Last week, I posted about re-reading Jane Eyre for the Women's Lit class I'm teaching this Fall. Re-reading for class can sometimes be boring. I already know the plot; I'm just re-reading to get all the details back in my head for class discussion. And, I can't help thinking of what else I could be reading if I didn't have to re-read. But, a woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do.
Additionally, it had been a long time since reading Jane Eyre, and, like I posted, I'd had two very different reactions to the novel in my previous two readings, so I was curious about how I'd feel this time. Well, I'm not finished yet (Jane's just left Mr. Rochester), but I'm absolutely enthralled by the novel. I can't wait to discuss it with my students. The first two readings, even though I had very different reactions, were both very plot-driven readings. I reacted only to what happened. This reading, I've really been paying attention to style and craft, and especially to characterization, and it's almost as if I'm reading it for the first time. Of course, knowing that I'm also going to teach Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea has me paying attention to detail in a way I might not otherwise.
Re-reading Jane Eyre makes me want to re-read The Thirteenth Tale, too.
This could start a dangerous trend.
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