I love the "Bertha is Jane's dark double" analysis. It's perfect and really says a lot about Victorian womanhood. It's like Jane's dark side must die so she can marry Rochester.
agreed. we never really look into Jane's mind to see if she really loves rochester, but I feel like when she is with him she forgets about her horrible childhood
SirGooglinMort Smith meant as an entertainment for his ridiculous house guests... and he got to tell off Blanche Ingram too, as she was clearly miffed after the "gypsy" told her HER fortune... gold digger ...
can we all acknowledge that bertha kind of has a right to be upset after being locked in an attic alone and miserable watching her husband fall in love?
I always felt that way too. Rochester was conned into marrying her, but she could not be blamed for her mental illness or for her psychotic moments, and it could have been handed better
+Ravleen Liu actually you only get to see what bertha was like through Rochester's perspective before he brought her to Thornfield. her violence that we see at thornfield can be quite reasonably deduced as madness made worse by being locked up and neglected by her husband. the victorian period saw a huge advancement in how to treat the mentally insane, and rochester's decision to keep bertha locked up would have been massively controversial. don't get me wrong, i like Rochester - but i really don't think bronte means him to be read as a perfect romantic hero that modern day adaptations see him as. yes his life has been tough but the man has flaws and the way he treats bertha is a huge mistake and he is punished for that.
Jackson Bell I agree Rochester is no angel he has admitted in the book to having mistresses. the reason jane leaves is because he tries to convince her to stay as one but she says she wants marriage
Jackson Bell Rochester actually addresses his treatment of Bertha, saying he could have kept her at Ferndean, his damp, dank hunting lodge, where she most certainly would sicken and die from the bad conditions, but he felt Thornfield was the most compassionate place for her. And frankly, how would I treat a man that I loathed who had been miserable to me when he was sane but for whom I was now totally responsible until death do us part??? I'd have the basement finished and install him there with a full time caregiver who'd be kind and efficient. And I'd then go live my life...
I quite like the reading of Bertha as Jane's mirror. It bothers me to no end when people try to play off Jane Eyre as a love story, when it is so obviously about identity and personal growth. And so much proto-feminism. The love story is only relevant in the context of this personal journey. My favorite paper I've written in university was in my third year when I wrote a 10 page paper about the ways in which the many characters named John represent different parts of Jane's identity that she is trying to reconcile. My argument was that in the same way that Bronte wrote under a male pseudonym, Jane is not allowed to feel or think certain things, so by giving them male voices, Jane has a reason outside of herself to consider these things without straying too far from her role in society.
I only thought Bertha symbolized the confinement of marriage in the Victorian era but I never put it together that all her episodes followed a scene of Jane being upset but unable to act on her emotions. INTERESTING.
I think one thing that gets looked over is the relationship of Jane Eyre (and the other characters) with children; more specifically, with Adele - Mr Rochester's ward. Other character's interactions with Adele shows some of the harsh attitudes towards children at the time; and is reminiscent of Jane's upbringing under her Aunt and Lowood School. Jane has little confrontations with characters about how they should treat children as if they had feelings, and are independent (- just like adults! :o shocking revelation!) Jane treats her students as equals, with thoughts, opinions and feelings that need to be heard. Just like Jane strives for her independence, and to be herself within her position as governess. There is also the fact that Adele is often put down for her 'vain' behaviour and constantly compared to her mother - especially by Rochester - and how because she is her mother's daughter she is somehow inherently 'bad' and tainted. Therefore making her more worthless than other children. Jane often brings Rochester round to seeing Adele as separate from her mother.
The thing that always got me about this book that no one ever brought up: If Bertha had syphilis, odds are pretty good that Mr. Rochester did, too. Which made it an inevitability for Jane as well. In college, I almost wrote a whole treatise on STDs in the victorian era based around this book. (I'm a microbiologist. I relate everything to diseases of I can.)
So if we hadn't discovered the new world, Bertha would have had to be assigned a different illness with psychotic symptoms? I like to relate everything to the new world.
Y'all should check out the book The Madwoman in the Attic. It's what Green is citing in this video and it's probably one of the most influential books on literature and my all time favorite!!! 👍
I'd rather be locked up in an attic than locked up in the mad house. In the mad house, patients were plunged in cold water to cool the over-heated brains that caused their madness. Food was denied to patients sometimes, the beds were hard and full of bugs, and some patients got chained to their beds; having to urinate etc. while in those beds because they weren't allowed to be unchained to relieve themselves. And of course they got confined into straight-jackets and beaten by the staff. Mad houses didn't help people get sane... they made people become insane! The attic is better than the mad house!
In my opinion, Jane Eyre has one of the best if not the best scene of lovers reuniting. I read this book over and over just to read Rochester and Jane's coming together again.
+Jacob MacDavid The parallels were really good. I feel as if he may have too strongly implied that Bertha's death in the metaphorical sense was a bad thing, though. "maybe not so happily ever after" were his words, but I just felt he was leaning toward a negative interpretation when that wasn't the only one. See, the crazy in the attic was hindering her ability to stay with rochester, to live happily ever after with him. A conniving, vengeful beast makes a terrible mother and a horrible wife.
EHW2 does it tho? Because if you analyze it as he said, the parts of jane that didn't fit the patriarchal Victorian society, maybe she would have been a better mom and wife, or is she truly a mom and wife if part of her isn't?
the movie i watched doesnt do it justice, i can imagine, im not sure if i would put it as a priority to read the book but there seems to be much more going on than the movie shows
There are about 10 to 15 great dramas on TH-cam of Jane Eyre. I recommend them all, especially because each one emphasizes different aspects of this rich novel. What an original source!
This was a wonderful analysis. I would like to offer: I also see that Mr. Rochester has to lose much of himself as well in the end. Mr. Rochester is a rich character as well that, as well as Jane, had to tame a lot to be worthy of the new Jane. I honestly take the fire, from which he attempted to save Bertha and was injured thusly, and his subsequent injuries as his punishment for his previous indiscretions. So in a way society crushed a part of both of them.
