeachbum]

Have you ever read a book as an adult that you read as a child/teen and realized how disturbing the book really is?  That's happening to me with Jane Eyre.  I'm realizing how really creepy the whole thing with Mr. Rochester really is.  The part about her not having any family during the proposal scene gave me a new insight.  Maybe I'm looking too much into this.  

Edited May 2, 2017 by happybeachbum

[SparklyUnicorn]

Yes, many times. 

 

I also wonder why we were made to read certain books at a certain age/grade level because I absolutely did not GET some of them at the time.  I get them now and think whoa..my ideas about these books are so different now.

 

 

Edited May 2, 2017 by SparklyUnicorn

[winterbaby]

I also wonder why we were made to read certain books at a certain age/grade level because I absolutely did not GET some of them at the time. 

 

It certainly seems like many of the literature choices in the standard high school curriculum are more about box-checking the Greatest Hits of English literature than any kind of thought for how it will inform the kids' development.

Edited May 2, 2017 by winterbaby

[Chrysalis Academy]

Yes!  To both points, reading things through different eyes, and wondering why we push things on young teens that they are in no way ready to process - my go-to book in that category is Mrs. Dalloway. When I tried to read that as a teen, I couldn't even engage with it, at any level. Now, as a woman of a certain age, I get it. 

 

OTOH, I'm re-reading Walden right now, which I loved and did a term paper on my senior year of high school. That's a perfect book for a teenager, as an adult I can kind of roll my eyes at Thoreau's dogmatic impracticality, but as a teenager, this stuff helped shape my life path. 

 

I love re-reading books. I love getting to re-read them with my kids! But yeah, definitely some of them have way more going on than I got when I read them in my youth. I'm trying to keep that in mind when I pick things for the girls to read. 

[Bluegoat]

It certainly seems like many of the literature choices in the standard high school curriculum are more about box-checking the Greatest Hits of English literature than any kind of thought for how it will inform the kids' development.

 

Yes, I think so too.  And not that they are bad books, but just aren't going to work for a lot of teens.

 

We read Wuthering Heights, for example, and while at first glance I suppose it is about young people, for many it was just a little too old, emotionally speaking.

 

Another one I saw a lot here in Canada is that they would assign The Stone Angle, which is a classic Can-lit selection.  But it's about a nasty old woman without any insight looking back on her miserable life - it really depends on the reader having some of the insight she lacks, especially about ageing.  It's just not the right story for teens  The same author has a coming of age novel that would be a better choice but was somewhat controversial at one time because there was some sexual content.  It seems tame now, but I don't know that they are assigning those books any more, the kids seem to be reading a lot of pop lit instead.

[Bluegoat]

I also remember our intro to Shakespeare being Julius Caesar, because we had a history buff English teacher.  Well, I like the play, but I'm not sure it was the best choice to draw in some new fans.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I also remember our intro to Shakespeare being Julius Caesar, because we had a history buff English teacher.  Well, I like the play, but I'm not sure it was the best choice to draw in some new fans.

 

I know, right? That's not the one I'd start with either. So many better choices!

 

Although maybe there is something to the idea of teaching books you're passionate about - I know when we read and discuss a book I love together it's so much better. We did three Jane Austen novels this year, because it was so much fun to read them and talk about them and watch all the different film versions. Probably it was JA overkill, but it was so great! OTOH, we will *not* be doing Wuthering Heights!  :glare:  ;)  :D

[Penelope]

OTOH, it really depends on the teen.

 

I loved the Brontes as a teen, read all of them, studied them again in college, and have appreciated different things about the novels as I have reread them.

 

And I could not get into Jane Austen at all until I was in my thirties.

 

While there are some books that would probably be better saved for later, I think there is benefit to approaching them in different ways at different times of life. I do agree that if kids are not readers and are only going to read the few classics that are assigned to them, it is wise to choose carefully.

Edited May 2, 2017 by Penelope

[Paige]

I also remember our intro to Shakespeare being Julius Caesar, because we had a history buff English teacher.  Well, I like the play, but I'm not sure it was the best choice to draw in some new fans.

 

Don't say that! I'm reading it now as my girls' first real Shakespeare. I picked it, FWIW, because it felt like the cleanest story. My kids hate romance and all the comedies are so bawdy and full of innuendo that I thought they'd be uncomfortable. Julius Caesar is pretty straight forward.

[happybeachbum]

Yes, many times. 

 

I also wonder why we were made to read certain books at a certain age/grade level because I absolutely did not GET some of them at the time.  I get them now and think whoa..my ideas about these books are so different now.

