In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë establishes tension between passion and reason. Jane, like fire, brings her passionate nature into instances that contradict her virtues. Sometimes, however, her passionate nature causes conflict in her relationships and makes her tempted to forget about her own values of equality and independence. In contrast, St. John, like ice, is extremely logical and appears cold and calculating, and this also makes it difficult for him to form meaningful relationships. Helen Burns is both highly reasonable and passionate, which leads her to a more satisfying life. Although Brontë emphasizes the danger of unchecked passion, she uses supporting characters and metaphors of fire and ice to show that passion, when balanced with …show more content…
In fact, Jane becomes even more enraged after Bessie releases her from the red room and tries to calm her down. She tells Bessie that trying to calm her down is as if “she [Bessie] might as well have said to the fire, ‘don’t burn!’” (34). Her passion makes her brave enough to stand up to Ms. Reed herself and tell her that she is “bad, hard-hearted and deceitful!” (59). Brontë adds another metaphor to show that while Jane enjoys the rush of this moment, describing it as “aromatic wine...swallowing, warm and racy”, she becomes so passionate that she is unaware of the guilt, the “after-flavour, metallic and corroding” that is to follow (62). As a result, Brontë shows the danger of untempered passion; it brings temporary joy and lasting …show more content…
She tells her aunt that she has “her full and free forgiveness”, and Jane is rewarded for her kindness with the new knowledge of a family member, John Eyre (93). This shows that unlike how unchecked passion or unchecked reason can break people apart, a balance of reason and passion can actually help bring people together. Jane continues to apply Helen’s lesson and realize its benefits throughout the rest of the novel, particularly when Mr. Rochester asks her to be his mistress after he reveals that he already has a wife named Bertha Mason. Jane leaves Mr. Rochester because being a mistress goes against her internal value system, particularly her desire for independence and equality in her relationships: “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will” (428). Brontë uses the metaphor of the bird to represent Jane’s growth and desire for freedom. Although Jane loves Mr. Rochester passionately, she knows that by returning to him she would become a mistress and put her values of equality and independence at risk. Instead, Jane prays that “Rochester [is] safe” and that “by God would he be guarded” (432). Prayer allows her to express her passion for her lover and to preserve her own values at the same time, which makes her more satisfied with herself, even when she later becomes “an outcast and a
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
Jane is desperate for love and therefore her vibrant passion creates her vivid personality. Charlotte Bronte’s writing style is complex, and emotion filled. Her sentences are contain numerous adjectives and sensual images. Brontes unique style is powerful and strong and filled with emotion and imagery as we captures in the life of Jane eyre. Jane is a strong willed and a strong-minded individual which shines through even at her earliest years. Living a Gateshead, Jane displayed her strong nature. For example, Charlotte writes about Jane after she was hit by her cousin, “my blood was still warm; the mood of the revolted slave was still bracing me with its bitter vigor." (p. 22)
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.
During the time because America and the rest of the world were harshly affected by the stock market crash of 1929, I can see how the analogy between America and a sleeping giant would go hand in hand. America was not enthusiastic in becoming involved with the European affairs from which World War II had sprouted, due to the means it would take to fund the war just after they had recovered from the government spending in World War I, which was followed by the Great Depression. The economic situation of the United States participating in the war was not favorable due to profitable trading purposes with European. In fact, United States had not joined World War I until news had spread around about the ‘Zimmerman telegram’, news that was intercepted by the British. This telegram was a
The novel Jane Eyre written by Charlotte Bronte has a major theme about passion versus reason. Throughout the book there are many characters that portray the qualities of passion and reason. These particular individuals demonstrate these emotions very actively.
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
From childhood, Jane had a tendency to speak her mind due to her passionate nature. When she became aware that she would be leaving Gateshead to attend school, Jane confronted her aunt about how terribly Jane had been treated. The novel compares her passion and bursts of emotion to a fire. “A ridge of lighted heath, alive, glancing, devouring, would have been a meet emblem of my mind when I accused and menaced Mrs. Reed.” (Bronte 31).
Bronte takes the fire and transforms it to illustrate the image of sexuality and passion. By doing this, she also proposes the way in which internalized feelings of opposing ideas give into self-depleting energy through the loss of self-control. Here, Jane has the fear of becoming like Mrs. Reed. She comes to the realization that if this is not what she wants to be like, then she must keep her passions under control. Otherwise, she could become "black and blasted after the flames have died." This is presented to embody what Victorian society believed to be true and is a fine example of everything that it despises, which is namely the expression of passion. The fulfillment of self becomes the foundation of society's views, on which the fears of women and their passionate behaviors are laid.
