Tag: Lowood

Jane Eyre: A Heroine’s Quest for Home, Part Three

~ I'mAllBooked ~ 1 Comment
The students of Lowood School. Engraving by Fritz Eichenberg. Random House, 1943.
The students of Lowood School. Engraving by Fritz Eichenberg. Random House, 1943.

Jane’s Tests

This article continues from “A Heroine’s Quest for Home, Part Two: From Thornfield Hall to Marsh-End.”
 
“Hopeless of the future, I wished but this—that my Maker had that night thought good to require my soul of me while I slept; and that this weary frame, absolved by death from further conflict with fate, had now but to decay quietly, and mingle in peace with the soil of this wilderness.”


In this part of my review of the novel Jane Eyre, I am looking at a particular aspect of Jane’s journey. Typical to the quest tale structure, the heroine encounters challenges that test and strengthen her character along her journey towards finding home. As Eric Solomon has pointed out, a pattern is repeated in each phase of Jane’s journey: “Jane comes into conflict with authority, defeats it by her inner strength, and departs into exile.” After leaving Gateshead, Jane faces four main tests, which originate from Mr. Brocklehurst, Mrs. Reed, Mr. Rochester, and finally St. John Rivers. Each test tends to interrupt Jane’s current life with issues from the past. In some of these challenges, she is supplied a helper. Each incident evaluates Jane’s growth and progress towards acquiring her ultimate goals: independence and home. Continue reading “Jane Eyre: A Heroine’s Quest for Home, Part Three” →

Jane Eyre: A Heroine’s Quest for Home

~ I'mAllBooked ~ 6 Comments

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

“Anybody may blame me who likes, when I add further, that, now and then, when I took a walk by myself in the grounds…that then I desired more of practical experience than I possessed; more of intercourse with my kind, of acquaintance with variety of character, than was here within my reach…It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it.”


One of my all-time favorite works of classic fiction is Jane Eyre, and I’ve read it several times (and will again!). This romantic, gothic, fictional autobiography portrays a young woman seeking to find a place in society where she can add value to others, as well as be valued herself. From the very start, the reader sympathizes with Jane and admires her courage in difficult circumstances. Abandoned, demoralized and betrayed as a child by those on whom she depends for care and protection, Jane has almost every disadvantage in a society which judges and rewards individuals for their external and superficial qualities, such as social status, wealth and beauty. But Jane does have qualities that serve her well – her wit and intelligence, her courage, and most importantly, her faith. Each situation she faces serves to give her more inner strength and confidence. She knows that while people may fail her, God never will, and He never does. Continue reading “Jane Eyre: A Heroine’s Quest for Home” →