 

I've thought about this one myself. When I looked back elementary and middle/junior high school were appropriate age books.  High school on the other hand.

[coralloyd]

I get it about different book choices for teens. However, when it comes to Jane Eyre I think it depends on the teen. My dd and I just read it together, but separately. She thought the relationship was odd also. She was very insightful about the whole book really. We both loved reading and discussing it.

[shawthorne44]

Stephen King's Cujo.    I'd read it as a kid or teenager.  As a mom I had a totally different perspective.   

 

weird font follows for those who haven't read it.  

 

THE KID DIES!   

 

How could I have not remembered this?    Major stuff shouldn't come as a shock the second time through a book.   But, the first time around it must have been "Meh.  Whatever"    But, now I'm a mom.  

[summerreading]

I never read it as a kid, but I just read it for the first time this year. I was like, this is good!...oh wait, this is really kind of weird!

[Guest]

Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew".

 

I read that in early high school. What's the premise of the book? Starve, beat, and emotionally manipulate your wife to conform her to what you want her to be. And we'll call it a comedy, and it'll all be good!

 

I can't believe that book.

[RootAnn]

Me, on the other hand, read (ok, skimmed) Walden as a high schooler and couldn't stand it. Rolling my eyes was the least of it.

 

OTOH, I'm re-reading Walden right now, which I loved and did a term paper on my senior year of high school. That's a perfect book for a teenager, as an adult I can kind of roll my eyes at Thoreau's dogmatic impracticality, but as a teenager, this stuff helped shape my life path. 

 

DD#2 is reading JC as her first "real" (not kiddie version) Shakespeare. She's not going to be a Shakespeare lover if that's her only exposure. But, I think she appreciates it more because she's had to struggle through it a bit.

 

I also remember our intro to Shakespeare being Julius Caesar, because we had a history buff English teacher.  Well, I like the play, but I'm not sure it was the best choice to draw in some new fans.

 

[summerreading]

Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew".

 

I read that in early high school. What's the premise of the book? Starve, beat, and emotionally manipulate your wife to conform her to what you want her to be. And we'll call it a comedy, and it'll all be good!

 

I can't believe that book.

 

I have never revisited this story, but we did it as a play in 8th grade. Will have to look up a summary now.

[Bluegoat]

Ha!  So many people are doing JC first!

 

We went to plays or watched them on tv before we ever read them and went for MND, AYLI, and AYLI.  But that is with elementary aged kids.

 

For middle or high school I think R&J, or Hamlet, would have the widest appeal.

 

It's easier homeschooling since you can appeal to particular students. 

 

 

[Bluegoat]

Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew".

 

I read that in early high school. What's the premise of the book? Starve, beat, and emotionally manipulate your wife to conform her to what you want her to be. And we'll call it a comedy, and it'll all be good!

 

I can't believe that book.

 

Try the modern adaptation with Rufus Seawell and Shirley Henderson.  It might give you a different perspective on the humour.  It's part of a series called ShakespeRe-Told.

[fourisenough]

Have you ever read a book as an adult that you read as a child/teen and realized how disturbing the book really is? That's happening to me with Jane Eyre. I'm realizing how really creepy the whole thing with Mr. Rochester really is. The part about her not having any family during the proposal scene gave me a new insight. Maybe I'm looking too much into this.

I barely remember the story line of JE (may have only seen the movie and not actually read the book). What's weird about the relationship?

[happypamama]

I don't remember Jane Eyre well enough.

 

I ageee with the other poster who said that sometimes it seems high school lit is about checking boxes. What irritated me is that we read things in a vacuum, without the historical context, too often. The Grapes of Wrath would have meant a little more if we'd been studying the Great Depression at the time. Or, I read the entire thousand pages or whatever of Les Miserables because we were assigned it for summer reading the summer before tenth grade. I remember nothing about it.

 

A kid in my class stood up in front of a bunch of prospective parents for the advanced CTY-affiliated program we were in and declared Great Expectations to be the "most boring book ever written." I'm not really sure what that said about the readings the program was giving us.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Ha!  So many people are doing JC first!

 

We went to plays or watched them on tv before we ever read them and went for MND, AYLI, and AYLI.  But that is with elementary aged kids.

 

For middle or high school I think R&J, or Hamlet, would have the widest appeal.

 

It's easier homeschooling since you can appeal to particular students. 

