When life is not giving me what I want, I almost always turn to books to meet my emotional needs. Romance is no exception. I can almost stand being alone when I can live vicariously through the banter between Jane and Mr. Rochester. Healthy? Probably not. But sometimes a girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do.
1) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
I am aware that it’s problematic to love a relationship founded on lies. But…what can you do? I remember being shocked that Jane Eyre was written in 1847. The dialogue between Jane and Mr. Rochester sparks with wit and sexual tension, and I was immediately hooked. I also really love the character of Jane; her self-confidence and devotion to doing what’s right is incredibly admirable. It doesn’t hurt that she’s plain but winds up catching the eye of a rich man either, hey-o!!
“I have for the first time found what I can truly love–I have found you. You are my sympathy–my better self–my good angel–I am bound to you with a strong attachment. I think you good, gifted, lovely: a fervent, a solemn passion is conceived in my heart; it leans to you, draws you to my centre and spring of life, wrap my existence about you–and, kindling in pure, powerful flame, fuses you and me in one.”
It Is Trish 