I definitely need to re-read Jane Eyre. It was my favorite book when I was 17, which was, uh, 35 years ago. As for who would want to wear knitted stockings? If you lived in 19th century, damp, cold England, with no central heating...*you* would want to wear knitted stockings! Those argyle socks on your feet were knitted, after all.
I am so glad John picked this one. It's one of my favorites. I am currently knitting knee-high socks for a son who requested them. You wouldn't be able to get woven socks on and crochet socks haven't quite caught on. Said son is reading Slaughterhouse Five for school and is anticipating the Crash Course episode(s). After watching this episode, he is eager to read Jane Eyre. Right on!
I haven't read Jane Eyre at all, so I should probably get on that. I'm surprised they haven't covered Moby Dick yet! I'm sure it's on the itinerary though.
Jane eyre is my favorite novel of all time. It is so well written and jane in my opinion is the perfect protaganist. I'm probably going to treat it like the bible when I have daughters. Absolutely flawless novel. I love that jabe has so much integrity and stands for herself no matter what
It's one of my favorits aswell, I just finished it yesterday and can't stop thinking about it. It was one of those books I devoured without interruption because it was too fascinating to lay down
John Green teaches you about Charlotte Brontë's classic coming of age novel, Jane Eyre. Look, we don't like to make judgement values here, but Jane Eyre is awesome. By which we mean the book is great, and the character is amazing. Reader, it's Jane Eyre - Crash Course Literature 207
Awesome stuff, as always but - and I know how mispronunciation is your thing, John! - come on, "Brontee" not "Brontay". But it's semantics, hardly a true detraction.
Don't know if this is mentioned already or not but for me understanding the position of Bertha Antoinetta Mason-Rochester happened after reading Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea which I can recommend from the bottom of my heart. This book is a Carribean rewriting of Bertha's character and gives life to it. Once you've read it you will understand not only the position of women, but also certain pressures on men and the destructive force of colonialism. Jane Eyre is a fantastic novel, but this just gives it so much more meaning and is a wonderful novel in its own right. Best wishes.
Wow. I am mind blown about how Bertha represents the wild part of Jane that must die. I never even realized that while reading it, but now that I think about it, it makes so much sense! Thanks John!!!
The fact that John touched on and agrees with the Jane/Bertha mirroring made me so happy. When I read this book in school, I wrote my paper on just that.
What I found interesting about the reveal of Rochester's wife being the mad woman in the attic is that despite her murderous actions, Jane defends her. Jane makes a point of saying that it's not Bertha's fault that she's crazy. If the "Bertha is Jane's mirror" analysis holds, it shows that maybe Bronte is defending those repressed feelings that women had against husbands who refused to treat them as equals.
+Özlem Isci Spoiler Alertpretty much the plot is a girl, Cathy, falls in love with two guys, Heathcliff and Edgar Linton all while in childhood. about 4 years later. Edgar purposes, Cathy says yes which Heathcliff hears so he runs away to make money which does not stop Cathy from marrying Edgar. Heathcliff returns, makes Cathy extremely jealous by marrying Edgars sister Isabella in revenge, so much that she makes herself ill on purpose, all the while being prenant. Cathy has her child, and dies, Hindley, Cathy's brother who is an alcoholic and also dies, had a son when the love of his life Francis was alive, and later Isabella has a son as well. About 16-19 years later, they all enter into a love triangle despite being cousins. Linton dies of "old" age, Cathrine, not to be mixed up with Cathy marries Linton, Heathcliff's son who also dies. Cathrine then falls in love with Hareton, Hindley's child who Heathcliff has raised as a form of revenge towards Hindley who misused him in childhood. Eventually Heathcliff dies from starvation because Cathy's ghost haunted him after saying his famous line "I cannot live without my! I cannot live without my soul!" A year later Cathrine to marry Hareton all of which is being told by a servant named Nelly who is telling this to a man living at the Grange, the Lintons old home.
Thanks for covering one of my favorite novels in a complex way. I know a few people who find Jane herself wishy-washy, but I think the strength of the novel rests not only on the strength of the writing but of Jane's strength as a character. She starts out as an abused child, but her convictions see her through to her own happy ending. Do I want a Mr. Rochester? Absolutely not (Captain Wentworth, though…that's another story). Does Jane deserve the person who makes her happy, though? Heck, yes.
OH MY GOD. I have studied this novel and its adaptations extensively but i have never thought about/heard of the Bertha/Jane parallel about Jane's desires. That's so fantastic, an entirely new insight.
If any of you are interested in Bertha as a character, I would highly recommend reading Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. It is essentially a prequel to Jane Eyre that tells Bertha's backstory and it is such an interesting read.
Where were these videos when I was in high school English classes? The questions you pose are a lot better than most of the ones we discussed in school.
Thank you for continuing to discuss your experiences with mental illness, John. Mental illness and the treatments for mental illness are so stigmatized in our culture; people who suffer from these illnesses are often reluctant or unable to seek out treatment. I know it gives people hope to hear someone who is successful and who seems to enjoy life so much publicly say that he struggles with these same issues.
The Wide Sargasso Sea shows a really interesting picture of Bertha, since she's the main character of that given book. fine reading companion to Jane Eyre.
Dear John, thank you for doing Jane Eyre, it is by far my favorite book that I have ever read and have reread it more times then I can count, the first time being on a tour bus in Paris. I think you did a wonderful job of explaining the book and all its glory. My favorite quote from it actually happens to be from Mr. Rochester, which is, "I love you like my own flesh." I remember reading that and thinking, wow, that's beautiful. I look forward to your next crash course!
I find it fascinating how the declarations of love in this book are both very physical, visceral and spiritual, like the 'I love you like my own flesh' and 'every atom of your flesh is as dear to me as my own' and they constantly talk of 'my second self' and 'it is my spirit which adresses your spirit'. Gorgeous stuff
Have you watched The Autobiography of Jane Eyre here on TH-cam? It's one of my favorite series! It's filmed in the same way as The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.
