ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Reader, I Married Him: Stories inspired by Jane Eyre is a 2016 anthology of short stories, edited by Tracy Chevalier, inspired by the line “Reader, I married him” from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.

Detailed explanation-2: -“Reader, I married him” is one of the most famous lines in English literature, and justifiably so: When Jane Eyre tells us that she has wed Mr. Rochester, it may be a happy ending for Charlotte Brontë’s novel, but it’s hardly a conventional one.

Detailed explanation-3: -Jane achieves her aim: to marry the man she loves. She is determined and honest. She waited, and searched for him, and married him once he was free. It’s a great line. She wants the reader to participate in her happiness and achievement, by addressing him/her directly.

Detailed explanation-4: -However, it is worth noting that Jane says Reader, I married him (p. 517), not ‘we were married’. It is only after Jane’s powers have been established for some time that Rochester begins to regain his sight. Also, the novel does not end with Jane’s description of her married bliss, but with St John’s imminent death.

Detailed explanation-5: -First publication. In May 1846 Charlotte, Emily, and Anne self-financed the publication of a joint collection of poems under their assumed names Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell. The pseudonyms veiled the sisters’ sex while preserving their initials; thus Charlotte was Currer Bell.