Theme Of Maturity In Jane Eyre

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Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë was first published on October 16, 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. in London, England. It was later republished by Barnes and Noble in 2011. The story follows none other than Jane Eyre herself as she tells her riveting tale of lies, deceit, passion, and love. From the earliest years of her childhood, Jane is put through many trials and tribulations that end up dictating the way she behaves when she grows older. Although she does not handle the situations in the best way as a child, she finds ways to correct the wrongs she has committed when she becomes a more mature adult. Throughout the course of the novel, Jane Eyre develops drastically as a character, and she matures exponentially as she grows older. When Jane’s …show more content…

Though it is clear that Jane begins to have feelings for Rochester not long after meeting him, she is able to handle the situations she is put in when she is romantically involved with him. First, she refuses to marry him until she is sure that Blanche is not romantically involved with Rochester in any way. Second, when she finds out about Rochester’s wife and he begs her to run away with him, she refuses because of the fact that she has respect for herself and she know that it is the wrong thing to do. In this instance, Jane displays a great amount of emotional maturity. She could have very well decided to become Rochester’s mistress and run away with him. But because she respect herself, and because she does possess that emotional maturity, she does not allow herself to do so. Rochester is not the only suitor with which Jane displays emotional maturity. After Jane runs away from Thornfield and Rochester, she meets St. John Rivers and his sisters. After spending some time with the trio, Jane feels herself becoming comfortable. Eventually, St. John Rivers urges Jane to marry him and to accompany him on a mission trip as his wife. Although Jane finds herself tempted, she does not allow herself to accept because she wants to be her own person, and she knows that she could never love him in a romantic way. This is just another example of how much Jane grew up over the course of her …show more content…

Learning to make educated decisions that would be the best for the people is something that is not easily learned by many. Jane Eyre is one of the few that learned at a very young age to let go of hate, resentment, and grudges so that she could grow up to be a mature, emotionally stable adult. Though she did eventually come to be that mature adult, she had to go through several life experiences that led her to gain more maturity. Because of these life experiences, Jane develops into an entirely new person in just the course of a few years. More importantly, Jane was able to come to terms with who she was and what kind of life she wanted for

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