Examples Of Conundrum In Jane Eyre

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

He knows there is no reason to suffer, and that satisfies him.” (Gilman 528) Here we see Johns assumption of being superior to his wife leads him to misjudge her situation. Throughout the story John patronizes his wife all while he believes he is trying to help her by doing so. The narrator acts like a subordinate child, she has no say in what happens to her or in her life.

Furthermore, Jane says “I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself” (Chapter 27, Bronte.) This statement greatly represents the growth that Jane has undergone. She no longer dreads the solitude that once haunted her because she respects herself enough to realize that she did not deserve to experience such great dismay. Through independence and self-recognition, Jane has discovered the importance of loving oneself. Without the reliance on the thoughts of others, the once extremely troubled girl found bliss through a lack of outside control. In regards to her relationship with Mr. Rochester, Jane understands that she must leave him behind to maintain her own well-being. She does not allow the wealth or proclaimed love from Rochester to skew her decisions and she does not linger to dominate the life of her lover. Instead, she moves forward to continue her endless pursuit of happiness and independence.

John, the son of her caretaker, gets Jane in trouble just because he can. His belief in his superiority causes Jane to profess her true thoughts. Jane is being punished by the reeds when she thinks to herself, “I resisted all the way: a new thing for me, and a circumstance which greatly strengthened the bad opinion Bessie and Miss Abbot were disposed to entertain of me” (13). Jane is blatantly ignoring the thoughts of others. She cares more about what she wants and less about the wants of others.

She finally has a feeling of relief as she realizes that “life is very much more exciting now than it used to be” (Gilman 59). As the narrator senses a profuse amount of internal power, she begins to stop abiding by the rules of John. The narrator takes her daily life by choice of what makes her happy. When John has full realization of this, he makes demands (Gilman 63) in an attempt to gain control over his wife. However, she has lost respect for John.

Jane Eyre's literary success of the time has been cheaply commercialized. In other words, Bronte's novel never got the appreciation it deserved, in the areas it deserved. Many 19th century critics merely assigned literary themes to their reviews to "get it over with". Critics commended Jane Eyre for everything from its themes to its form. However, their surface examinations amount to nothing without careful consideration of the deeper underlying background in Jane's life where their hasty principles originate. The widely discussed free will of Jane's, her strong individuality, and independence are segments of a greater scheme, her life. For example: Jane's childhood serves as the

Jane’s approach could be considered romantic and embodies conventional feminist concepts; she remains headstrong and stubborn in the face of injustice. The representation of Jane as a strong, independent woman upholds the belief that woman can achieve their goals. Jane does precisely this; she marries Rochester, becomes a part of a family as well as gains financial independence. The way in which Bronte represents Jane is emphasized through her narrative stance. The reader is presented with a firm and rebellious character, her diction is simple and assertive. She addresses the reader directly and is able to identify and challenge the problems she faces with determination. Furthermore Jane is able to identify and comment on how she feels woman are subjugated by their society; she denounces that “woman are supposed to be very calm generally: but woman feel just as men feel […]” (Bronte

With these standards Jane feels she lacks equal standing, even with her romantic equal. And though she admits her love to him, she holds her desires back because of lack of confidence. She refuses his initial marriage proposal because of her own feelings. Though she finally finds a home in Thornfield Hall, she leaves her “delightful life” because she views herself as “poor, obscure, plain, and little... ” (290-291).

Jane achieves happiness by having a sincere love with Rochester in which both she and Edward are equal in dependency for each other, while also having a moderate, self-satisfying loyalty to God. Jane is extremely close to giving into temptation from St. John to marry him, when she hears Mr. Rochester’s voice out of thin air and from a distance calling for her. She immediately decides to reject St. John’s proposal, leaving no doubt that it is her final decision. Jane then goes into her room, and she tells us that she “prayed in [her] way – a different way to St. John’s, but effective in its own fashion” (633). Jane is telling us that she is beseeching God in her own, unprecedented way – and that this unique manner of prayer in which she commits herself to God is successful for her.

She is completely at the whim of her husband John. John uses his standing in society as Jane’s husband and doctor to control and dominate his wife. Women then were thought of second-class citizens whose place was at home. Women at that time where reduced to staying at home within the confines of the

After facing endless amounts of betrayal by the man she loves, Jane completely forgoes her prior belief, and exiles herself from Rochesters side. This self imposed banishment was nearly fatal, but Jane is no longer afraid of living a life unloved and wholeheartedly believes she “can live alone, if self-respect, and circumstances require me so to do.”(ch 19 pg 297) This change in Jane’s belief system caused a shift in the meaning of the novel, it was no longer about man’s desire to be loved, instead it developed into an understanding that personal beliefs and morals are self defining, and should not be sacrificed for

John, an aspiring missionary whom takes her in at Moor House. St. John’s problem is not so much hypocrisy, but an overzealous attitude toward religion; an attitude which causes him to manipulate Jane for his purposes. When he sits her down to propose marriage he tells her, “God and nature intended you for a missionary's wife. It is not personal, but mental endowments they have given you: you are formed for labour, not for love. A missionary's wife you must — shall be. You shall be mine: I claim you — not for my pleasure, but for my Sovereign's service,” (Bronte, 428). He feels no romantic desire toward Jane, however, he wants her hand in marriage to appear as the perfect male missionary with a wife. Jane rejects this proposal, not only on the basis of rejecting his ‘religious’ motives, but also because she believes only in true, romantic

He was a physician and declared that she was dealing with a simple and temporary matter. John even convinced himself that his wife was not really ill and that all she needed was some rest. He seems to love her, but still do not really understand what is happening to her. “He is very careful and loving, and hardly lets me stir without special direction” (line 30). The author characterized John as a naïve man who did not understand his wife’s desires.

Jane, through much of the first half of the novel, is put into circumstances where she feels she must fight for herself. The plights she faces are seen with the incessant description of cold, dark, and frigid settings. She being a child and a girl no less is expected to be timid, respectful, and to simply take everything without malice, but she cannot. Symbolizing Jane as fire, the author is telling us that to be idle is simply against her nature. Even Mr. Rochenchester takes note of it stating what a “fire-spirit” she can be. We know, due to this, that Jane will be breaking or at least challenging a few societal conventions of her time period which she does in the case of her feelings about gender roles, love, and class. Like fire she is lively and not easily controlled (in her case not controlled by the familial and societal expectations of her).

All her inner desire is rejected. Anything she wants to do, must be approved by John and he makes the decision that she has to follow. All in all, the woman’s action is controlled by her