How Does Brocklehurst Present Religion In Jane Eyre

Throughout the novel Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë speaks her beliefs about religion through her characters Helen, Brocklehurst, and St John. Each character has their own religious viewpoints which effects the plot of the novel for the protagonist, Jane Eyre. Brontë is able to incorporate these views through her plentiful use of diction, syntax, and grammar.
Helen Burns, Jane’s friend at Lowood, represents a Christian religion that emphasizes the importance of acceptance. Helen states “love your enemies; bless them that curse you; do good to them that hate you and despitefully use you” (Brontë 55). She ascetically trusts her faith and through this, learns to accept Lowood’s harsh policies. Helen demonstrates very strong morals yet submissive characteristics which makes Jane’s dominant characteristics stand out. Helen believes that she will find her true

home in Heaven. Helen exclaims “I rely implicitly on his power, and confide wholly in his goodness: I count the hours till that eventful one arrives which shall restore me to him, reveal him to me” (Brontë 78). She believes that justice will be found in God’s judgment when she dies, whereas Jane is unable to think this way. Jane says “Where is God? What is God?” (Brontë 78). Jane’s journey in the novel goes through her search for love and happiness based on her reliance on God as supportive figure. Helen’s humble mode of Christianity is too submissive for Jane to adopt as her own, although she loves and admires Helen for it.
Helen is a foil character to Mr.

Brocklehurst, who believes that religion should be used as a means to gain power and to control others, especially the girls at Lowood. He illustrates the nineteenth-century Evangelical movement that Brontë had her suspicions about when he explains that the girls shouldn’t have pride in themselves or others and that they should live a very simple life without many pleasures through the use of discipline. On page 61, Brocklehurst yells at a student, Julia Severn, for having curly hair. Brocklehurst exclaims, “My mission is to mortify in these girls the lusts of the flesh; to teach them to clothe themselves with shame-facedness and sobriety, not with braided hair and costly apparel” (Brontë 61). He buys all of the girl’s food and clothes, however the meals are often half a slice of moldy bread or “strange shreds of rusty meat” (Brontë 49). This tends to be ironic because he is very wealthy. Brocklehurst is able to live in a very fancy house with nice clothes and food, but the girls are forced to live in very poor conditions that often results in their death by catching

diseases.