Of course they need knitted stockings! Victorian England was a very cold place! My favourite part of Jane Eyre was her aunt's farewell, when she basically calls Jane the worst thing to ever happen to her. It's so powerful and furious and Jane just accepts it with a cool head. I loved that scene.
This has been one of my favorite Crash Course videos for a while now, so when I saw that Jane Eyre was was on the syllabus for my British Literature course this semester I was thrilled! and boy, was I even more thrilled when I found out one of the essay topics we could choose to write about was how education plays a role in the novel! Now I get to watch this over and over and it won't even be because I'm procrastinating :D
I once dropped a women's lit class because the professor decided it was far more important to discuss a self-help book (not on the syllabus) instead of Jane Eyre (which was) for the entire class period. And at the end? She said, "Oh, well, I guess we'll have to skip discussing Jane Eyre. Be sure and read (title of yet another obscure self-help book--by a man, by the way)." At the end of this WOMEN'S LIT class--one of the girls (another English major) sighed with relief. "Good. Jane Eyre is overrated and boring anyway." I refrained from lecturing her on the importance of the book (wasn't easy). Instead I voted with my feet.
I read Jane Eyre when I was about 9 or 10 years old, (Thanks to my mom, I really liked classics at a young age. She made me watch a lot of Jane Austen adaptations when I was like 7 that paved the way) and I think that now that I'm 16, I should reread it as to better appreciate the things I didn't get to when I read it so young.
John, I find it incredibly awesome how you can take books that I always consider boring classics and make them seem interesting and fun and more relevant. I continually wish you had led the book discussions in my high school english classes.
Just a correction, Currer Bell is actually an ungendered alias, which Charlotte has said was "dictated by a sort of conscientious scruple at assuming Christian names positively masculine". It doesn't seem important, but critics debated a lot over the gender of Currer and I have doubts that the debate would have been there if the name had been purely masculine because her writing style wasn't very feminine (I'm currently writing a research paper on critics' response to Jane Eyre depending on the assumed gender and am now realizing I know a little too much about this...)
Great video John, but I feel you missed the main point. That being, who WOULDN'T want to wear knitted stockings?!?!? They're easily thirty times as comfortable as machine made ones, they're far stretchier and much more comfortable as well as durable. Not to mention, there's the sentimental bonus, as well as the omnipresent feeling of all the the time and love that went into making them. Honestly, I am extremely unimpressed with your lack of education on the subject. I have come to expect more from you, Mr. Green.
This video taught me one thing about the book that I never realized, despite the fact that I actually read this book in high school. Like, actually focused on it. I can't admit what it is, because I'm ashamed I never got it before. Thanks, John.
"I married him." It says a lot. Personally, I don't think it makes her his equal, I think It makes her the empowered one in the situation. It gives her control of the situation. SHE is doing the action. SHE made the decision, as opposed to "He married me." Which gives him the power to decide if the marriage was going to happen at all. I cannot read "He married me." Without it evoking the implied passivity of the girl in the image and voice that inevitably forms in my head whenever I read. The girl is standing in a wedding dress waiting for it to happen TO her. Or, the teen is lying across her bed dreaming of her Prince, (who, having already come and wisked her away) she declares "He married me!" just before the "and we lived happily ever after!" I think it would have said more towards Jane being on equal footing if she had written "We were married." Or "We married each other."
Holy shit I never saw Bertha as a part of Jane! I always did think the way Bertha was treated was bullshit and now I'm even more upset by it! Definitely interesting.
I always heard stuff about how it is representative of Mr Rochester's sexuality/ or how Betha is the embodiment of all Rochester's dark thoughts etc. But never about Jane herself! It makes more sense that it is about her passions and desires, and her abused, animalistic self.
I cannot believe I've found about this channel only today. I've been kind of locked up in a mental attic for the past few years, but still no excuse. "Jane Eyre" is my favourite book/story of all time. I relate to it a lot because of events that happened in my life, not worth mentioning here. I love John's witty review of the novel. He made laugh my brains out.
That last insight of Bertha being the mirror of Jane's emotions blew my Jane Eyre loving mind! (Also the thought bubble of Jane's metaphorical eye had me cracking up ^-^) Love it!
Haha, Victorian era authors remind me of that scene in The Life of Brian where all the town's women disguise as men (who were the Python crew dressed in drag in the first place!) so they can attend the stoning, and the Roman soldier's all, "...uh, are there any women here?" and you hear all these female voices going "No no no" :P
these videos are amazing. thank you for talking your time to create these. many of us and myself most certainly appreciate, are entertained, and opened up to many different views on common subjects. thank you
I've read Jane Eyre many times, but I've never thought about Bertha as another 'side' or representation of Jane, I love that interpretation! Jane Eyre is one of my favourite books with so much depth and I'm glad that there is always something new I can learn from it =)
11:00 do NOT underestimate the cozy power of knitted stockings! In a truly cold winter, the knitted stockings knitted by you grandmother will keep you warm!
Crash Course Literature is so far my favorite course. From someone who has long since left school and craving an educational platform with substantial and quality information. Thank you!
My favourite part is when Mr Rochester says he intends to be married, and Jane thinks he means Miss Ingram and she bursts out with her feelings on being sent away: "Do you think I am an automaton? - A machine without feelings?.... Do you think because I am poor, obscure, plain and little, that I am soulless & heartless? You think wrong! I have as much soul as you - and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you." I was like "aw yeah! Tell him Jane!" & it makes me want to cry every time I read it! :,) (I love the 2006 BBC version of this so much, too! Especially this scene. I think they portrayed the passion and emotion of this scene wonderfully.)
Honestly, I never really liked Jane Eyre. The plot bugged me too much. It's a shame because I thought it was beautifully written - just not to my tastes. Nevertheless, it's still an important piece of literature and definitely deserving of all its praise.
