I'm almost finished preping a unit on "Jane Eyre" for my 10th graders and, as with "Hamelt," new aspects of the work are impressing themselves this time through.
The first is what I call "middleness." If you wanted to sum up "Jane Eyre" in three words you could do it with "the golden mean." Like Aristotle, and the Greeks in general, Bronte is obsessed with being in the middle; specifically, that virtue is a mid-point between two opposites. In each area of her life, Jane is called to avoid extremes personified in the other characters of the work. In religion, Jane avoids Brocklehurst's Evangelicalism as well as Eliza's Anglo-Catholicism. She avoids (barely) Helen Burns' optimistic universalism, but also (barely) St. John's pessimistic evangelism. In matters of the heart, Jane learns to temper her passionate nature at Lowood and so resists being Rochester's doxy, but she keeps enough of her romanticism to reject St. John's utilitarian offer of marriage. In matters of class, Jane works hard to overcome the boundaries placed on her by her low birth, but also rejects 3/4 of the fortune left to her by her uncle. In terms of femininity, Jane rejects both Georgiana's coquetry and Eliza's prudery. Everywhere we look in the book, Jane finds a mean between mighty opposites.
The second is what I call the "quasi-allegory." Bronte was heavily influenced by Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress." This is especially apparent in the structure of "Jane Eyre." The novel represents a journey; not to a celestial city, but to finding a place in this world.
Jane begins her journey at Gateshead (a metaphor for setting out) as a friendless a status-less orphans. Here, Jane is under the strict discipline of Mrs. Reed (In an interesting play on her name. Mrs. Reed keeps a switch by her bed for discipline). Because of her ill considered revolt, Jane is sent to Lowood school. Like Dante, Jane finds this low-wood to be a place of moral confusion. Jane is rescued by Miss Temple and Helen Burns. Miss Temple, true to her name, teaches Jane to reverence her personal worth. Helen, named for the most beautiful of women, teaches Jane how important it is to have a beautiful soul. Having grown into a young woman, Jane again feels out of place and so takes on a job as a governess at Thornfield Hall. Here, Jane labors under "the curse" (indeed, Thornfield is literally under the curse of Bertha) as Adam after eden, but it is also a place where Jane must resist the temptation to let the thorny cares of this world, in the form of Mr. Rochester, choke out the seed of faith within her. In a final act of trust, Jane flees Mr. Rochester and casts herself on God's mercy. This leads her to whitcross, where she loses the parcel that contained all her worldly goods. The image of losing a parcel at a cross is deftly lifted from "Pilgrim's Progress," but the image of choice and decision is hightened by setting the scene at a literal crossroads. Jane is saved from the false paradise of being Mr. Rochester's doxy, but is left a beggar both spiritually and physically. Alone, she almost perishes from want until she is taken in by the Rivers. With a St. John Rivers and a thorough drenching from a storm, Jane's metaphorical baptism is complete and she is admitted into Christian fellowship. Moor house, a bleak but wholesome place, becomes a school of spiritual discipline for Jane. The two Rivers sisters, Mary and Diana, both impress Jane with their cultivation and she learns from them. The words "pagan" and "christian" are used throughout the chapters detailing Jane's stay at Moor house and it is interesting that "Diana" is the Greek goddess of ideal virgin womanhood and Mary the Christian ideal of the same. St. John, spiritual and aloof, with his eagle eyes (think "tetramorph"), presides over the whole. Her time of spiritual growth at an end, Jane is faced with a choice that tests her willingness to follow God and her ability to hear Him. Jane almost acquiesces to St. John's seemingly godly call for Jane to become a missionary, but at the moment of crisis, Jane calls out on God to make His will known and hears the voice of Rochester calling to her. Jane takes it as a sign and refuses St. John's offer in spite of the estrangement that it brings. After a search, Jane is untied with Rochester who has lost his wife, his house, one hand, and one eye. Symbolically, he has been purged of the sins of the eye, the sins of the flesh, and the boastful pride of life. Thus reformed, Jane can now marry him and live in the more modest estate of Ferndean where she finally finds her home in an edanic-like place. Lest we be lulled into thinking that a lasting paradise can be made on earth, however, the novel gives the last word to St. John Rivers as he lays down his life for the gospel in India.
There you have it: "middleness" and "quasi-allegory." That's what's struck me this time through. One way or another, "Jane Eyre" is definitely worth a re-read. Why not pick it up again and see what you find?