Though Jane is well educated and possesses the etiquette and training of a person in upper class society, social prejudices limit her because she is simply a paid servant, in their eyes. While at Thornfield, Jane falls desperately in love with the owner of Thornfield Hall, Mr. Rochester. Jane is Mr. Rochester’s intellectual contemporary, but her social status prevents her from being his true equal. In the novel, Jane proclaims, “Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong!—I have as much soul as you,—and full as much heart!” (Bronte 637). After Mr. Rochester finally proposes, Jane is hesitant to marry him because she feels as if he would be lowering himself to marry her. This feeling greatly increases after Jane discovers he is married to Bertha Mason, and that he keeps her locked away in Thornfield’s attic due to her insanity. Mr. Rochester proposes that Jane becomes his mistress, which, according to Victorian society, would be more fitting since Jane is a plain governess. Jane realizes that she can never compromise her morals that way and leaves Thornfield. While on her own, Jane still strives to gain independence, discovers new kin, and learns she has a wealthy uncle who has left her a large inheritance. After her loneliness and longing for Mr. Rochester becomes too great, she returns to Thornfield. Jane is
One of the most famous passages from the novel comes from Jane’s very clearly feminist inner monologue. She states that “Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel…they suffer from too rigid a restraint…” (130). Jane, as a forward-thinking and progressive protagonist, exemplifies in every sense the essence of gender equality of her time. Bronte reveals the limitations experienced by the female sex and the effects of those limitations on her protagonist. By doing this, the author uses Jane to fulfill her feminist and pro-equality agenda. Another example of Jane’s inner monologue comes from her irritation with Rochester. When Rochester showers Jane with gifts soon after their engagement, Jane’s “…cheek[s] burned with a sense of annoyance and degradation” (309). She becomes increasingly irritated with Rochester because of the complete lack of respect Rochester has for her feelings due to his joy of becoming engaged. Because Jane is already considered inferior to Rochester because of her lack of wealth and her status as an unmarried woman, being pelted with lavish tokens of affection is less than an ideal situation for her. This imbalance between the two highlights the already sexist society of the Victorian era. After Jane’s engagement to Rochester, she recounts the fact that she “…could not, in those days, see God for His creature: of whom I had made an idol” (316). She becomes blinded by the overpowering love she held for Rochester, to the extent that she put him on a pedestal, seeing him as an “idol”, and not a human being capable of fallacies. Bronte uses this dangerous mental circumstance Jane is in to illuminate the clear disparity between men and women of the time. Jane’s infatuation with Rochester serves as an important device implemented by Bronte to further her argument against sexist Victorian
There are many different aspects of George Orwell’s Animal Farm that gives the book a lingering appeal. Animal Farm is about a farm being taken over by the overworked and mistreated animals. They come together to try to create a place where they are not slaves and where they can enjoy life. They want to create a place of paradise where they can be equal to humans. They planned for a while and eventually it followed through when the farmer had whipped the animals for stealing food after he forget to feed them. They were eventually rid of humans and their habits and rejoiced. They then created their own government and rules. They created a civilization with jobs, schools, government, etc. Each animal had a certain status, the pigs at the top
Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is a coming-of-age story about an unconventional woman's development within a society of strict rules and expectations. At pivotal moments in Jane's life, she makes choices which are influenced by her emotions and/or her reason. Through the results of those choices, Jane learns to balance passion and practicality to achieve true happiness.
Jane is filled with passion, however, and her willful disobedience is often her attempt to explain her feelings. We see her passion find its fulfillment and understanding in Rochester. When they meet, we see Jane's all-consuming passion and not much less of a fire in Rochester, "'I saw it in your eyes when I first beheld you: their expression and smile did not (again he stopped) did not (he proceeded hastily) strike delight to my very inmost heart for nothing...My cherished preserver, good night'. Strange energy was in his voice, strange fire in his look" (Bronte 133).
Rochester. At first Jane sees him as rude and disrespectful due to his cold and gruesome remarks, but it is her fight and how Jane stands up for herself that leads to one of the most known relationships in literature. Eventually Rochester asks Jane for her hand in marriage but at the scene of the wedding, we come to learn, that Rochester is already married to an insane woman, living in his attic, named Bertha. With this Rochester asks Jane to run away with her to Europe, this is exactly where Jane is faced with a very hard decision between following her heart as everyone wants to do, or keeping her respect and dignity. We can see the respect Jane now has from Rochester when he says to her, “I was wrong to attempt to deceive you; but I feared a stubbornness that exists in your character” (Bronte 354). This shows that Jane has gained Rochester’s respect and the ‘stubbornness’ in Jane’s character is the best thing for her, for without this trait Jane could never gain respect from others, especially men, in his novel. Knowing that Jane has decided to leave her, Rochester begins to persuade Jane to stay with him. He says, “Oh, Jane, this is bitter! This – this is wicked. It would not be wicked to love me” (Bronte 355). Jane replies, “It would to obey you” (Bronte 355), showing that she will not give into his pleading, regardless of how much she loves him because to obey him would lead to the loss
Mrs. reed was very cruel to jane but that paid off in the long run because it made jane inot a strong woman. On the other hand, Bessie loved jane and played a motherly role for jane. Helen burns, filled jane with knowledge and showed her kindness and the way to god. Miss temple served as an emotional support system as she stood up for jane when she was falsely accused and was there for her when her best friend passed away.Diana and Mary helped jane made smart choices and became close