Lamonaca argues that while there is a simple attractiveness in the rhetoric and idolization of character, the ending of Jane Eyre is both confusing and anticlimactic. St. John stood as a symbol for intensified, aggressive Christian values very different than those of Jane’s. Having the conclusion tie back into his character stands against what Jane has been suffering through this whole time and portrays him in a far too positive light. Lamonaca begins her essay with this passage to clearly demonstrate the issues she will be discussing: Jane’s feminist values that differ so greatly from St. John’s persona, and the different variations of Christianity seen throughout the novel. Lamonaca argues that Jane’s uncommon morality and personality rely
Faith and religion rests in the core of Jane’s character and actions, but also causes tension with her independence. At Lowood, she struggles to reconcile her desire to rebel against oppression and injustice with the words of Helen saying to submit like Christ. She chooses to submit, experiencing an “extraordinary sensation”, feeling “as if she was a martyr” (67). Through her submissions, she learns to be virtuous. This virtue is challenged when she must choose either to be Rochester’s mistress, or to forsake the man she loves, jeopardizing her happiness. Abiding by God’s law, she leaves, believing that “God directed [her] to a correct choice” (366). Jane faces her fiercest tension when she faces St. John’s proposal to marry him and become a missionary’s wife. She desires to continue in God’s will, telling St. John that “I will give my heart to God”, but knows that marrying him goes against her every desire. She wishes to be free from St. John; she desires her independence. She nearly submits, were she “but convinced that it is God’s will” that she marry St. John (426). She prays for Heaven to “show [her] the path” (426). Jane truly seeks God’s will, and in return, “seemed to penetrate very near a Mighty Spirit” (427). Her devotion to God is rewarded as she prays in her “different way to St. John’s” (427). God releases Jane from a life married to St. John and allows her to return to Rochester and become his wife. Jane’s faith in God allows her to make virtuous
These lines exchanged by Jane Eyre and Mr. St John perfectly exhibit the differences in their personalities. Jane Eyre is a passionate, emotional person, while Mr. St John comes off as "cold" and un-feeling. These contrasting temperaments make for an intriguing scene when Mr. St John asks for Jane to marry and move to India with him as a missionary's wife. Jane had a strong emotional reaction to Mr. St John's proposal and St John was taken aback when she rejected him, but he did not have a particularly passionate reaction. In the days and weeks to follow, St. John was by no means friendly or warm with Jane, but he was also not outwardly rude to her. All and all, Mr. St John's disposition can be described as "cold," and Jane's emotions, that had a fire-like intensity, led her to reject to St. Johns final proposal.
The novel Jane Eyre written by Charlotte Bronte has a major theme about passion versus reason. Throughout the book there are many characters that portray the qualities of passion and reason. These particular individuals demonstrate these emotions very actively.
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.
Many themes are brought into the readers' attention in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre and when first reading the novel, we all tend to see it as a work built around the theme of family and Jane's continuous search for home and acceptance. The love story seems to fall into second place and I believe that the special relationship between Jane and Mr. Rochester needs to be thoroughly discussed and interpreted, because it holds many captivating elements, such as mystery, passion or even betrayal. The aim of this essay is to analyze the love story between the two protagonists and to illustrate how the elements forming their relationship resemble the ones in fairy tales. Jane Eyre has been often compared to fairy tales such as
In Charlotte Bronte’s coming of age novel Jane Eyre, the main character Jane not only struggles with the aspects of social class deviations but also her journey to find her own faith in God and religion. On her journey she encounters three greatly different variations on Christian faith, all of which, though she ultimately rejects, help her come to her own conclusions of her own faith and spirituality. Her first true questioning of religion is with her friend and Lowood school Helen Burns. Jane finds Helen to be serenely devout in her faith in God, and Jane admires her for it. However, Jane struggles to accept Helen’s passive view, as it lacks the understanding that Jane seeks. Also, at Lowood Jane encounters the owner of the school Mr. Brocklehurst, who acts as a dictator over the girls and teachers at Lowood. His religious ideals are those of sacrifice but it is apparent that Mr. Brocklehurst takes no consideration of these ideals in his own life style. Jane immediately rejects Mr. Brocklehurst’s point of view as it is so obviously hypocritical. Finally Jane meets her cousin St. John, a minister. Upon observing him and observing one of his sermons she realizes that though he is driven and passionate his views focus on “disquieting aspirations” as oppose to the uplifting of spirituality. She realizes that St. John lacks a true understanding of what faith and spirituality really mean. In Jane’s search for spirituality her journey leads her to find her own faith through the
Jane Eyre, often interpreted as a bildungsroman, or a coming-of-age story, goes further than the traditional “happy ending,” commonly represented by getting married. Instead, the novel continues beyond this romantic expectation to tell full the story of Jane’s life, revealing her continual dissatisfaction with conventional expectations of her social era; as a result, many literary critics have taken it upon themselves to interpret this novel as a critique of the rigid class system present in 19th century Victorian society. One literary critic in particular, Chris R. Vanden Bossche, analyzes Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre through a Marxist lens, asserting the importance of class structure and social ideology as historical context and attributing this to the shaping of the novel as a whole. This approach of analysis properly addresses Brontë’s purposeful contrast of submission and rebellion used to emphasize Jane’s determined will for recognition as an equal individual.
