Hot and Bothered

Even though we've technically finished up our reading of Jane Eyre, we feel like the season isn't quite complete without a look at the many adaptations of the text. Over the next few months, we'll be looking a few examples and asking the question 'what do these teach us about the original text?' The first episode of this short series is all about The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey, and we...

We’ve been sitting on this lovely interview with Jasmine Guillory for a while, and we thought we’d share it with you as a special holiday treat! We discuss the personal and political as they relate to romance novels, and her latest book While We Were Dating .  We hope you’re taking care of yourself this season! To quote Jasmine in this episode “thinking of yourself as a person worthy of care...

After months for reading the book together, Vanessa and Lauren return to their original question for this podcast: Is this a book we want to be passing on? We discuss the importance of critical reading and what we think this weird book is all about.  -- As we approach the end of this book, we’d very much like to keep the show going and read Pride and Prejudice next! If you’re excited about a...

Unfortunately we've run into some technical difficulties with the final episode of On Eyre! (Is this fate telling us that the season should never end?) While you wait, we have for you a short sermon Vanessa wrote about Jane Eyre. -- As we approach the end of this book, we’d very much like to keep the show going and read Pride and Prejudice next! If you’re excited about a trip to Pemberley, please...

Vanessa and Lauren have finally finished the whole dang book! This week we read the very last chapter and discuss the hegemony of marriage, Bronte's descriptions of 'true love', and why St. John gets the last word of the novel. -- As we approach the end of this book, we’d very much like to keep the show going and read Pride and Prejudice next! If you’re excited about a trip to Pemberley, please he...

Vanessa and Lauren reach Ferndean in chapters 36 and 37 of Jane Eyre. This week we discuss Bronte's depiction of disability, Bertha's powerful exit from the novel, and how gossip spreads in the wake of tragedy. -- As we approach the end of this book, we’d very much like to keep the show going and read Pride and Prejudice next! If you’re excited about a trip to Pemberley, please help us out by supp...

Vanessa and Lauren say 'no' to St. John, in Chapters 34 and 35 of Jane Eyre. This week, St. John proposes to Jane. We look at his behavior before and after the proposal, discuss his missionary zeal, and debate whether the supernatural elements of this book serve or hinder its message. -- As we approach the end of this book, we’d very much like to keep the show going and read Pride and Prejudice ne...

Vanessa and Lauren enter Jane’s school room in Morton, in Chapters 31 through 33 of Jane Eyre. They continue to debate whether Jane should have left Rochester, and discuss St. John’s missionary aspirations and Rosamund’s beauty. As you’ll hear in this week’s episode, we’re starting to think about the end of Jane Eyre! We’d very much like to read Pride and Prejudice next. If you’re excited about a...

This week, we find that Jane has run away from Thornfield and is wandering the moors of England without a shilling to her name. Vanessa and Lauren discuss homelessness past and present and its tropes in literature. We also meet four brand new characters: The three Rivers siblings and their housekeeper Hannah.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're returning to Chapter 27 of Jane Eyre, this time zooming in on Jane and Rochester. Vanessa and Lauren discuss Jane's fears about becoming a mistress and compare it with the limitations of a Victorian marriage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With so much to cover in Chapter 27, we’ve decided to break it up into two episode. This week, Vanessa and Lauren focus in on Bertha and grapple with the racist and imperialist themes of Jane Eyre.  Many thanks this week to Dr. Rab Houston for consulting with us about the history of asylums in Victorian England. Check out his project Promoting Mental Health Through the Lessons of History . Ho...

