Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë

A great classic, one of my little sister's favorite books, and one more book to scratch off on my poster of scratch-off books.

There are books that you feel you've read before, even if it's for the first time, because they've influenced literature so much that you recognize the motifs and feel you know the character.

This was the case with Jane Eyre. She is a little orphan, who lives lovelessly with her aunt and cousins, who hate and bully her, and then in an extremely religious orphanage. When she reaches adulthood, she is hired as a personal tutor in a manor house. It turns out that the owner is charismatic (if not handsome, which she appreciates since she's "not handsome" either) and loves her. Bonus: he's rich.

I won't go any further into the story, because frankly, it's surprising. It reminded me a little of Miserables by Victor Hugo, with its dated, deferential writing, which still manages to unleash all kinds of twists and turns one after the other.

My feminist heart was revolted by the ridiculous importance women, including the rebellious Jane Eyre, placed on having a husband. There's no escaping it. My normal human heart, on the other hand, was frightened by the filthy misery to which the poor were reduced. A truly good 19th-century novel.