The final chapter’s of Bronte’s Jane Eyre have been a subject of discussion since it’s first publication. Many say the the ending does not fit and other argue that it does. There is a lot of evidence pointing to the latter. The conclusion reveals the fate of Mr. Rochester and Jane, Adele, and of St. John. All of the endings, a mixture of both happy and tragic, to fit with the entire story and can explained because of the Victorian era. This essay will argue that the conclusion of this novel, more specifically that Jane does go back to Mr. Rochester, is extremely fitting to both the plot and the essence of the novel.
Throughout the story, Jane Eyre’s passions and faith conflict often internally, in her character, but also externally, in the world by which she is surrounded and her view of said world. This particular theme is conflicting within Eyre’s personality, but is refined by the characters that she meets. Characters such as Helen Burns, Miss Temple, and St. John Eyre Rivers bring out the ecclesiastical nature within Jane, whereas characters such as Aunt Reed, John Reed, and Mr. Rochester bring out the passionate aspect of her character. This thematic pattern also answers question c, as it introduces idea that, although Victorian-era Christian values suppress it, passion exists in everyone like how in every lion there is a desire to roar When one is a dependent, wealth can be more illusionary than actual. In Jane Eyre there is often a paradox that relates to Jane being a dependent for most of her life.
Throughout the novel, Charlotte Bronte introduces characters that challenge Jane’s spirituality and impress their religious beliefs on her. However, these characters, whom of which are Mr. Brocklehurst and St. John, all live in such a way that contradicts what they claim to believe. Therefore, Jane rejects the religion presented to her and attempts to become her own savior.
In her 1977 essay, Sandra Gilbert talks about Bronte’s character Jane Eyre and Jane’s struggles due to patriarchy; and the journey Jane undergoes to reaching her truest self. Gilbert writes about the conflict of patriarchy and how it sets Jane back in her life many times. Throughout the entire story, Jane is trying to get away from these hindrances, she is trying to free herself. Gilbert goes on to say that, “Everywoman in a patriarchal society must meet and overcome: oppression (at Gateshead), starvation (at Lowood), madness (at Thornfield), and coldness (at Marsh end)” (781).
Imagine being an orphan, having no connections with family whatsoever, and being burdened with the idea that you will not be able to accomplish anything; how would you feel? How would you appeal to others? By a combination of analytical criticism and a close reading of Jane Eyre, the aim of this essay is to analyze how Jane’s identity evolves during her quest for love and independence and what influence the relationship with Mr. Rochester, and patriarchal traits has on her identity. Throughout the novel Jane Eyre, the theme of identity develops during her search for love and independence is strongly conveyed through the narrative strategy of Jane, as we follow the protagonist’s development from childhood to becoming a young woman.
The book Jane Eyre is based on the story of a girl whose name is Jane Eyre. Jane’s journey is long and well-fought, and undergoes circumstances that most people would not have to go through. For this reason, Jane matures quickly throughout the book. She matures just as any average lady would, but just a little bit faster. Jane Eyre has grown and developed a great deal throughout the course of the entire novel. At the beginning of the novel, Jane was a rebellious little girl, but as she advanced, she became more confident and sensible. Jane’s experiences and obstacles that she had to go through reflect very much on who she is as a character. For example, when Jane got locked in the Red Room, or when she had to go to a school with very harsh
The novel in which Jane Eyre stars in can be seen criticizing many aspects of those times such as the role and nature of women, child negligence and social hardships for those in a lesser class. Jane Eyre’s alienation from society allows for a greater reveal of the story’s culture, values, and assumptions. It’s presented through the use of gender, class and character conflicts throughout the story. On multiple occasions, Jane is judged for the presented factors reflecting the type of society Jane lives in and what the times were like at that time.
Jane Eyre’s main goal in life is to be accepted, and at the same time be a completely independent woman. Throughout the story, she faces trials that test her very integrity and convictions about what she wants and deserves out of life. Ultimately, Jane achieves her goals, through taking the time to learn about herself, rather than focusing on society.