Escaping Mr. Rochester by L.L McKinney (review)
2023; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 77; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/bcc.2024.a915147
ISSN1558-6766
Autores Tópico(s)Short Stories in Global Literature
ResumoReviewed by: Escaping Mr. Rochester by L.L McKinney Kate Quealy-Gainer, Editor McKinney, L.L. Escaping Mr. Rochester. HarperTeen, 2024 [352p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780062986269 $19.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780062986283 $10.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R 7-10 Desperate to leave Lowood School behind, sixteen-year-old Jane Eyre takes a position as the governess at Thornfield Hall, under the mysterious Edward Rochester. The hall is beautiful on the outside, but its interior is shadowy and unwelcoming, much like Rochester himself, whose handsome face is often marred by an aloof or angry demeanor. He takes a shine to Jane, however, a development that she finds unsettling, and her misgivings are confirmed when she learns of Bertha, Edward’s wife, whom he has locked away in his house as he figures out a way to steal her [End Page 181] fortune. The right thing to do is to help Bertha get free, but that cause becomes even more urgent as Jane finds herself falling in love with her. McKinney hits the essential plot points of Brontë’s classic, but with both main and secondary characters revised: Jane is a queer Black girl who is immediately suspicious of Edward; Bertha, a Black girl from New Orleans, is strong-willed and clear-eyed; and Edward can’t even be called an anti-hero here, just a genuinely evil villain. Shared narration between Jane and Bertha also separates this from its inspiration, allowing Bertha to be a richly developed character, and her growing romantic relationship with Jane provides a lovely ray of light in an otherwise (appropriately) dark story. McKinney successfully deploys Gothic tropes to make Thornfield Hall utterly menacing while maximizing the tension of its oppressive atmosphere. The ending might be a bit too tidy, but both girls deserve some happiness after contending with Edward’s dastardly machinations. Copyright © 2024 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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