Vanessa Lauren finally journey up to the third floor of Thornfield Hall in Chapters 25 and 26 of Jane Eyre. They dissect the character of Bertha Rochester and try to parse out Charlotte Bronte’s voice from Jane Eyre’s as the narrator.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vanessa and Lauren meet under the chestnut tree at Thornfield in Chapters 23 and 24 of Jane Eyre. They discuss Rochester's proposal (!) and continue to examine the many power differentials in this budding relationship. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vanessa and Lauren return to Gateshead in Chapters 21 and 22 of Jane Eyre. Mrs. Reed is dying, and Jane has come to sit by her bedside. But it's not a 'typical' death bed exchange – there's no great moment of redemption for Mrs. Reed, she dies a villain. Vanessa and Lauren explore what this dynamic reveals about Jane's growth over the course of the novel, and what it means about Jane's sense of ho...

Vanessa and Lauren and start to get closer to the secrets at Thornfield Hall in Chapters 19 and 20 of Jane Eyre. After we learned about a mysterious gypsy in our last episode, we finally have a chance to meet her and hear what she has to say about our dear Jane. Vanessa and Lauren discuss the trope of the 'gypsy' in Victorian literature, the ways in which it's harmful to Romani people, and how it'...

Vanessa and Lauren and settling in with the new party at Thornfield in Chapters 16 through 18 of Jane Eyre. After last week’s big bed burning scene, Mr. Rochester up and leaves Thornfield. But when we returns, he’s got a whole new cast of characters in tow. Our biggest introduction is to Miss Blanche Ingram, and Vanessa and Lauren debate whether she’s redeemable.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.c...

Vanessa and Lauren set the bed on fire in chapters 14 and 15 of Jane Eyre. They take a close look at the character of Celine Varens and continue their debate on whether Rochester is a sexy hero or a manipulative boss (or both). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vanessa and Lauren get cozy with Jane and Rochester in chapter 13 of Jane Eyre. The two lovebirds have their first real conversation in this chapter and it is steamy... well at least to them it is. Vanessa and Lauren aren't as sure that Rochester's brand of flirtation is the healthiest for our dear heroine. Special thanks this week to Dr. Rachel Teukolsky, who was interviewed twice for this episod...

Vanessa and Lauren have arrived at Thornfield Hall in chapters 11 and 12 of Jane Eyre. And who do they find on the road outside of Thornfield? Why Mr. Rochester himself, the 'hero' of our romance! This week they analyze Jane's restlessness in her new home, The Gothic as it appears in these chapters, and why women are attracted to brooding bad boys like Rochester. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pri...

If for some reason you haven't heard (have you been living under a rock?), Vanessa wrote a book all about Jane Eyre! It's the inspiration for this podcast. After reading Chapter 10 last week, we realized there were some strong resonances between our conversation and the chapter of Vanessa's book on the theme of Destiny. We thought we'd take a week to share it with you and dig even deeper into chap...

Vanessa and Lauren wrap-up their time at Lowood School in chapters 9 and 10 of Jane Eyre. They discuss Jane's peculiar perspective on dying in chapter nine ("what a drag to die" as Lauren puts it), the special tenor of Helen's death by tuberculous, and the power of female friendship. Many thanks to Phoebe Judge for lending her voice to Helen this week. Phoebe read the entirety of Jane Eyre aloud o...

Vanessa and Lauren settle into the Lowood School in chapters 5 through 8 of Jane Eyre. They grapple with the role of Christianity in this book, paying special attention to how Charlotte Bronte's ideas are expressed through the character of Helen Burns. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vanessa and Lauren slow down again to look closely at just one chapter - chapter four of Jane Eyre. They discuss Mr. Brocklehurst and his Christianity, Jane’s powerful use of her own voice, and what Gateshead Hall represents in the context of the larger book. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vanessa and Lauren tackle chapters two and three of Jane Eyre, spending more time at Gateshead Hall. They discuss the famous 'red room' scene, explore Victorian sensibilities about sex and womanhood, and grapple with Jane's comparison to a 'rebel slave.' Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vanessa and Lauren dive into Jane Eyre, starting with a close look at Chapter 1. They discuss the first sentence of the book, Jane’s abuse at Gateshead, and what it means to be a ‘precocious girl.’  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.