British Literature Survey
Reference Pages: Brontë Sisters Group

Contemporary Reception of Jane Eyre
by Braden Rawls

When Jane Eyre was first published in 1847, readers were captivated by its passages of beauty and strength. There were some who vehemently disagreed with its content, but even they found it impossible to ignore this unique novel. As the Quarterly Review wrote in 1849, “Jane Eyre gives the most stupid something to think, and the most reserved something to say” (497).

The novel was published under the pseudonym Currer Belle, provoking critics to ponder the author more than the book itself. The complexity of Jane Eyre forced reviewers to define what makes an author “feminine” or “Christian,” a task easier said than done.

Even though the slang, crude humor, and passion of Jane Eyre were considered extremely masculine in the nineteenth century, most critics used the novel’s familiarity with female life to accurately predict “Belle’s” true gender. As the Times put it, “Who but a woman would venture to fill three volumes with the history of a woman’s heart?” (481).

The abundance of desire and sexuality in Jane Eyre convinced many readers that “Belle” must be antichristian. In examining Jane, the Quarterly Review concluded that “No Christian grace is perceptible upon her- she is most ungrateful to Him” (505). However, other critics disagreed, claiming it unjust to call Jane Eyre positively antichristian (Times 487). The Tablet even viewed the novel’s emphasis on love as a moral study (Smith 1).

Whether or not readers found the novel tasteful, they could all agree on one thing: that a commanding writer was about to emerge. As printed by the Times, “The author of Jane Eyre will have power in her generation, whether she chooses to exercise it for good or evil” (487).

Works Cited

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Ed. Margaret Smith. New York: Oxford UP, 2000.

“Currer Bell.” The Edinburgh Review. Jan. 1850: 81-91.

Gordon, Lyndall. Charlotte Bronte: a Passionate Life. New York: Norton, 1996.

“Jane Eyre.” The New York Times. 10 June 1848. Rpt. In Littell’s Living Age. Ed. E. Littell. 17th ed. 1848. 481-487.

“Jane Eyre- an Autobiography.” The Boston Post. 12 Feb. 1848. Rpt. In Littell’s Living Age. Ed. E. Littell. 16th ed. 1848. 324-327.

“Vanity Fair and Jane Eyre.” The Quarterly Review. 17 March 1849. Rpt. In Littell’s Living Age. Ed. E. Littell. 20th ed. 1849. 497-506.

Paul Marchbanks
marchban@email.unc.edu