Religion in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
In Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte intertwines various religious ideas in her mid-nineteenth century English setting. Throughout the novel, Jane Eyre blends various religious insights which she has learned from different sources. While Jane was young, she had only a Biblical textbook outlook on life combined with the miserable emotional conditions of her surroundings. This in turn led to Jane being quite mean with Mrs. Reed. When Jane eventually goes off to Lowood and meets Helen Burns, she learns of her religious philosophy far more than the words would mean. Over the course of many years Jane then applies the basis of Helen's religious philosophy and adjusts it for herself in relation to the main characters and main events including Mrs. Reed and Mr. Rochester. Through these characters Jane expands her understanding of life and of herself.
The child Jane reveals a deep hatred towards Mrs. Reed when she says wickedly, "I am not deceitful: If I were, I should say I loved you; but I decline I do not love you." Jane's hate towards Mrs. Reed continues on later, just as Jane was about to leave Gateshead for Lowood. When Bessie asked Jane, "'Will you go in and bid misses good-bye?'" Jane quickly reinforces her hate towards Mrs. Reed by immediately saying, "'Bessie: your misses has not been my friend: she has been my foe." Jane shows her disdain towards Mrs. Reed without hesitation because she is young. Also, we can infer that Jane has not, until now, received a strict religious upbringing at Gateshead -- perhaps this can explain how Jane is able to express her hatred so freely and vocally.
However, it is revealed later that Jane does know the Bible quite well when Mr. Brocklehurst come...
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...anding it at the time, she eventually adopted what had been said: 'You will come to the same region of happiness: be received by the same mighty universal Parent, no doubt, dear Jane.'
Jane, as a child, grew from being ignorant of the loving and compassionate ways of Christianity; to an educated, thoughtful adult. Jane learned the basis of this from her friend, Helen. Although Jane largely ignored Helen's non-passionate outlook in life, she did in fact take the basis of loving someone else even if they hate you, as evident with Mrs. Reed. Jane also does not forget what Helen taught her on the afterlife. Perhaps this is what kept Jane from breaking the law of God with Mr. Rochester, plus knowing she would ultimately meet up with him in heaven only further strengthens that point.
Bibliography:
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: Penguin, 1985.
At Lowood, she is thought of by many as a well behaved child, but she still occasionally resistances authority. This is the case when the nurse tells Jane that she may not visit Helen, even though Helen is very ill. Jane, believing that she needs to see Helen regardless of if she is allowed to or not sneaks off: “I dreaded being discovered and sent back; for I must see Helen- I must embrace her before she died- I must give her one last kiss, exchange with her one last word” (82). Jane’s behavior demonstrates her growth in independence. When she lived at Gateshead, she yielded to authority even when she believed it cruel; at Lowood, she defies the nurse’s authority because she knows her desire to see Helen again is greater than her fear of
we cannot get a clear picture of Jane herself. Most of what we know is
Jane explains her hatred towards the Reed's and shows no remorse for them. Soon after Jane's
Whether it is because of the obligation, out of love, pity or kindness, Jane believes she visit Mrs. Reed and fulfill her last wishes. “Forgive me for my passionate language; I was a child then; eight, nine years have passed since that day.” (253) Putting the hardships behind her Jane gives her full apologies to Mrs.
The tone of Jane Eyre is direct, perhaps even blunt. There is no prissy little-girl sensibility, but a startlingly independent, even skeptical perspective. At the age of 10, the orphan Jane already sees through the hypocrisy of her self-righteous Christian elders. She tells her bullying Aunt Reed, "People think you a good woman, but you are bad; hard-hearted. You are deceitful!" and "I am glad you are no relative of mine; I will never call you aunt again so long as I live. I will never come to see you when I am grown up; and if any one asks me how I liked you, and how you treated me, I will say that the very thought of you makes me sick." (In fact, when her aunt is elderly and dying, Jane does return to visit her, and forgives her. But that's far in the future.) With the logic of a mature philosopher, in fact rather like Friedrich Nietzsche to come, Jane protests the basic admonitions of Christianity as a schoolgirl: "I must resist those who ... persist in disliking me; I must resist those who punish me unjustly. It is as natural as that I should love those who show me affection, or submit to punishment when I feel that it is deserved." And this bold declaration, which would have struck readers of 1847 (in fact, of 1947) as radical and "infeminine":
In the novel, Jane Eyre starts as a young girl of ten years old; she lives with her aunt Mrs. Reed and her cousins John, Georgiana, and Eliza. At Gateshead, Jane has undergone betrayal in the acts that the Reed family does not treat her as a part of their family. Mrs. Reed treats Jane unkindly and as if she was a victim to put it, in other words, Mrs. Reed says “ take her away to the red-room and lock her in there” (Brontë, Ch. 1). Mrs. Reed
From the introduction of Jane’s orphan life, she battles between her ire at cousin John’s antics and obedie...