John Green. I told my grandson about Ccrash Course History because he is interested in history. He said i know John Green we see his stuff at school.Wesley College Melbourne Vic Australia.
That last point was really, really interesting, John. I never considered Bertha as that kind of psychological mirror for Jane. I guess she's a pretty clear foil. Thanks so much!
Thank you John and producers so much for this investment of time! I don't read fiction for a lack of time and also for lack of enjoyment. I am so moved by these informative videos though that when I have time to read I hope to read and finally enjoy these books. The critiques really give me wonderful new perspectives and I enjoy it so much, especially because I don't have to pay for university classes to get it. Please please keep them coming and when I get a job I'll join subbable ♡
Thank you for doing this on my favorite book ever! You definitely give Jane Eyre the praise it deserves while also exploring the deeper contexts that most people miss.
It thrills me to the core that you are excited by these amazing books and their parents! I really love the books you've covered so far and am devouring these episodes. That novel excitement is a rare mirror :3
I have not read this book yet, having been dissuaded from reading it in the past ("Yo dawg, it's mad boring! Lemme hook you up wit some Prides & Prejudices instead, bruv!"), but I think I'd like to give it a shot. Also, if there's a revisionist version that depicts Jane discovering Bertha, nursing her back to health, and the two of them falling in love and eloping, leaving that Mr. Rochester in the dust, I'd be keen on reading that too.
Jessica Sheron I will write it. In it, Jane Eyre will be snappier and spunkier, and Bertha Mason's madness will be a product of otherworldly shenanigans. The two of them seeking their fortunes in the west, becoming suffragettes and private detectives in Innsmouth, Massachusetts. They'll solve mysteries, fight back the old ones, and snog a bunch.
There is a post-colonial novel called Wide Sergasso Sea, written from the perspective of Bertha Mason, explaining her journey. I haven't read it but want to
I think Jane's inability to see all the problems around her goes back to the constant symbolism that blindness serves in the novel. Thanks for doing Jane Eyre - my favorite book!
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Is no one gonna talk about Helen Burns? Cause I damn bawled my eyes reading reading this section of the book.
I love the "Bertha is Jane's dark double" analysis. It's perfect and really says a lot about Victorian womanhood. It's like Jane's dark side must die so she can marry Rochester.
Clever perception
Well said.
agreed. we never really look into Jane's mind to see if she really loves rochester, but I feel like when she is with him she forgets about her horrible childhood
Craft Craves True. She might just be using him as a means to escape PTSD or memories...in which case Jane is way creepier than I gave her credit for.
DaisyQueenOfFlowers what do you mean? She professes her love for him countless times, in private reflection as well.
"disguises himself as a fortune telling gypsy woman to find out how she feels about him" ...I'll have to try that one some time.
the old disguise as a fortune telling gypsy woman play. Oldest one in the book
SirGooglinMort Smith meant as an entertainment for his ridiculous house guests... and he got to tell off Blanche Ingram too, as she was clearly miffed after the "gypsy" told her HER fortune... gold digger ...
emmelineysun I read it as a teenager and when he did that I was like "omg how romantic"
@@fishbloop4448 I was like,"omg, this is so cute, I actually like him now!"
it's quite easy you just have to go back to 19th century for 100% success when gypsies were a thing
can we all acknowledge that bertha kind of has a right to be upset after being locked in an attic alone and miserable watching her husband fall in love?
I always felt that way too. Rochester was conned into marrying her, but she could not be blamed for her mental illness or for her psychotic moments, and it could have been handed better
Y'all need to read Wide Sargasso Sea
+Ravleen Liu actually you only get to see what bertha was like through Rochester's perspective before he brought her to Thornfield. her violence that we see at thornfield can be quite reasonably deduced as madness made worse by being locked up and neglected by her husband. the victorian period saw a huge advancement in how to treat the mentally insane, and rochester's decision to keep bertha locked up would have been massively controversial. don't get me wrong, i like Rochester - but i really don't think bronte means him to be read as a perfect romantic hero that modern day adaptations see him as. yes his life has been tough but the man has flaws and the way he treats bertha is a huge mistake and he is punished for that.
Jackson Bell I agree Rochester is no angel he has admitted in the book to having mistresses. the reason jane leaves is because he tries to convince her to stay as one but she says she wants marriage
Jackson Bell Rochester actually addresses his treatment of Bertha, saying he could have kept her at Ferndean, his damp, dank hunting lodge, where she most certainly would sicken and die from the bad conditions, but he felt Thornfield was the most compassionate place for her. And frankly, how would I treat a man that I loathed who had been miserable to me when he was sane but for whom I was now totally responsible until death do us part??? I'd have the basement finished and install him there with a full time caregiver who'd be kind and efficient. And I'd then go live my life...
I quite like the reading of Bertha as Jane's mirror. It bothers me to no end when people try to play off Jane Eyre as a love story, when it is so obviously about identity and personal growth. And so much proto-feminism. The love story is only relevant in the context of this personal journey. My favorite paper I've written in university was in my third year when I wrote a 10 page paper about the ways in which the many characters named John represent different parts of Jane's identity that she is trying to reconcile. My argument was that in the same way that Bronte wrote under a male pseudonym, Jane is not allowed to feel or think certain things, so by giving them male voices, Jane has a reason outside of herself to consider these things without straying too far from her role in society.
Interesting thesis. There's John her cousin she grew up with and St. John Rivers. Who are the other Johns?
Rochester's servant John, and her deceased uncle John. So 4 in total I believe.
Thanks. I'll have to keep that reading in mind next time read the book.
oh that's a fascinating interpretation.
Beautifully said! I completely agree, and I share your frustration when some try to pass it off as a cheap romance plot.
I only thought Bertha symbolized the confinement of marriage in the Victorian era but I never put it together that all her episodes followed a scene of Jane being upset but unable to act on her emotions. INTERESTING.
