Hmmm. We’ll have to agree to disagree. I find the books to be delightful and well written. Perhaps better read to a child, but still good.

My issue that I take with people who talk about racist themes in books written before our time…is that they loved in a very racist society and culture. Dislike those themes all you want, but please do not warn people away from reading them because of it, or lower your rating because of it as well. You really have to take into consideration the time period it was written in. Yeah, in that period of time the solution was putting her in a room and isolating her. Some people would have killed her or cast her out to the streets where she would have died. She wasn’t killed by her family because they were sort of decent, and Rochester couldn’t cast her out because he was married to her. It’s a cultural difference that should not be considered as some horrible evil in the context of the book, because in the context of the book they were honestly decent where she was concerned.

Hmm. I am very Christian. I was raised very Christian. I did not pick up on the Christian themes when I first read this book at 8. I simply saw the wonder and magic that existed. I did not pick up on said Christian themes the second, third, fourth, fifth, etc times I read it. It was only after a lovely discussion at the dinner table when I was 17 that I realized it had Christian themes in the book. My younger siblings, I am the oldest, also remarked on their surprise when my parents brought up the Christian themes. I also watched the films several times, not just the movies but the BBC shorter films as well. I think you’re giving kids a bit more credit. And is telling kids to be kind, brave, loyal, just, and merciful really a bad thing? Because that’s what I got out of the books as a child. They thought me the importance of compassion and being kind and charitable towards others. I truly do not see how teaching kids that is a bad idea.

So, that’s what you got from that book? Nothing about living your life in a way that’s fulfilling and won’t leave you with regrets? Nothing about how saving people, even if it’s just one person is a worthwhile goal to have. (And not saving in a religious manner, saving as in getting them out of the slums, helping them clean up their life, keeping them from killing somebody) Nothing about how it’s never too late to turn your life around? Anyways. You can keep your opinion, I’m just letting you know it’s wrong. 😁 I don’t know if it’s conveying over text, but I really am not trying to be mean or rude or arrogant, I’m just really sad about your specific take from this book because there are a lot of life lessons it teaches that need to be retaught so I just had to say something.

I’m so sad. But I love all things American Revolution, and all things books.