Jane Eyre Religion

                Unlike the past two books we’ve read in the class, Paradise Lost and Inferno, Jane Eyre posed us with a break from the deeply religious world. Charlotte Bronte’s book still has the religious aspect; however, it is not as strong of a theme as the others, and also, it portrays the corrupt side of religious beliefs of her time, contrary to other books that portray figures obediently following the bible and common-beliefs. Overall, Christianity and God affect Jane’s life differently from many other protagonists have been influenced in past readings.

Jane Eyre encounters two religious figures that represent Bronte’s distrust in Christian system; Mr. Brocklehurst and St. John. The master of Lowood School, Mr. Brocklehurst, symbolizes the hypocrisy and corruption of a religious individual. Charlotte Bronte casts a sense of irony as he tells Jane how she “has [have] a wicked heart; and you must pray to God to change it: to give you a new and clean one: to take away your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” (Bronte 32) It is ironic because he is the one who is accused of maltreatment of the Lowood girls and his luxurious living is revealed in Chapter 10.

St. John appears later in the novel as one of the Rivers siblings. He is a minister at Morton who is cold, reserved, and often controlling in his interactions with others. Unlike Mr. Brocklehurst, St. John is very faithful to God, and does not commit any horrible wrongdoings. Throughout the later chapters, he shows his abstinence from emotions and self-desires, which makes him “a statue instead of a man” (Bronte 322-323). Bronte’s portrayal of St. John is unique for a man who is following the bible as it reads. Though he is faithful to the church, and is a respectable minister, he is unhappy. Through the portrayal of St. John, Charlotte Bronte conveys how satisfaction cannot be achieved only through the obedience of religious outlines.

In fact, this idea is backed up by Jane Eyre herself. Although Jane does not appear too religious, she often refers and speaks of the God, such as when she says “there is not a future state worse than this present one – let me break away, and go home to God!” (Bronte 288) as she grieves over the fact that Mr. Rochester had fooled her over his first wife, Bertha Mason. However, her faith in God compared to the other two characters is very different. She follows Christianity and its beliefs; but moreover, she follows her own morale and trusts her own decisions. In Chapter 34, when St. John proposes to Jane, she turns down the offer, even though he mentioned how “it is the cause of God I advocate: it is under His standard I enlist you,” meaning how the marriage would follow the intent of God. Upon hearing this, Jane Eyre rejects marrying him, and she decides to return by Mr. Rochester, who is her true love.

Overall, in Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte illustrated Christianity from many viewpoints. Throughout the long quest, Jane figures out that neither sinning like Mr. Brocklehurst, or taking religion to the extreme, like St. John, produces happiness, but in the end it comes down to his/ her own decision, and their own will to follow their own central beliefs.