"When you look at someone through rose colored glasses, all the red flags just look like flags." - Wanda Pierce "BoJack Horseman" S2E10
I think one thing that gets looked over is the relationship of Jane Eyre (and the other characters) with children; more specifically, with Adele - Mr Rochester's ward. Other character's interactions with Adele shows some of the harsh attitudes towards children at the time; and is reminiscent of Jane's upbringing under her Aunt and Lowood School. Jane has little confrontations with characters about how they should treat children as if they had feelings, and are independent (- just like adults! :o shocking revelation!) Jane treats her students as equals, with thoughts, opinions and feelings that need to be heard. Just like Jane strives for her independence, and to be herself within her position as governess.
There is also the fact that Adele is often put down for her 'vain' behaviour and constantly compared to her mother - especially by Rochester - and how because she is her mother's daughter she is somehow inherently 'bad' and tainted. Therefore making her more worthless than other children. Jane often brings Rochester round to seeing Adele as separate from her mother.
The thing that always got me about this book that no one ever brought up: If Bertha had syphilis, odds are pretty good that Mr. Rochester did, too. Which made it an inevitability for Jane as well. In college, I almost wrote a whole treatise on STDs in the victorian era based around this book. (I'm a microbiologist. I relate everything to diseases of I can.)
theoriginalsache 😂😂
Did not know that! Thank you 🙏
So if we hadn't discovered the new world, Bertha would have had to be assigned a different illness with psychotic symptoms?
I like to relate everything to the new world.
My mind has been BLOWN by that Bertha/Jane mirror example!!!
That was really disturbing, yes.
._.
Meg Ryder Me too... my favorite part of the video
Y'all should check out the book The Madwoman in the Attic. It's what Green is citing in this video and it's probably one of the most influential books on literature and my all time favorite!!! 👍
I'd rather be locked up in an attic than locked up in the mad house. In the mad house, patients were plunged in cold water to cool the over-heated brains that caused their madness. Food was denied to patients sometimes, the beds were hard and full of bugs, and some patients got chained to their beds; having to urinate etc. while in those beds because they weren't allowed to be unchained to relieve themselves. And of course they got confined into straight-jackets and beaten by the staff. Mad houses didn't help people get sane... they made people become insane! The attic is better than the mad house!
In my opinion, Jane Eyre has one of the best if not the best scene of lovers reuniting. I read this book over and over just to read Rochester and Jane's coming together again.
Your parallels with Bertha at the end were amazing. Thanks a lot for these videos. As a Creative Writing major, I really appreciate them.
That part really got me too. Thanks to our writer, Alexis, for that stuff. -stan
+Jacob MacDavid no not me.
+Jacob MacDavid
The parallels were really good.
I feel as if he may have too strongly implied that Bertha's death in the metaphorical sense was a bad thing, though. "maybe not so happily ever after" were his words, but I just felt he was leaning toward a negative interpretation when that wasn't the only one. See, the crazy in the attic was hindering her ability to stay with rochester, to live happily ever after with him. A conniving, vengeful beast makes a terrible mother and a horrible wife.
EHW2 does it tho? Because if you analyze it as he said, the parts of jane that didn't fit the patriarchal Victorian society, maybe she would have been a better mom and wife, or is she truly a mom and wife if part of her isn't?
"(Bertha is) Jane's truest and darkest double" - Gilbert and Gubar
Why has no one EVER explained Jane Eyre like this!?!?
Now I want to read it!
the movie i watched doesnt do it justice, i can imagine, im not sure if i would put it as a priority to read the book but there seems to be much more going on than the movie shows
I hope you read it by now haha
There are about 10 to 15 great dramas on TH-cam of Jane Eyre. I recommend them all, especially because each one emphasizes different aspects of this rich novel. What an original source!
Entraya Crosshill so, look at them all! There are so many on TH-cam and each one of them shows a different facet. It’s fun; an adventure!
I saw an old BBC miniseries of it. I liked it! And all the evidence for John Green's analysis was in the miniseries.
This was a wonderful analysis. I would like to offer:
I also see that Mr. Rochester has to lose much of himself as well in the end. Mr. Rochester is a rich character as well that, as well as Jane, had to tame a lot to be worthy of the new Jane. I honestly take the fire, from which he attempted to save Bertha and was injured thusly, and his subsequent injuries as his punishment for his previous indiscretions. So in a way society crushed a part of both of them.
I definitely need to re-read Jane Eyre. It was my favorite book when I was 17, which was, uh, 35 years ago.
As for who would want to wear knitted stockings? If you lived in 19th century, damp, cold England, with no central heating...*you* would want to wear knitted stockings! Those argyle socks on your feet were knitted, after all.
I only read 4 years ago but I was 10 at the time so yeah I need to re-read it badly but I still want to watch and see what I remember
I am so glad John picked this one. It's one of my favorites.
I am currently knitting knee-high socks for a son who requested them. You wouldn't be able to get woven socks on and crochet socks haven't quite caught on. Said son is reading Slaughterhouse Five for school and is anticipating the Crash Course episode(s). After watching this episode, he is eager to read Jane Eyre. Right on!
I haven't read Jane Eyre at all, so I should probably get on that.
I'm surprised they haven't covered Moby Dick yet! I'm sure it's on the itinerary though.
Andrea Moore
I make crocheted socks and they're great. Ribbed. More like house socks though.
Roxanne Richardson of
Jane eyre is my favorite novel of all time. It is so well written and jane in my opinion is the perfect protaganist. I'm probably going to treat it like the bible when I have daughters. Absolutely flawless novel. I love that jabe has so much integrity and stands for herself no matter what
Jane Eyre is one of my favourite books, it is the first classic that I've read and I couldn't have made a better choice.
cool, could you,please, suggest something else as good as Jane Eyre (from the classics)? :)
Helga Crowler pride and prejudice is just as good if not better
+Helga Crowler Also Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, if you like the gothic/creepy elements of Jane Eyre!
