Faith and Religion in Jane Eyre by Charlote Brontë Essay examples

One Sunday evening, shortly after Jane arrives at Lowood School, she is forced to recite the sixth chapter of St. Matthew as part of the daily lesson (70; ch. 7). This chapter in Matthew states,

Jane learns from Brocklehurst the hypocrisy of religious people as she acknowledges that “[t]hey ought to have come a little sooner to have heard his lecture on dress, for they were splendidly attired in velvet, silk, and furs” (AFTER) Jane describes the situational irony in Brocklehurst’s lecture which Bronte does to emphasize how illogical and blind religious people can be. Later on, Bronte introduces a missionary named St. John who attempts to colonize both India and Jane. St. John almost persuades Jane Eyre to marry him through god as Jane

Nineteenth century western Europe was fraught with religious tension. Riots between Catholics and Protestants were everyday occurrences, often resulting in death. A relationship, especially a romantic one, with anyone who was of a different religion was socially forbidden. This was the world that Charlotte Bronte came of age in. This was the world in which she and her siblings began their writing careers. This world of religious tension very obviously affected the topics which Bronte wrote about and how she wrote about them. Two of her novels almost directly address religious contentions; however, they do it in very different ways. Her second novel, Shirley, addresses women’s roles in religion and illuminates the corruption found within the Protestant denomination. Bronte’s last novel, Villette, very directly comments on the differences between the Protestant and Catholic religions while simultaneously showing how it is more than possible to live peacefully with people who hold different beliefs. Through her novels, Shirley and Villette, Bronte addressed and proposed solutions for the religious turmoil that was rampant in her world.

Christianity is the world's largest religion, with over 2.4 billion adherents, a grouping that encompasses about a third of the world's population. In Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre, the protagonist, Jane, must deal with countless problems, whether they be involving love, confidence, or morality. Throughout her life Jane is faced with several biblical and Christian symbols. The use of Christianity in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is meant to foreshadow and place emphasis on certain atmospheres all while providing Insight on certain events.

Religion Through Spiritual Explorations in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre In Jane Eyre, religion is embraced through a series of spiritual explorations. Bronte portrays Jane's character and zest for religion by revealing Jane's transitions from Gateshead to Lowood, Lowood to Thornfield, and Thornfield to Moor House. Jane ultimately rejects everyone of these organized styles of worship. However, that does not mean that she rejects all their beliefs.

During Jane’s relationship with St. John, she makes a conscious decision to choose freedom, after deliberating. When St. John asks her if she would like to go to India and become his wife, she says “I am ready to go to India, if I may go free (467).” Her valuing of freedom over the life of a missionary’s wife demonstrates her priorities. She refuses to give up her freedom, even to serve the world. Her refusal of his offer shows her understanding of having to save herself from a potentially harmful situation that would not suit her other than saving the world. She does not want to be restricted by St. John and his views of who Jane should be, and this is demonstrated when she says “God did not give my life to throw away; and to do as you wish

John held firm to his calling in Christ. His desire to be a missionary overran the desires of his flesh. St. John’s hope, unlike that of Helen’s, was expressed through his hope for status and glory. St. John desired to bring people to Christ, which on the surface seemed like a strong cause. However, upon discovering more about him, it can be concluded that his motives were misguided. He often held himself to a near God esteem by directly coinciding his will with the “will of God.” Throughout the novel, this attitude towards the will of God provides St. John with a platform that he uses to convince people to follow his desires. This can be seen in his proposal to Jane. When Jane refuses to marry St. John, he claims “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” (Brontë 428). Thus, the surface level hope that religion provides St. John with clouds his mind from understanding what he truly desires. Through the development of St. John, it could be realized that, similarly to Helen Burns, his religious beliefs prevent him from chasing his happy life (with forbidden love) and into a life of work which nearly presents itself as more of a burden than

The theme of religion is present throughout all of the book, but most notably during the Lowood section due to the varying forms of Christianity seen in different characters. While Jane struggles to find her own interpretation of Christianity, she is subjected to a few characters including Helen Burns and Mr. Brocklehurst, who pose very different ideals and ways of acting for her to consider. On one hand we have Mr. Brocklehurst, who is extremely cruel and does terrible things to children under the guise of cleansing their weakness, yet he treats his own family like royalty, showing his true hypocrisy and the fault of his ways. Jane very obviously does not want to take up this form of Christianity, so she looks to another source, Helen. Helen

