The third studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen catapulted the artist and his band’s success into the mainstream, including standout tracks such as “Thunder Road,” “Born to Run,” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out.” A commercial success, “Born to Run” peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and eventually sold six million copies in the United States to widespread critical acclaim. At the time of its release, Greil Marcus, cultural critic of Rolling Stone, emphasized that:

“No, you’ve never heard anything like this before, but you understand it instantly, because this music—or Springsteen crying, singing wordlessly, moaning over the last guitar lines of “Born to Run,” or the astonishing chords that follow each verse of “Jungleland,” or the opening of “Thunder Road”—is what rock & roll is supposed to sound like” (Marcus).

In April Lindner’s Jane, there are traces of Bruce Springsteen’s influence operating within the story. Nico Rathburn—Jane Moore’s love interest and mirror character to Charlotte Bronte’s Edward Rochester—was inspired by the real-world musician. During an interview on ShylockBooks, a young adult fiction blog, Lindner details her passion for rock & roll, self-identifies as a rabid Springsteen fan, and acknowledges the inspiration Springsteen had on her character. She says, “It’s true: in a very real way Bruce inspired Nico, but Nico’s an imaginary character. He’s younger and more of a reformed bad boy, and though he’s a softy on the inside he can come off as gruff and sardonic” (ShylockBooks). Evidence of Springsteen’s influence on Rathburn is apparent in the beginning of Chapter 2, when Jane informs the reader of the research performed on the rock star prior to accepting the job offer at Thornfield Park. Detailing Rathburn’s early life, Jane says, “The Rathburn Band had weathered middling success for a while, playing clubs up and down the East Coast until their third album bowled critics over and became a breakaway hit” (Lindner 11), mirroring the trajectory Springsteen and his band’s early career experienced, which didn’t officially take off until “Born to Run” released in 1975.

Bibliography:

“Interview with April Lindner, author of “Jane.”” Interview by ShylockBooks, Shylock and Shakespeare. 2010. https://shylockbooks.wordpress.com/2010/10/20/interview-with-april-lindner-author-of-jane/

Lindner, April. Jane. Kindle ed., Poppy, 2010.

Marcus, Greil. “Born to Run.” Rolling Stone, Penske Business Media, LLC, 9 Oct. 1975.  https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/born-to-run-87675/. Accessed 31 Oct. 2019.

Album Cover: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Born_to_Run#/media/File:Born_to_Run_(Front_Cover).jpg