Same, I like the preciseness in it and the lack of satire. I've tried to read Great Expectations 3 TIMES. Maybe next time...
It's one of my favorits aswell, I just finished it yesterday and can't stop thinking about it. It was one of those books I devoured without interruption because it was too fascinating to lay down
John Green teaches you about Charlotte Brontë's classic coming of age novel, Jane Eyre. Look, we don't like to make judgement values here, but Jane Eyre is awesome. By which we mean the book is great, and the character is amazing.
Reader, it's Jane Eyre - Crash Course Literature 207
Awesome stuff, as always but - and I know how mispronunciation is your thing, John! - come on, "Brontee" not "Brontay". But it's semantics, hardly a true detraction.
Samuel Guthrie What are you talking about, it's supposed to be pronounced Brontay.
Dear John Green,
The respect is mutual.
Regards,
-Psychotropic Drugs
CrashCourse John Green+Cold=Jack Nicholson, apparently.
Sylvyi No, Brontee: www.wuthering-heights.co.uk/emily-bronte.php
Don't know if this is mentioned already or not but for me understanding the position of Bertha Antoinetta Mason-Rochester happened after reading Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea which I can recommend from the bottom of my heart. This book is a Carribean rewriting of Bertha's character and gives life to it. Once you've read it you will understand not only the position of women, but also certain pressures on men and the destructive force of colonialism. Jane Eyre is a fantastic novel, but this just gives it so much more meaning and is a wonderful novel in its own right. Best wishes.
Wow. I am mind blown about how Bertha represents the wild part of Jane that must die. I never even realized that while reading it, but now that I think about it, it makes so much sense!
Thanks John!!!
@WakinTheDeadFan Umm, yeah, that was the point. Bertha exhibits traits that Jane can't give expression to.
k. Bn🐯🐯
انته
انتوا شلون تخلون صور اريد اعرف وخالي صور
طوني 👍👍👍👍👍الله عليكم 😐😐😐😐
The fact that John touched on and agrees with the Jane/Bertha mirroring made me so happy.
When I read this book in school, I wrote my paper on just that.
2:57 John had no idea at this point his TB questions would keep coming or where they would lead.
As an aspiring novelist, I love this series. Hearing about great writers gives me more courage to write myself.
John Green makes educational list of Bildungsroman novels. Plugs own book. Cheeky, sir. Very cheeky.
HAHA
I would argue that Looking for Alaska totally belongs there. But I admit to personal bias
What I found interesting about the reveal of Rochester's wife being the mad woman in the attic is that despite her murderous actions, Jane defends her. Jane makes a point of saying that it's not Bertha's fault that she's crazy. If the "Bertha is Jane's mirror" analysis holds, it shows that maybe Bronte is defending those repressed feelings that women had against husbands who refused to treat them as equals.
Ooooh! Bertha represents the repressed side of Jane. I kind of feel like an idiot for missing that. Great episode.
Can you please make a crash course literature about wuthering heights
+Özlem Isci Spoiler Alertpretty much the plot is a girl, Cathy, falls in love with two guys, Heathcliff and Edgar Linton all while in childhood. about 4 years later. Edgar purposes, Cathy says yes which Heathcliff hears so he runs away to make money which does not stop Cathy from marrying Edgar. Heathcliff returns, makes Cathy extremely jealous by marrying Edgars sister Isabella in revenge, so much that she makes herself ill on purpose, all the while being prenant. Cathy has her child, and dies, Hindley, Cathy's brother who is an alcoholic and also dies, had a son when the love of his life Francis was alive, and later Isabella has a son as well. About 16-19 years later, they all enter into a love triangle despite being cousins. Linton dies of "old" age, Cathrine, not to be mixed up with Cathy marries Linton, Heathcliff's son who also dies. Cathrine then falls in love with Hareton, Hindley's child who Heathcliff has raised as a form of revenge towards Hindley who misused him in childhood. Eventually Heathcliff dies from starvation because Cathy's ghost haunted him after saying his famous line "I cannot live without my! I cannot live without my soul!" A year later Cathrine to marry Hareton all of which is being told by a servant named Nelly who is telling this to a man living at the Grange, the Lintons old home.
Erin Williams oh my goodness wow that's messed up and beautiful
That's why I know it so well. It's glorious.
+Erin Williams who's the main character? Everyone seems to die
+Chopolos The protagonist is Heathcliff.
He has a Welcome to Night Vale shirt, I have never been more excited to learn classical literature
+Demilade A Perhaps last video would've been more appropriate to wear it, but goddamn that made my night.
+xXWhiteTiger21Xx omg same I got so excited when I saw it!!
I noticed and nearly fell off my chair!! I love welcome to nightvale so much it's unreal
Thanks for covering one of my favorite novels in a complex way. I know a few people who find Jane herself wishy-washy, but I think the strength of the novel rests not only on the strength of the writing but of Jane's strength as a character. She starts out as an abused child, but her convictions see her through to her own happy ending. Do I want a Mr. Rochester? Absolutely not (Captain Wentworth, though…that's another story). Does Jane deserve the person who makes her happy, though? Heck, yes.
Did you know there is a character in Jane Eyre named John Green?? Pretty cool
which one? how many Johns are there? Reed, Eyre, St. Rivers, servant John? are you talking about rochester's servant john?
@@nicolesong6199 The clerk at the church
@@Jade-ky9dx holy moly
OH MY GOD. I have studied this novel and its adaptations extensively but i have never thought about/heard of the Bertha/Jane parallel about Jane's desires. That's so fantastic, an entirely new insight.
If any of you are interested in Bertha as a character, I would highly recommend reading Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. It is essentially a prequel to Jane Eyre that tells Bertha's backstory and it is such an interesting read.
Where were these videos when I was in high school English classes? The questions you pose are a lot better than most of the ones we discussed in school.
