Jane meets 3 really religious figures through the course of the novel: Mr. Brocklehurst, Helen Burns, and St. John Rivers. Each represents another state/strength of religion which Jane experiences and tries to comprehend. She in the end, rejects most of their concepts and ideas.
Mr. Brocklehurst represents the intense side to religion that some people can take. He takes the Christian way and warps it into something that makes him into a dictator type. Which is basically what his school is: a dictator's school. He has rules with false reasoning. For example, all the girls need to have their hair straight, because curliy hair is a sign of the devil. This he claims to be a "Christian need".
Helen Burns' take on religion is very passive. Jane loves Helen for being able to just let things go. However, Jane can not seem to be able to forgive and forget like Helen does. Therefore, she abandons being able to take up Helen's point of view.
St. John Rivers also has his own form of religion. He takes on the happier and empowering part of religion. Rivers believes it is the most important thing to sacrifice for the soul. This goes against Jane's values of justice so she rejects this form as well.
In the end, she comes up with her own view on religion that is based on her own ideas, opinions, and experiences. Which you watch grow and form over the course of the novel.
Another big theme in the novel is gender relations. All the main male characters in this book (Mr. Brocklehurst, Edward Rochester, and St. John Rivers), try to keep Jane down in some way. They try to over power her opinions with theirs because they believe that men are dominant to women. Which, Jane does not stand for. The events that prove her "rebellion" so to speak are when she gets away from Lowood Institution (rebellion against Mr. Brocklehurst), she rejects the wedding proposal (St. John Rivers), and finally, goes back to look for him and only after she gets an agreement from him that they will be equals when they marry, accepts his marriage proposal (Edward Rochester). Through these little ways she puts the "alpha males" of the novel back into place, and Jane teaches them that she is more independent then they think she is, and that they want her to be.
What is the difference between religion and morality in the novel?
ReplyDeleteRivers believes that sacrifice is important, and Jane makes a huge sacrifice (love) for the sake of her soul. In what way, then, does Rivers' beliefs go "against Jane's values of justice"?
The fact that she's willing, in the end, to go back to Rochester, regardless of his circumstances - what does this say about Jane, and her beliefs?
The difference between religion and morality in the novel, I think, is because of the way religion is used and the strength of it. Religion is taken to extremes by Mr. Brocklehurst, who uses it as a way to scare everyone into doing what his rules say they should be doing. He uses it as propaganda against students who contradict him...like Jane and Helen Burns. St. John Rivers tries to use religion to convince Jane to marry him. And Rochester just is not sure whether there is a god or not; he believes he is not worthy of god even if there is one.
ReplyDeleteRivers' beliefs go against Jane's values of justice because Jane believes in sacrificing on the good of the whole, as well as for herself. Going with Rivers' would have contradicted her values because she would not have been happy with him since she loved Rochester and acted true to that emotion.
The fact that Jane went back states that Jane, like everyone, has their weak points. Rochester was always hers. She was true to herself and knew throughout the entire novel that it was him she loved, regardless of the circumstances.