Eyre, that is.
If you were to sit down today with a group of intelligent young females and demand to know their favourite female protagonist, most would not hesitate in stating the eponymous heroine Jane Eyre. Indeed, as my grandmother’s favourite book, and a mainstay in my ever-expanding list of literary loves, Jane Eyre has bewitched generation after generation of women.
But what is so special about the famously un-special Jane?
Do you think I am an automaton? a machine without feelings?…Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong — I have as much soul as you, — and full as much heart…I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom, conventionalities, nor even of mortal flesh; — it is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave, and we stood at God’s feet, equal, — as we are (252)
Jane Eyre, in her unashamed lack of natural beauty, provides readers with a refreshing change from the female creations of male authors; from female protagonists who rely solely on their physical charms.
R.B. Martin believed Jane Eyre to be the first major Feminist novel, and I couldn’t agree more. We see “not a hint in the book of any desire for political, legal, educational, or even intellectual equality between the sexes”, yet there is something greater at work which laid a foundation for more ground-breaking Feminist literature. Martin suggests that Brontë’s agenda desires recognition that both sexes are alike in “heart and spirit”, and I believe this is fully achieved.
The fact that Brontë’s Feminist narrative is not aggressive is a huge appeal for modern readers who, unlike myself, are sick of angry Feminist discourse. I believe it is a gentle introduction into the world of gender equality, which is carefully infused with earth-shattering romance of the most ideal variety.
Not to mention the universal literary crush on Edward Rochester who is effortlessly irresistible and oh-so delicious.
thedailythompson 
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