Thank you for continuing to discuss your experiences with mental illness, John. Mental illness and the treatments for mental illness are so stigmatized in our culture; people who suffer from these illnesses are often reluctant or unable to seek out treatment. I know it gives people hope to hear someone who is successful and who seems to enjoy life so much publicly say that he struggles with these same issues.
The Wide Sargasso Sea shows a really interesting picture of Bertha, since she's the main character of that given book. fine reading companion to Jane Eyre.
John is foreshadowing his tuberculosis era in this one.
You should really try doing one of these on "The Wide Sargasso Sea"
yes !!
The parallels with Bertha just blew my mind... how did I not realize that before?!
Dear John, thank you for doing Jane Eyre, it is by far my favorite book that I have ever read and have reread it more times then I can count, the first time being on a tour bus in Paris. I think you did a wonderful job of explaining the book and all its glory. My favorite quote from it actually happens to be from Mr. Rochester, which is, "I love you like my own flesh." I remember reading that and thinking, wow, that's beautiful. I look forward to your next crash course!
I find it fascinating how the declarations of love in this book are both very physical, visceral and spiritual, like the 'I love you like my own flesh' and 'every atom of your flesh is as dear to me as my own' and they constantly talk of 'my second self' and 'it is my spirit which adresses your spirit'. Gorgeous stuff
I love that you preferred the book to looking at the most beautiful city in the world!
Have you watched The Autobiography of Jane Eyre here on TH-cam? It's one of my favorite series! It's filmed in the same way as The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.
I love that vlog series!
OMG I'm addicted to it!
Of course they need knitted stockings! Victorian England was a very cold place!
My favourite part of Jane Eyre was her aunt's farewell, when she basically calls Jane the worst thing to ever happen to her. It's so powerful and furious and Jane just accepts it with a cool head.
I loved that scene.
This has been one of my favorite Crash Course videos for a while now, so when I saw that Jane Eyre was was on the syllabus for my British Literature course this semester I was thrilled! and boy, was I even more thrilled when I found out one of the essay topics we could choose to write about was how education plays a role in the novel! Now I get to watch this over and over and it won't even be because I'm procrastinating :D
I read Jane Eyre in middle-school, and I must say that to this day it is my favorite novel of all time.
I once dropped a women's lit class because the professor decided it was far more important to discuss a self-help book (not on the syllabus) instead of Jane Eyre (which was) for the entire class period. And at the end? She said, "Oh, well, I guess we'll have to skip discussing Jane Eyre. Be sure and read (title of yet another obscure self-help book--by a man, by the way)."
At the end of this WOMEN'S LIT class--one of the girls (another English major) sighed with relief. "Good. Jane Eyre is overrated and boring anyway."
I refrained from lecturing her on the importance of the book (wasn't easy). Instead I voted with my feet.
When I was rereading Jane Eyre last week and I came across these passages that John here read, I heard them all in his voice.
I read Jane Eyre when I was about 9 or 10 years old, (Thanks to my mom, I really liked classics at a young age. She made me watch a lot of Jane Austen adaptations when I was like 7 that paved the way) and I think that now that I'm 16, I should reread it as to better appreciate the things I didn't get to when I read it so young.
John, I find it incredibly awesome how you can take books that I always consider boring classics and make them seem interesting and fun and more relevant. I continually wish you had led the book discussions in my high school english classes.
As an AS Level English Lit student, I love these so much. DFTBA!
Most socks are knitted, it's just that nowadays they are knitted by machine. And yes, that's what I took away from this.
Just a correction, Currer Bell is actually an ungendered alias, which Charlotte has said was "dictated by a sort of conscientious scruple at assuming Christian names positively masculine". It doesn't seem important, but critics debated a lot over the gender of Currer and I have doubts that the debate would have been there if the name had been purely masculine because her writing style wasn't very feminine (I'm currently writing a research paper on critics' response to Jane Eyre depending on the assumed gender and am now realizing I know a little too much about this...)
Man, I feel so ashamed, that i could never think of looking at Bertha like that, even though it makes perfect sense now that i heard about it!
Great video John, but I feel you missed the main point. That being, who WOULDN'T want to wear knitted stockings?!?!? They're easily thirty times as comfortable as machine made ones, they're far stretchier and much more comfortable as well as durable. Not to mention, there's the sentimental bonus, as well as the omnipresent feeling of all the the time and love that went into making them. Honestly, I am extremely unimpressed with your lack of education on the subject. I have come to expect more from you, Mr. Green.
This video taught me one thing about the book that I never realized, despite the fact that I actually read this book in high school. Like, actually focused on it.
I can't admit what it is, because I'm ashamed I never got it before.
Thanks, John.
I have been waiting SO long for this!!
Thank you so much!
"I married him." It says a lot. Personally, I don't think it makes her his equal, I think It makes her the empowered one in the situation. It gives her control of the situation. SHE is doing the action. SHE made the decision, as opposed to "He married me." Which gives him the power to decide if the marriage was going to happen at all. I cannot read "He married me." Without it evoking the implied passivity of the girl in the image and voice that inevitably forms in my head whenever I read. The girl is standing in a wedding dress waiting for it to happen TO her. Or, the teen is lying across her bed dreaming of her Prince, (who, having already come and wisked her away) she declares "He married me!" just before the "and we lived happily ever after!"
I think it would have said more towards Jane being on equal footing if she had written "We were married." Or "We married each other."
Wow, I had never thought of Bertha that way! Thanks for the new perspective!
Holy shit I never saw Bertha as a part of Jane! I always did think the way Bertha was treated was bullshit and now I'm even more upset by it! Definitely interesting.
I always heard stuff about how it is representative of Mr Rochester's sexuality/ or how Betha is the embodiment of all Rochester's dark thoughts etc. But never about Jane herself! It makes more sense that it is about her passions and desires, and her abused, animalistic self.
Thanks for sticking it out through the cold and not delaying the video! It was great!
