FREQUENTLY SUGGESTED CLASSICS — PART 1
One thing — no, to be precise the only thing I was proud of myself at the end of the year 2020 was my decision to restart my habit of reading books. I was staring at my computer screen(like most of the time during 2020) and suddenly felt the desire to read the famous works of the Bronte sisters. I read wuthering heights when I was a kid and vaguely remember it as a ghost story. So I searched for the digital copy of Jane Eyre and started reading it. Then I instantly fell in love with the story and books. So after I completed I started reading the suggestion articles to decide on which book to read next. Firstly I was very surprised by how diverse the suggestions are and at the same time, I observed how few books were repeatedly suggested in almost every suggestion article I read. So here are a few books that I have seen frequently in the suggestions and my personal favorites, that I feel everyone should read at least once in their lifetime.
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
No matter how much I say about this book, it will never be enough to fully appreciate this masterpiece, and this is coming from a person who does not like to read lots of romantic stuff. It is not just the book, but the author is one of the most frequently suggested authors of all time. This lady was not only ahead of her times, but was a genius who used satire to highlight the absurdities of society, thereby changing the way society treated and viewed women. The level of sophistication and subtleties she incorporated in her works is just mindblowing to an extent that she became an inspiration for generations of authors.
Coming back to the book, the perfect title gives something like a big picture idea of how pride and prejudice influenced the story of the main characters in the book. This is the story of a gentleman named Fitzwilliam Darcy — popularly known as Mr. Darcy(ahhh..), an extremely introverted and wealthy man, and Elizabeth Bennet also known as Lizzy or Eliza — second of the famous Bennet daughters, who is an intelligent, free-spirited and outgoing person from a middle-class family. This story revolves around how they discover and rediscover each other at a personal level and forming a strong bond based on pure love and respect for each other.
“There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense.”
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
“Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts, as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, to absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex.”
I feel it as such an honor to choose this book as the first to restart my reading habit. It is such a heartwarming bildungsroman of titular protagonist Jane Eyre. Narrated by herself this book takes the reader into a soul-stirring journey of Jane Eyre as she tackles different phases of her life, developing herself into a courageous and independent woman. Orphaned at a young age Jane has to go through constant ill-treatment by her aunt and the orphanage she was sent to. In the next phase of her life, she has to deal with society and romantic relationships which at that time were very sensitive matters for a woman. In addition to this, a few gothic and dark academia elements of this book make it easier for the reader to relate and picture the environment and feel what Jane is going through in her life. At the end of the day, her holistic self-development journey, with a desire to live an independent life filled with loved ones, is an inspiration to everyone irrespective of their gender.
“I can live alone, if self-respect, and circumstances require me so to do. I need not sell my soul to buy bliss. I have an inward treasure born with me, which can keep me alive if all extraneous delights should be withheld, or offered only at a price I cannot afford to give.”
- Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
“Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living. You said I killed you — haunt me then. The murdered do haunt their murderers. I believe — I know that ghosts have wandered the earth. Be with me always — take any form — drive me mad. Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! It is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!”
A friendly warning — this book is not for the faint hearts who find comfort in feel-good stories!!!
In the intro, I have mentioned how I thought Wuthering Heights was a horror story — when I read the book for the second time, during the pandemic this book has hit me differently. It was more than a horror story and I really don’t understand why some people classify this under the genre of romance. This story is narrated by Nelly Dean to Mr. Lockwood, who in turn narrates the story to us — the readers. Nelly Dean is a compassionate and caring woman who serves the Earnshaw family and Mr. Lockwood is a temporary tenant of Thrushcross Grange — property of Heathcliff. Set in moody and grim moors, Wuthering Heights depicts how the strong and toxic love of two free-spirited individuals destroyed everything it touched. Emily Brontë’s description of the events and the emotions of the characters are so immaculate that a reader can experience the haunting and sorrow of unsatisfied lovers. The beastly actions taken by Heathcliff, clouded by the intense desire to seek vengeance caused due to undying love he has for his beloved Catherine, make the reader evaluate and understand the other, darker side of love.
Emily Brontë uses her magnificent talent of poetry and combines it with prose to create a masterpiece which is an absolute treat for both goth lovers and anyone who appreciates literature.
“I gave him my heart, and he took and pinched it to death; and flung it back to me. People feel with their hearts, Ellen, and since he has destroyed mine, I have not power to feel for him.”
To conclude, different genres may have their own benefits but any book is just amazing and will help an individual to develop into a better person. I am going to end this article with one of the quotes from pride and prejudice —
“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! — When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.”