Jane started out with no family, causing her to yearn for someone to accept her as their family, treating her with love and respect. At a young age, Jane lost her parents, leaving her with her aunt and cousins. They treated her poorly, acting as if she was incompetent and considering her more of a servant than a family member. Then, they sent her off to school, forgetting about her entirely. Eventually, Jane acquired the family she had always dreamt of. She never felt quite right with other people accepting her, that is, until Mr. Rochester came into her life. She did not feel as though she had found her true family until she had met him. "All these relics gave...Thornfield Hall the aspect of a home of the past: a shrine to memory.” (92). When they get married, her dreams are achieved, as she finally got the family she had always wanted.
Jane next lived at Lowood. This institution was anything but a true family unit. However, Jane sought out people to care for and who would care for her in return. Helen Burns and Miss Temple became very close to Jane. In ways like the mother of the typical family served as a moral guide and a nurturer, so too did Helen Burns, and to a certain extent Miss Temple.
If we look at the world, through Jane's eyes we see that she is a
In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte uses various characters to represent aspects of reason and passion, thereby establishing a tension between the two. In fact, it could be argued that these various characters are really aspects of her central character, Jane. From this it could be argued that the tension between these two aspects really takes place only within her mind. Bronte is able to enact this tension through her characters and thus show dramatically the journey of a woman striving for balance within her character. As a prerequisite for marriage, Jane uses this determination in her relationships with Mr. Rochester and St. John.
This feeling intensifies when Mr. Brocklehurst arrives to take Jane away to Lowood School. Her aunt is pleased to see her go, but manages to influence Jane's life even after Jane is settled in at the charity school, by informing Mr.
Jane had a testing childhood at the hands of her aunt Mrs Reed and her cousins. She lived with the Reed family until ten years of age and during these ten years she was bullied and unloved. Jane was then sent away to Lowood School she appeared excited to leave Gateshead, yet once at Lowood she experienced more ridicule and a hard school life. Nevertheless she did find friendship in Helen Burns, although this friendship was short lived as Helen died during a breakout of typhus, through their short friendship Helen had shown Jane that life at Lowood could be bearable; she was also the first friend Jane ever really had.
Jane’s initial struggle begins as she is brought up by her aunt. Jane is living in an upper-class household and is being treated as a person of the lower-class. Jane would be antagonized on a daily basis by the Reed children. As an outcast, Jane realizes at an early age how much class affects the behavior of people in society. Jane would be punished by Mrs. Reed regularly, which may have fueled her rebellious nature. A specific example would be when Jane was sent to the “red room” by Mrs. Reed as punishment for fighting with her son. This was the room where Mrs. Reed’s husband was found dead. This shows that Mrs. Reed had absolutely no respect for Jane as an individual as Mrs. Reed knew that Jane believed that the room was haunted. This event also shows that Mrs. Reed does not respect her deceased husband, as she abandoned the room after he was found.
At the beginning of the book, Jane was living with her aunt Mrs. Reed and her children. Although Jane is treated cruelly and is abused constantly, she still displays passion and spirit by fighting back at John and finally standing up to Mrs Reed. Even Bessie ‘knew it was always in her’. Mrs. Reed accuses Jane of lying and being a troublesome person when Mr. Brocklehurst of Lowood School visited Gateshead. Jane is hurt, as she knows she was not deceitful so she defends herself as she defended herself to John Reed when he abused her, as she said “Wicked and cruel boy! You are like a murderer – you are like a slave driver – you are like the Roman emperors!” to John Reed instead of staying silent and taking in the abuse, which would damage her self-confidence and self-worth. With the anger she had gotten from being treated cruelly, she was able to gain ...