Garden Of Eden In Jane Eyre Essay

he Garden of Eden was a paradise, yet still fraught with peril. Eve and Adam’s inability to resist temptation was ultimately their downfall and the same could be said for Jane and Mr. Rochester in Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre. The allusion to Jane and Mr. Rochester’s own Eden during the proposal scene is used to expose the hidden agenda of Mr. Rochester’s offer and the divide it will create between him and Jane.
The parallel to Eden is significant in the fact that it contributes to the forbidden nature of the proposal and highlights the social divide between Jane and Mr. Rochester. The setting of the scene is a “sheltered and Eden-like”(Bronte 276) orchard. It is a beautiful, secluded place that is only inhabited by Jane and Mr. Rochester. They both talk about being equals, created in each other's likeness leading to the image that they

Mr. Rochester even goes as far to say, “It is as if I have a string somewhere under my left ribs, tightly and inextricably knotted to a similar string situated in the corresponding quarter of your little frame” (Bronte 280). This gives reference to the fact that Eve was created from Adam’s rib, strengthening the hint of connection and the equality that they share. However, their bond can and will be broken. Just like after Eve eats the apple and God makes it so husband will rule over wife; after Jane accepts Mr. Rochester’s proposal his treatment of her changes. During their period of engagement, he goes from treating her as his equal to something he wants shape into his same social status by loading her riches. He is determined to put a “diamond chain” (Bronte 287) around her neck and “clasp the bracelets”(Bronte 287) on her wrists. This gives the image of Mr. Rochester entrapping and enslaving Jane which is why Jane abhors the fact that he is trying to change her into