 

Agreed, I think it's a good idea to pick what you think will appeal to your kids. Mine loved Midsummer, Twelfth Night, Much Ado, and As You Like it as introductions, and these all have wonderful movie versions. Hamlet does too. I had a harder time finding a film version of Macbeth that was appropriate for the younger crowd.  After we had all those under our belts we could tackle the history plays, and thank you very much Hollow Crown for making that possible! Once they've seen their favorite actors acting Shakespeare, it's way cooler than it would be if it was just your mom asking you to read it.

 

 

Try the modern adaptation with Rufus Seawell and Shirley Henderson.  It might give you a different perspective on the humour.  It's part of a series called ShakespeRe-Told.

 

Yep, the Shakespeare Re-told films are fantastic (good version of Macbeth, too).  It did change the way we thought about ToTS, and we actually had a great time doing a feminist deconstruction of that play, thinking about all the ways you could stage it . . . differently.  The Liz Taylor/Richard Burton version is so terrible, and I think it's the only intro lots of people have had to that play.

 

Ah, if we could only spend all our time on books and films!  :001_wub:

[happybeachbum]

I also remember our intro to Shakespeare being Julius Caesar, because we had a history buff English teacher.  Well, I like the play, but I'm not sure it was the best choice to draw in some new fans.

 

I lucked out in that regard.  My ninth grade English teacher taught us with Romeo & Juliet.  Though I really didn't understand it until I read it again as an adult.  I was reading a scene and thought about the ages of the characters then realized they were just boys talking mess on the street about getting girls.   LOL

[GailV]

One of my friends reads Jane Eyre about once a year.  It really speaks to her.  I don't know when she started reading it, but she's nearly 40 now, I think.

 

 

I barely remember the story line of JE (may have only seen the movie and not actually read the book). What's weird about the relationship?

 

Here's a summary for you.  Although it does leave out some of the plot lines, it is approved by my aforementioned friend :

 

[happybeachbum]

OTOH, it really depends on the teen.

 

I loved the Brontes as a teen, read all of them, studied them again in college, and have appreciated different things about the novels as I have reread them.

 

And I could not get into Jane Austen at all until I was in my thirties.

 

While there are some books that would probably be better saved for later, I think there is benefit to approaching them in different ways at different times of life. I do agree that if kids are not readers and are only going to read the few classics that are assigned to them, it is wise to choose carefully.

 

 

When it comes to the Brontes I appreciate Anne Bronte now that I am older than I did as a teen.  I did love the adaptation of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall with Toby Stephens.  Maybe because of Tobey Stephens.  LOL. Who Ironically played Mr. Rochester int he 06 version of JE

 

Learning more about the Brontes also helped me to appreciate their works.  I had no idea that Lowood was based on a real school Cowan Bridge until I read of the surviving Bronte children's siblings who died because of the food and other horrible conditions at the school.  http://www.victoriangothic.org/the-true-story-of-the-lowood-instition

 

What was it with this idea that if you are cruel to kids that it will build character?  I remember learning about how FDR was sent to a school like that after coming from a loving home and great tutors.  

Edited May 3, 2017 by happybeachbum

[Momto6inIN]

I also remember our intro to Shakespeare being Julius Caesar, because we had a history buff English teacher. Well, I like the play, but I'm not sure it was the best choice to draw in some new fans.

We did this as my middle school boys' first real Shakespeare. They loved it because of all the intrigue and the courage/bravery/saving society themes. I will never forget them performing the "Brutus is an honorable man" speech with a derisive sneer on their faces!

 

Ahhhh, good times!!! 😂

 

Sent from my Z988 using Tapatalk

[Chrysalis Academy]

We did this as my middle school boys' first real Shakespeare. They loved it because of all the intrigue and the courage/bravery/saving society themes. I will never forget them performing the "Brutus is an honorable man" speech with a derisive sneer on their faces!

 

Ahhhh, good times!!! 😂

 

Sent from my Z988 using Tapatalk

 

My girls learned the "Wherefore Rejoice" speech as their theater warmup. It's fun to hear a whole stageful of 8-14 year olds doing this speech at the top of their lungs, so that their voices reach The Back Wall!

[happybeachbum]

Books I think you should read as an adult:  Jane Eyre, Christy, Pride & Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility.  Well mostly anything they had you read in high school or college.  LOL. Christy I read when I was around 20-25 years old.  I can't remember when I read it.  So glad I did.  I think I had a different perspective than the ones who read it as tweens and teens. Wow! was David emotionally abusive.  There is no way I could have married David.  I was so happy about the implication at the end of that novel.