Welcome to Night Vile shirt - YUS
I cannot believe I've found about this channel only today. I've been kind of locked up in a mental attic for the past few years, but still no excuse. "Jane Eyre" is my favourite book/story of all time. I relate to it a lot because of events that happened in my life, not worth mentioning here. I love John's witty review of the novel. He made laugh my brains out.
That last insight of Bertha being the mirror of Jane's emotions blew my Jane Eyre loving mind! (Also the thought bubble of Jane's metaphorical eye had me cracking up ^-^) Love it!
Welcome dear listener.... to night vale
WOW, that part where Bertha actually represents Jane's thoughts, was awesome! I never saw it that way!!
Haha, Victorian era authors remind me of that scene in The Life of Brian where all the town's women disguise as men (who were the Python crew dressed in drag in the first place!) so they can attend the stoning, and the Roman soldier's all, "...uh, are there any women here?" and you hear all these female voices going "No no no" :P
these videos are amazing. thank you for talking your time to create these. many of us and myself most certainly appreciate, are entertained, and opened up to many different views on common subjects. thank you
I've read Jane Eyre many times, but I've never thought about Bertha as another 'side' or representation of Jane, I love that interpretation! Jane Eyre is one of my favourite books with so much depth and I'm glad that there is always something new I can learn from it =)
11:00 do NOT underestimate the cozy power of knitted stockings! In a truly cold winter, the knitted stockings knitted by you grandmother will keep you warm!
Past John has good taste in t-shirts.
I love me some Nightvale! Goodnight, dear listeners. Goodnight.
so glad you mentioned Susan Gilbert's Madwoman in the Attic, much love
This is awesome! Thanks to this Crash Course I read The Catcher in the Rye and will now read Jane Eyre.
Crash Course Literature is so far my favorite course. From someone who has long since left school and craving an educational platform with substantial and quality information. Thank you!
I adore Jane Eyre, she's one of my favorite literary characters. I hope to one day be able to play her.
I was struggling to write a literary essay about this book for english and this saved my life.
thanks john
Nice Welcome to Night Vale shirt.
Nice Anton chigurh pic.
I like how you can sync up filming dates for Crash Course, Vlogbrothers and Mental Floss from John's cold.
Jane Eyre is my favourite book...
couldn't have done my essay without this video :D
The Brontës were from Yorkshire, where I'm from! Yay :D
My favourite part is when Mr Rochester says he intends to be married, and Jane thinks he means Miss Ingram and she bursts out with her feelings on being sent away: "Do you think I am an automaton? - A machine without feelings?.... Do you think because I am poor, obscure, plain and little, that I am soulless & heartless? You think wrong! I have as much soul as you - and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you."
I was like "aw yeah! Tell him Jane!" & it makes me want to cry every time I read it! :,)
(I love the 2006 BBC version of this so much, too! Especially this scene. I think they portrayed the passion and emotion of this scene wonderfully.)
Diggin' John From The Past's WtNV shirt.
These videos cover a lot of information but is shown in a clear and often entertaining way. Thanks so much, Mr. Green!
Honestly, I never really liked Jane Eyre. The plot bugged me too much. It's a shame because I thought it was beautifully written - just not to my tastes. Nevertheless, it's still an important piece of literature and definitely deserving of all its praise.
How's Pam and CeCe Jim?
Perfect timing! I'm reading Jane Eyre right now for one of my classes!
John Green. I told my grandson about Ccrash Course History because he is interested in history. He said i know John Green we see his stuff at school.Wesley College Melbourne Vic Australia.
That last point was really, really interesting, John. I never considered Bertha as that kind of psychological mirror for Jane. I guess she's a pretty clear foil. Thanks so much!
"Bending from the perpendicular, Drilling4mana installed himself into the chair to view the new Crash Course."
Thank you John and producers so much for this investment of time! I don't read fiction for a lack of time and also for lack of enjoyment. I am so moved by these informative videos though that when I have time to read I hope to read and finally enjoy these books. The critiques really give me wonderful new perspectives and I enjoy it so much, especially because I don't have to pay for university classes to get it. Please please keep them coming and when I get a job I'll join subbable ♡
You should also read Wide Sargasso Sea which is like a prequel to it.
Thank you for doing this on my favorite book ever! You definitely give Jane Eyre the praise it deserves while also exploring the deeper contexts that most people miss.
Mr. Green, Mr. Green, could you please make a course on One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez?
I love how you snuck in _Looking For Alaska_ in the list of well-known bildungsromane. Smooth, John. Very smooth.
This was a nice overview of the novel and its themes. This is my favorite novel from the time period.
It thrills me to the core that you are excited by these amazing books and their parents! I really love the books you've covered so far and am devouring these episodes. That novel excitement is a rare mirror :3
I have not read this book yet, having been dissuaded from reading it in the past ("Yo dawg, it's mad boring! Lemme hook you up wit some Prides & Prejudices instead, bruv!"), but I think I'd like to give it a shot.
Also, if there's a revisionist version that depicts Jane discovering Bertha, nursing her back to health, and the two of them falling in love and eloping, leaving that Mr. Rochester in the dust, I'd be keen on reading that too.
can someone write this? I will give that person money
Jessica Sheron I will write it. In it, Jane Eyre will be snappier and spunkier, and Bertha Mason's madness will be a product of otherworldly shenanigans. The two of them seeking their fortunes in the west, becoming suffragettes and private detectives in Innsmouth, Massachusetts. They'll solve mysteries, fight back the old ones, and snog a bunch.
There is a post-colonial novel called Wide Sergasso Sea, written from the perspective of Bertha Mason, explaining her journey. I haven't read it but want to
Can has all the money.
I think Jane's inability to see all the problems around her goes back to the constant symbolism that blindness serves in the novel. Thanks for doing Jane Eyre - my favorite book!
This was awesome.
He was wearing a Welcome to Nightvale t-shirt. Yesssssss. I love that podcast.
Having dated an almost pathological liar for 4 years, I think I get the ignoring red flag thing.
for someone who just finished reading this book I really enjoyed your analysis ... good work ❤