Read about another entry on the list.Jane Eyre and Helen Burns, in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre
Jane and Helen are both whip-smart, but Jane is a rule breaker, where Helen is more of a peacemaker. Despite their differences, the pair share a unique bond, forged by their shared past as orphans and their mutual curiosity. One of the most moving passages in the whole book depicts a deep, theological discussion between the friends, as Helen lies dying of tuberculosis in Jane’s arms. It’s no surprise that this scene tugs on the heartstrings, as it was inspired by the real life loss of Brontë’s older sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, to the disease.
Jane Eyre also made Becky Ferreira's top six list of the most momentous weddings in fiction, Molly Schoemann-McCann's list of five of the best--and more familiar--tropes in fiction, Julia Sawalha's six best books list, Honeysuckle Weeks's six best books list, Kathryn Harrison's list of six favorite books with parentless protagonists, Megan Abbott's top ten list of novels of teenage friendship, a list of Bettany Hughes's six best books, the Guardian's top 10 lists of "outsider books" and "romantic fiction;" it appears on Lorraine Kelly's six best books list, Esther Freud's top ten list of love stories, and Jessica Duchen's top ten list of literary Gypsies, and on John Mullan's lists of ten of the best governesses in literature, ten of the best men dressed as women, ten of the best weddings in literature, ten of the best locked rooms in literature, ten of the best pianos in literature, ten of the best breakfasts in literature, ten of the best smokes in fiction, and ten of the best cases of blindness in literature. It is one of Kate Kellaway's ten best love stories in fiction.
The Page 99 Test: Jane Eyre.
--Marshal Zeringue
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