The first is what I call "middleness." If you wanted to sum up "Jane Eyre" in three words you could do it with "the golden mean." Like Aristotle, and the Greeks in general, Bronte is obsessed with being in the middle; specifically, that virtue is a mid-point between two opposites. In each area of her life, Jane is called to avoid extremes personified in the other characters of the work. In religion, Jane avoids Brocklehurst's Evangelicalism as well as Eliza's Anglo-Catholicism. She avoids (barely) Helen Burns' optimistic universalism, but also (barely) St. John's pessimistic evangelism. In matters of the heart, Jane learns to temper her passionate nature at Lowood and so resists being Rochester's doxy, but she keeps enough of her romanticism to reject St. John's utilitarian offer of marriage. In matters of class, Jane works hard to overcome the boundaries placed on her by her low birth, but also rejects 3/4 of the fortune left to her by her uncle. In terms of femininity, Jane rejects both Georgiana's coquetry and Eliza's prudery. Everywhere we look in the book, Jane finds a mean between mighty opposites.
The second is what I call the "quasi-allegory." Bronte was heavily influenced by Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress." This is especially apparent in the structure of "Jane Eyre." The novel represents a journey; not to a celestial city, but to finding a place in this world.
Jane begins her journey at Gateshead (a metaphor for setting out) as a friendless a status-less orphans. Here, Jane is under the strict discipline of Mrs. Reed (In an interesting play on her name. Mrs. Reed keeps a switch by her bed for discipline). Because of her ill considered revolt, Jane is sent to Lowood school. Like Dante, Jane finds this low-wood to be a place of moral confusion. Jane is rescued by Miss Temple and Helen Burns. Miss Temple, true to her name, teaches Jane to reverence her personal worth. Helen, named for the most beautiful of women, teaches Jane how important it is to have a beautiful soul. Having grown into a young woman, Jane again feels out of place and so takes on a job as a governess at Thornfield Hall. Here, Jane labors under "the curse" (indeed, Thornfield is literally under the curse of Bertha) as Adam after eden, but it is also a place where Jane must resist the temptation to let the thorny cares of this world, in the form of Mr. Rochester, choke out the seed of faith within her. In a final act of trust, Jane flees Mr. Rochester and casts herself on God's mercy. This leads her to whitcross, where she loses the parcel that contained all her worldly goods. The image of losing a parcel at a cross is deftly lifted from "Pilgrim's Progress," but the image of choice and decision is hightened by setting the scene at a literal crossroads. Jane is saved from the false paradise of being Mr. Rochester's doxy, but is left a beggar both spiritually and physically. Alone, she almost perishes from want until she is taken in by the Rivers. With a St. John Rivers and a thorough drenching from a storm, Jane's metaphorical baptism is complete and she is admitted into Christian fellowship. Moor house, a bleak but wholesome place, becomes a school of spiritual discipline for Jane. The two Rivers sisters, Mary and Diana, both impress Jane with their cultivation and she learns from them. The words "pagan" and "christian" are used throughout the chapters detailing Jane's stay at Moor house and it is interesting that "Diana" is the Greek goddess of ideal virgin womanhood and Mary the Christian ideal of the same. St. John, spiritual and aloof, with his eagle eyes (think "tetramorph"), presides over the whole. Her time of spiritual growth at an end, Jane is faced with a choice that tests her willingness to follow God and her ability to hear Him. Jane almost acquiesces to St. John's seemingly godly call for Jane to become a missionary, but at the moment of crisis, Jane calls out on God to make His will known and hears the voice of Rochester calling to her. Jane takes it as a sign and refuses St. John's offer in spite of the estrangement that it brings. After a search, Jane is untied with Rochester who has lost his wife, his house, one hand, and one eye. Symbolically, he has been purged of the sins of the eye, the sins of the flesh, and the boastful pride of life. Thus reformed, Jane can now marry him and live in the more modest estate of Ferndean where she finally finds her home in an edanic-like place. Lest we be lulled into thinking that a lasting paradise can be made on earth, however, the novel gives the last word to St. John Rivers as he lays down his life for the gospel in India.
There you have it: "middleness" and "quasi-allegory." That's what's struck me this time through. One way or another, "Jane Eyre" is definitely worth a re-read. Why not pick it up again and see what you find?
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