Christianity Portrayed in Jane Eyre free essay sample

There is a difference between spirituality and religion, and Bronte presents this to readers through her novel. In times of despair and difficulty, Jane turns and relies on the God in whom she believes. As with any religion, Christianity is the faith of many people, sometimes labeled â€Å"good†, and sometimes labeled â€Å"bad† by society. Jane Eyre is a novel that portrays the genuine, as well as hypocritical aspects of Christianity and varying members of the faith. It seeks to honestly tell the story of a woman from childhood to adulthood as she encounters Christianity in different situations and environments, including the positive and negative aspects. Jane Eyre is as much of an anti-Christian novel as a pro-Christian novel, as it is a genuine representation of a frank experience with the Christian faith. While Bronte does promote the spiritual awareness of the protagonist in some situations, she does make a point to criticize some aspects of the Christian religion in other points. Brocklehurst, the headmaster of Lowood, where a young Jane attends school, acts as the epitome of religious hypocrisy and severity. Upon meeting the small Jane, Brocklehurst is already presented as a hard-hearted and insensitive man. After admitting that she is not interested in the book of Psalms in the Bible, Mr. Brocklehurst rebukes her and proclaims, â€Å"That proves you 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). This harsh manner is the one Brocklehurst assumes the rest of the novel, as he oppressively resides over the all girls’ school whilst withholding vital resources he labels â€Å"comforts† and institutes general regulations of frugality even as he lives in a large comfortable mansion in an upper class lifestyle. His decisions for the school cause widespread illness and ultimate death, as well as many discomforts among the young girls in school. Mr. Brocklehurst is portrayed as a cold, uncompassionate and threatening authority figure. He relies on religion to belittle people in lesser societal roles than he, and to further his own appearance of a â€Å"good† Christian man. Upon his initial meeting and first discussion with Jane, he says to her, â€Å"Little girl, here is a book entitled the Child’s Guide: read it, with prayer, especially that part containing an ‘account of the awfully sudden death of Martha G, a naughty child, addicted to falsehood and deceit’† (Bronte 34). He intimidates her with religion and instills fear in her, even though she is very young and naive. This conversation and Brocklehurst are presented as cold and unnecessarily harsh, Brocklehurst acting as yet another severe aspect of Jane’s life instead of a loving one that religion could have the power to give her. Besides recognizing negative aspects of Christianity, Bronte takes time to exemplify the honest traits and actions of a heartfelt member of the Christian religion. Helen is a genuine follower of Jesus Christ through her actions and expressed thoughts. During a conversations about the Christian faith with Jane, Helen says, â€Å"I believe; I have faith; I am going to God†, to which Jane responds with the questions, â€Å"Where is God? What is God? † (Bronte 90). Once the conversation concludes, Jane thinks, â€Å"Where is that region? Does it exist? † regarding the hopeful afterlife Helen described in their previous conversation (Bronte 90). Helen plays an important role in Jane’s life. She is her one true friend at Lowood, and she is a person that holds the value of others much higher than herself. She acts as a somewhat of a spiritual leader for Jane. Before becoming close with Helen, Jane never had a personal confidant to guide her or share wisdom or genuine knowledge about Christianity, especially in the loving manner Helen assumes. Living a majority of her childhood and adolescence in Lowood, Jane looked to Helen as a role model in many ways, even after Helen’s young death. Jane admired Helen for her gentility, humility, and utter compassion for others. Helen acted as an accurate representation of loving Christians, a representation Jane had not experienced previous to her experiences with Helen, or with Miss Temple, a notable teacher who cared for Jane more than any other member of the Lowood faculty. These figures in Jane’s life play an important role in sharing the ideal roles of Christianity, not the skewed Christian values promoted by other characters such as Brocklehurst. After abruptly leaving Thornfield and the escaping romantic pressures from Rochester, Jane finds herself struggling for survival on her own during her travels to the unknown future and destinations. Yet in the struggle, Bronte writes, â€Å"I felt the might and strength of God. Sure was I of His efficiency to save what He had made†¦ I turned my prayer to thanksgiving; the Source of Life was also the Saviour of spirits. Mr. Rochester was safe; he was God’s, and by God would he be guarded† (Bronte 377). It should reveal a great deal about Jane’s awareness and relationship to God that she takes the time to thank God in times of perceived blessing, and that she seeks and finds comfort in Him. There seems to exist a level of comfort and assurance in the God she praises that she encounters nowhere else. One of the main lessons learned in Jane Eyre is to not settle one’s goals to comply with others’ expectations. Jane has opportunities to comply with others’ demands and to become someone she is truly not, exemplified by the instances of St. John demanding her hand in marriage to become his missionary companion and of Rochester’s offer for her to essentially become his mistress. She does not lower her standards, and trusts in God when her well thought decisions seem unwise initially. Jane, although she remains independent in her reasoning for actions and major life decisions, does turn to God in times of trouble and despair. She thanks the deity when inexplicable blessings or occurrences are bestowed upon her. Her religious tendencies during these times seem to reveal a great deal about her honest views towards God she holds in her heart. After Jane finds comfort and rescue with her unknown cousins, Bronte writes, â€Å"I thanked God; experienced amid unutterable exhaustion a glow of grateful joy—and slept† (Bronte 392). Clearly Jane holds a high esteem for God and does see him as a major working hand in her life. Bronte’s life holds many parallels to Jane’s life in the novel. She too went to a boarding school as a child, in an institution with low maintenance standards, as two of her sisters died due to illnesses received there (Cody). Bronte married, and although she â€Å"admired† her husband, she never fell in love with him (Cody). This relationship can remind us of her relationship with St. John, and how she loved him as a good man of God and as a familial cousin, but not as a husband. In her fictional novel, Bronte, perhaps temporarily living through Jane, escaped this type of marriage and found love with Rochester. Perhaps the novel is the life Bronte would have preferred, and viewed it as her escape into a life with an outcome she desired. Of the most well known critiques of Jane Eyre is the critical review by Elizabeth Rigby, published in the Quarterly Review in December of 1848. Rigby claimed, â€Å"Altogether the autobiography of Jane Eyre is pre-eminently an anti-Christian composition† (Rigby). This review harps on the â€Å"unregenerate and undisciplined spirit† Jane supposedly possesses, as well as Jane being â€Å"proud and†¦ ungrateful† (Rigby). Rigby affirms that â€Å"Currer Bell† (Bronte’s pen name) is a man, and criticizes the unknown author for his â€Å"total ignorance of the habits of society†¦ and a heathenish doctrine of religion† (Rigby). According to Rigby, Jane never undergoes a visible change from the grace savlvation of God. Yet is she not a compassionate human being, putting others before herself and making respectable life choices for herself? Does she not call to God in time of trouble, and of blessing? Jane possessed a quiet, and often detached outer personality in most circumstances of conversation and interaction with others; this does not equal to a hard heart or a sprit untouched by Christ. Jane Eyre could hardly be considered an anti-Christian novel from nearly any perspective. Bronte exemplifies some hypocritical and unappealing aspects of the Christian religion, such as Brocklehurst in his religious and oppressive plight over Lowood and the students, and St. John’s insistence upon the marriage and missionary service for Jane.