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"  This weekend, an entirely new generation of women will learn about Jane Eyre\u2014by way of heading to the multiplex to see some hot Gothic sexual tension thrown between Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender in Cary Fukinaga&amp;#039;s new film adaptation. At first, it will be Fassbender&amp;#039;s seductive gaze that will draw them in\u2014and that&amp;#039;s fine. Nothing wrong with hunkifying your life! But eventually, the calm, mousy qualities of Ms. Eyre will flow over this new generation like a babbling brook of cool Charlotte Bront\u00EB wisdom. Or at least I&amp;#039;d like to think so. I first read Jane Eyre when I was 11 years old; I shoved a tatty copy of the book into my duffel for summer camp, and I remember reading it three times in a row, huddled off somewhere by myself underneath a tree while the other campers played Red Rover on the lawn. I am not blaming Bront\u00EB&amp;#039;s magical prose for making me unpopular at camp (I think it was my selection of plaid jumpers and oversized red plastic glasses that did that), but I was so engrossed in her words that summer that I did miss my fair share of river walks and bonfires. However, I don&amp;#039;t regret it! I learned quite a bit about being a woman from reading it. And the lessons still resonate today. So, without further ado, a list of the five things that Jane Eyre can teach you about being a modern lady navigating your way through the world (the Bront\u00EBs were oracles, people). I can only hope that youths gets these messages from the film version, because with the way our attention spans are going, we&amp;#039;ll have to fight to get Bront\u00EB books into their hands. 1) It&amp;#039;s quite likely that you will always be smarter than certain men, and you will be punished for it. Try not to let it drive you mad. When Jane is a child at Gateshead, she is living with her uncle&amp;#039;s family, the Reeds (she is an orphan after her parents died of typhus). She realizes from an early age that she is special, cultivating her own vivid imagination, and for this, she tends to be picked on. Her cousin John picks a fight and then blames it on Jane, resulting in her being locked in the creeptacular &amp;quot;red room&amp;quot; and going slightly insane, seeing ghosts, and fainting. It is only the apothecary who cares about any of this and suggests that Jane book it out of her adopted household and go off to school. Lesson learned: Knowledge is power, but when you are a woman, it can be terrifying. Seek out those people who understand that it is a gift, not a curse. 2) Your life will be exponentially improved if you find a lady mentor. At Lowood School, Jane experiences similar difficulties right off the bat, as a clergyman accuses the young Ms. Eyre of lying about breaking her slate in front of the entire class. Soon a caring teacher, Miss Temple, comes to Jane&amp;#039;s aid, helping acquit her of the slate-breaking crime and becoming her confidante for the next eight years. As Jane rises from pupil to teacher at Lowood, it is Miss Temple who guides her along the way. The Bront\u00EB sisters stuck together (even when pretending to be men), and they were some of the first female writers to emphasize the powerful bond among women and how it can elevate one&amp;#039;s life. In a world of backstabbing and cat-clawing, reading Eyre reminds us why it&amp;#039;s best to be good to our own. 3) Always check to see if your man is married to a crazy person. Oh, yes, the crazy woman in the attic. When Jane leaves Lowood and arrives at Thornfield Hall to become a governess, she is at first fascinated by her new boss-master, Mr. Rochester, and enjoys talking with him about his travels in his spooky, hulking house. Soon she develops a crush but also has her suspicions as she hears some hysterical laughter around the house and guests are mysteriously attacked. He asks for Jane&amp;#039;s hand in marriage, and she is briefly deliriously happy, until a savagely insane woman shreds her wedding veil. Turns out, Rochester has a certifiable ex-wife who skulks around the house attacking people and scaring the help. Jane realizes quickly that a man who cannot handle his former flame is not the man for her, and she runs away in the middle of the night. Sure, he loved Jane, and the kooky ex is not necessarily his fault\u2014but Eyre reminds us to always carefully inspect the baggage that your boyfriend drags into your relationship, because sometimes that baggage might want to kill you or, you know, set your house on fire. 4) Don&amp;#039;t settle.  When Jane runs away from Thornfield, she ends up reuniting with distant family and a young clergyman, St. John Rivers, who discloses to Jane the secret of her inheritance and his desire to make her his missionary wife. She considers it but decides that her warmth and passion can never be a good match for Rivers&amp;#039; cool reason. In other words, he&amp;#039;s frigid, and she wants more. And good for her, because all of a sudden she hears Rochester calling to her from a dream. This sweepingly romantic scene, albeit a total fantasy from the chaste Bront\u00EB&amp;#039;s brain, convinced me as a young girl that settling for a cold man is about the worst decision you can make. Why would you want to end up with a priest when you can end up with your dark, handsome, insane ex-boyfriend who almost dies in a fire? Which leads me to... 5) Trust your gut, with men and in life. Jane feels so strongly that she needs to return to Rochester that she literally runs back to Thornfield, where she finds her house in rubble and a man who has lost a hand and his eyesight and needs her help. She nurses him back to health, and he eventually sees again and fathers a child with her. Yes, this is all a little too good to be true, but the lesson is there: Jane does what she thinks is right her entire life. She leaves situations that are not working for her, and she runs into the future with her convictions. She is unwavering and knows that she is not the prettiest or smartest girl, not the richest or the wisest or best dressed, but that she is a person with feelings, a flesh-and-blood woman. I can only hope that girls today want to be more like Jane. 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<http://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/reviews/a11573/jane-says-558871/>