Jane Eyre Sacrifice

In part one of the book, Jane is a very hurt child. She’s an orphan and her Uncle Reed takes her in but, he too passes away. Her Aunt Reed is not welcoming at all. She makes her children shun her and the servants treat her poorly as well. Jane is aware of the way the Gateshead residents feel about her. “I was a discord at Gateshead Hall; I was like nobody there; I had nothing in harmony with Mrs. Reed or her children, or her chosen vassalage If they did not love me, in fact, as little did I love them. They were not bound to regard with affection a thing that could not sympathize with one amongst them; a heterogeneous thing, opposed to them in temperament, in capacity, in propensities; a useless thing incapable of serving their interest, or adding to their pleasure; a noxious thing, cherishing their gems of indignation at their treatment, of contempt of their judgement. I know that had I been a sanguine, brilliant, careless, exacting, handsome, romping child-though equally dependent and friendless- Mrs. Reed would have endured my presence more complacently; her children would have entertained for me more of the cordiality of fellow-feeling; the

Readers learn early in the story that Jane Eyre does not fit contemporary society's idea of a proper woman.  As a child, Jane stands up to her aunt, Mrs. Reed, on more than one recorded occasion when Jane feels she has been treated unjustly (Brontë 28, 37).  At one point, Jane bluntly tells her aunt, "I declare, I do not love you: I dislike you the worst of anybody in the world except John Reed [Jane's cousin]" (37).  This was at best improper behavior for a child in Victorian society, and it was most definitely seen as improper by Mrs. Reed who grows to hate Jane, calling her "tiresome, ill-conditioned" and "scheming" (26).  But her aunt's reprimands and hatred do not deter Jane from speaking up in the face of injustice.

In the early stages of Jane's life she was a very autonomous girl. She grew up in a hostile environment in the home of Mrs. Reed and her three children, John, Eliza, and Georgiana that is known as Gateshead. The Reed family showed no love or any sort of affection towards Jane in any way, shape, or form; for they all despised her. She spent most of her time out of contact of others. The most contact she had with someone was a

Those living in the Victorian period,consider it normal to treat people with cruelty. As a child, Jane constantly faces oppression. Jane faces constant abuse while living with her aunt at Gateshead. Bronte illustrates this point through Mrs. Reed, the Aunt Jane is sent to live with, who says, “Take her away

Through a close reading of the selected passage of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre: An Autobiography, a reader can see that Jane attempts to separate herself from her decisions by personifying her emotions and giving them a specific voice, which strongly reflects the societal views of the time. At this point in the story, Jane has discovered, on her wedding day, that Mr. Rochester is still married to a woman named Bertha, and that woman still lives in his house. Distraught, Jane locks herself in her room and tries to decide what she should do. When she wakes up the next day, she is again confronted with what she needs to do in the wake of her discovery.

Though Jane is well educated and possesses the etiquette and training of a person in upper class society, social prejudices limit her because she is simply a paid servant, in their eyes. While at Thornfield, Jane falls desperately in love with the owner of Thornfield Hall, Mr. Rochester. Jane is Mr. Rochester’s intellectual contemporary, but her social status prevents her from being his true equal. In the novel, Jane proclaims, “Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong!—I have as much soul as you,—and full as much heart!” (Bronte 637). After Mr. Rochester finally proposes, Jane is hesitant to marry him because she feels as if he would be lowering himself to marry her. This feeling greatly increases after Jane discovers he is married to Bertha Mason, and that he keeps her locked away in Thornfield’s attic due to her insanity. Mr. Rochester proposes that Jane becomes his mistress, which, according to Victorian society, would be more fitting since Jane is a plain governess. Jane realizes that she can never compromise her morals that way and leaves Thornfield. While on her own, Jane still strives to gain independence, discovers new kin, and learns she has a wealthy uncle who has left her a large inheritance. After her loneliness and longing for Mr. Rochester becomes too great, she returns to Thornfield. Jane is

In the first few opening chapters Jane Eyre is seen as a mentally and physically abused child, during her years at Gateshead Hall. John Reed displays violence towards Jane in the first chapter. He punishes and bullies Jane; it is not known why the Reed family resent her so much. Her situation is seen as desperate within the first few paragraphs. Her cousins and Aunt make her life impossible and unbearable, she is not seen as a member of the family. Jane is simply seen as ‘’less than a servant’’ as she does ‘’nothing for her keep’’.

The Reed family evidently still carries this grudge against Jane’s side of the family, as they all treat her as part of a lower class that is unworthy to live with them or be associated with them in any way.