The final, and perhaps the most important, controversial topic addressed by Charlotte Brontë in Jane Eyre is religion. Though there were various religions arising in Europe, Christianity was definitely the primary religion of the country of England, and it was assumed to be the belief of all. Despite Brontë’s Christian upbringing and frequent Biblical allusions throughout her novel, some believe that Jane Eyre shows a rejection of Christianity rather than an acceptance. For example, in “On Jane Eyre’s Moral Choices,” Richard Benvenuto states that “the portraits of Rochester and St. John speak more directly to a conflict between passion and conscience than perhaps they do to the larger division of nature and grace” (Benvenuto page).

Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Brontë, is a story with a much deeper viewpoint than that of just a love story. Themes of racism, colonialism, feminism, and social equality all come into play in the novel, but the theme that has the most significance is that of religion, more specifically Christianity. Throughout the novel Christianity shapes Jane and the interactions between her and the people around her. It is a driving force for many people in the novel, however in many ways Bronte describes Christianity in an unforgiving light. Yet I still believe Bronte is undoubtedly supporting Christianity and has faith in God, despite the negative descriptions.

She also meets Helen Burns, who tells Jane that a real Christian should love everyone, even their enemies, and to forgive. However, Jane is not the forgiving person Helen is, and certainly did not want to turn other cheek. If someone did something to her, she is sure to do it back, so Jane just could not follow Helen’s idea of religion. Later on in life, she meets St. John Rivers, who turns out to be her cousin. His idea of Christianity is to sacrifice everything he has for God. St. John sacrifices his life in England for life in India-just to preach to the Indian people God’s Word. Once again, this is just too much for Jane, so she rejects his way of religion and continues to do what she thinks is right. Although she rejects all three ideas of religion, she takes ideas from all three. She is very moral, learns to forgive, and always goes to God and thanks Him for everything. A second theme in the book is

In the Novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Jane goes through a journey to selfhood though her multiple interactions and experiences at Thornfield, and the Moor house. Jane is forever changed by the experiences and encounters that she gained in these locations. Through these experiences and encounters, Jane learns to become self sufficient and to form her own values and morals. She learns not to submit herself to others in order to preserve her independence. Additionally, Jane continued to learn and form her own values and morals through the multiple interactions with Helen Burns and Mr. Brocklehurst. They each play an important role in Jane’s development of her perspective on religion and faith.

An immediately evident parallel in Jane Eyre and A Portrait of the Artist of the Young Man is the presence of religion as both a moral pressure and rigid outline for society. Both protagonists struggle to find the middle ground between worldly satisfaction and moral purity. Stephen Dedalus’ fluctuation between devotion and denial for the Catholic church, as well as Jane Eyre’s rejection of certain aspects of religion and acceptance of others, reveal that humans naturally find moderation in everything they do and that everyone uses their own personal experiences to define society and limit their universe, rather than accepting preconceived ideas, such as those presented by religion.

Although Jane is not strictly a hypocritical Christian such as Mr. Brocklehurst or a symbol of the New Testament like Helen Burns, Jane manages to find middle ground for herself. Jane’s final views on religion indicate Jane’s faith and God and the knowledge and strength of her own destiny and free will that she places in his hands. This becomes more evident closer to the end of the novel when Jane’s dedication in her creed hinder and alter her life’s once clear set track as well as impacting the expected plot of the novel. This includes when Jane prays to God when her wedding is stopped by Mr. Mason in chapter twenty six or when, how she thanks God for giving her the power to leave her love, Mr. Rochester, so she can live a moral life through

This signifies that a change has occurred in Jane’s religious views, and demonstrates that through her friendship with Helen, Jane has become curious about religion. “I could not, in those days, see God for his creature of whom I had made an idol” (279). Later in the novel, when Jane and Mr. Rochester fall in love, Jane mentions that her connection with God is impaired by her unhealthy love for and obsession with Mr. Rochester. At this point, Jane’s religious views are far