Passion In Jane Eyre

Colin Russell

Mr. Diana

Period 7

22 March 2018

Passion vs. Reason

The novel Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, follows Jane Eyre from her adolescence to her adulthood. During her times at Gateshead, Lowood, Thornfield, and Moor House, Jane makes decisions in various situations that lead to her moral growth and development. As a young child, Jane struggles to control her passions while living with the Reeds and eventually is sent away to Lowood, an all-girls boarding school. While at Lowood, Jane meets Helen Burns who helps guide Jane in controlling her emotions. After a decade at Lowood, Jane takes up a governess position at Thornfield and begins to develop a deeper understanding of herself and others. After leaving Rochester the day after

At the beginning of the novel, Jane is hiding in terror from John Reed, her spoiled and greedy cousin. After searching the house John finds Jane hiding behind the curtains furtively reading a book. He grabs the book out of her hands and hurls it forcefully at her causing her to fall and strike her head on the door. Immediately, Jane fights back with antipathy screaming, “Wicked and cruel boy! You are like a murderer—you are like a slave-driver—you are like the Roman emperors!” (4). Angered by Jane’s revile, John charges towards her pulling her hair grabbing her shoulder. Mrs. Reed is summoned and witnesses Jane fighting back blinded by her angry passion. Mrs. Reed orders Jane to be taken to the dreaded red room and locked in. Mr. Brocklehurst, from the Lowood School, arrives and Mrs. Reed describes Jane as a deceitful and noxious child. Jane is distraught and shocked at these words and she retorts angrily, “you are bad, hard-hearted. You are deceitful!” (34). Mrs. Reed, frightened by Jane’s vehement response, replies: “you are passionate, that you must allow” (35). Mrs. Reed witnesses Jane’s outburst and is intimidated by her passion and her inability to control her feelings. Soon after Jane is sent to Lowood, where she becomes friends with Helen Burns, an astute teenager who teaches Jane how to reason and see

Upon leaving Thornfield, Jane is so distraught that she loses her luggage and her money. She wanders the countryside in a lugubrious condition and finally collapses at the door of Moor House. St. John, a missionary living an ascetic life, finds Jane lying motionless on the ground and brings her into the house where he and his sisters Diana and Mary nurse her back to full health. Jane develops friendships with Diana and Mary and St. John offers Jane a job teaching a school full of poor farm girls. Jane is once again re-establishing her life and moving forward. Working alongside Jane is Rosamond Oliver, a beautiful woman who St. John loves. Rosamond and St. John both love each other and even have Rosamond father’s permission to marry, however, St. John knows, “that she would not make a good wife; that she is not the partner suited to me; that within a year after marriage… would succeed a lifetime of regret” (405). St. John believes Rosamond isn’t suited to be a missionary 's wife. St. John dismisses the marriage with Rosamond and asks Jane to marry him because he believes she would be a better missionary’s wife. During St. John 's and Jane’s walk, he suggests what he thinks is best, “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” (437). St. John asks Jane to marry him because he feels she will be an asset to his missionary work if she comes to India with him. However, Jane responds wanting to go as his