In the critical essay, “Almost my hope of heaven’: idolatry and messianic symbolism in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre,” Joshua analyzes the theme of idolatry and messianic symbolism in Jane Eyre. Joshua believes that Jane Eyre is a novel that revolves wholly on religion. He argues that, “one of the novel's purpose...is to show that human relationships are successful only if the partners in the relationship avoid the dangers of idolizing each other” (Joshua). I strongly agree with his opinion. One main reason Jane denies Rochester’s proposal is because she does not want to be inferior to him. When Rochester and Jane argue over whether or not Jane is going to let him order her around she says “‘I like to serve you, sir, and to obey you in all that is right’” (Bronte 250). From the beginning, Jane sees Rochester as a sort of messiah. Due to this, she refuses to marry him for she believes they will never truly be equals. However, as the novel progresses, Jane goes through internal developments that enable her to realize that her and Rochester can be equals. She realizes her self-worth and finds a balance between her principles and feelings. In one of the final passages of the novel, Jane says that her and Rochester have been married for ten years and she is “[her] husband’s life as fully as he is [hers]” (Bronte PAGE NUMBER). Here, we can see the Jane and Rochester are equals. This supports Joshua’s claim, for their relationship is only successful because of their equality. Rochester is no longer Janes “master” and she still remains her own-self.

I should say I loved you, but I declare I do not love you: I dislike

Furthermore, Jane says “I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself” (Chapter 27, Bronte.) This statement greatly represents the growth that Jane has undergone. She no longer dreads the solitude that once haunted her because she respects herself enough to realize that she did not deserve to experience such great dismay. Through independence and self-recognition, Jane has discovered the importance of loving oneself. Without the reliance on the thoughts of others, the once extremely troubled girl found bliss through a lack of outside control. In regards to her relationship with Mr. Rochester, Jane understands that she must leave him behind to maintain her own well-being. She does not allow the wealth or proclaimed love from Rochester to skew her decisions and she does not linger to dominate the life of her lover. Instead, she moves forward to continue her endless pursuit of happiness and independence.

When the story begins, Jane is ten years old and lives with her aunt at Gateshead. She was constantly terrorized by her relatives. In her description of her life at Gateshead, she said, “John Reed was a schoolboy of fourteen years old, four years older than me, as I was but ten” (Brontë 12). His superiority in both age and size led him to constantly harass Jane while they lived together. Eventually, Mrs. Reed decided to send Jane to Lowood school where she would spend the rest of her youth. After being there for a bit of time, she stated,

The first event that breaks Jane out into expressing that she deserves more, is when she denies Mr. Rochester’s marriage proposal, stating “I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself” (Bronte 302). This indicates Jane taking her feelings into consideration before the feelings of others, who would have made her compromise her convictions. Then, Jane further asserts her independence by refusing to marry St. John, but conceding to go to India, “if I may go free” (Bronte 412). His loveless marriage proposal would have trapped her into being subservient, which is not at all what she wants. What truly ties things together for Jane is the realization that she has inherited twenty thousand pounds from her uncle (Bronte 364). This detail plus the fact that St. John pushed her away with his cold marriage proposal, brought Jane to the conclusion that being with Mr. Rochester would satisfy her emotional needs, and she would finally be his economic equal. In the end, Jane and Rochester are married, and seem to be in love, which is what Jane wanted; to be surrounded by love and be treated as the equal she knows she

She can be looked at as having the same beliefs a modern independent woman. Jane continues to make her own choices as a self reliant women and even refuses marriage two different times in the novel where most women at the time period would have married even if it was not for love. She is also independent in her relationship with Rochester because she does not want to be dependent on him and have to undergo the changes he wishes to make. Jane expresses her wishes to have "ever so small an independency" (Bronte 284). Jane desires a sense of independency to avoid being stuck in a relationship where she can not be her own person and make her own choices. The idea of "being dressed like a doll by Mr. Rochester" (Bronte 284) does not sit well with Jane and makes her believe that he is attempting to morph her into a modern day so called "trophy wife". She worries that by marrying Rochester she will no have independency due to Rochester's power and money. Men in this time period controlled many aspects of their wive's life, at the time it was a social expectation that women would get married and to be dominated by their husbands. Although Jane wants to be independent, her struggle comes into play when she tries to balance being a governess in a household of wealthy people she has to take orders from. By always believing she is lower than everyone else Jane "impulsively submits to a superior will"

Jane however feels it's justified because in God's eyes it's not the same, they are equals there, “...just as if both had passed through the grove, and we stood at God’s feet, equal- as we are!’”(216). Even up to the marriage, Jane stays true to the idea that even though social norms say it's not right but the idea that God sees it as right makes Jane happy with what she is choosing. When Jane finds out Rochester is married she rejects this idea and the reasons to be with him because she feels the marriage to a married man is against God's will, that if she does this she won't make him a true husband but an idol, that it would be putting her own wants before God’s, “... Him who thus loved me I absolutely worshiped: and I must renounce love and idol. One drear word comprised my intolerable duty- ‘Depart!’”(216). With this idea if Jane feels she doesn't depart she is making her love for God less than her love for Rochester. Jane only changes her feelings about marrying Rochester not for wanting to be more independent but because she felt it was against God's will. When she decides to leave Thornfield she feels that it was what God wants and that's what gives her strength to leave which shows as she is just starting to run away down Thornfield drive “I still could not turn nor retrace one step. God must