Jane Eyre

In her preface to Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë takes a strong stance against religious hypocrisy, preempting the possible objection that Jane and Edward Rochester’s love goes against Victorian morality. Brontë points out that “Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion” (6), arguing that “self-righteous” people often use their adherence to “convention” to mask their lack of actual goodness or moral character. In the novel, Brontë exposes the fallacies, inadequacies, and outright lies of various religious philosophies, encouraging the reader to consider the moral complexity of any given situation rather than dealing in absolutes.

The novel presents numerous examples of “self-righteous,” hypocritical religious figures. Mrs. Reed is Jane’s first introduction to hypocrisy, given the contrast between her unjust abuse of Jane, whom Mrs. Reed purposely degrades despite deathbed promises to her husband, and Mrs. Reed’s elevated self-image as Jane’s charitable benefactress. This hypocrisy is poignantly revealed when Mrs. Reed warns Mr. Brocklehurst that Jane has “a tendency to deceit” (78). Mrs. Reed’s accusation infuriates Jane because her benefactress often punishes her not for lying, but for telling the unpleasant truth. Jane remains an outspoken truth-teller even at the risk of permanently severing all ties to the Reeds, yelling at Mrs. Reed:

I am not deceitful: if I were, I should say I loved you; but I declare I do not love you: I dislike you the worst of anybody in the world […] People think you a good woman, but you are bad, hard-hearted. You are deceitful! (85)

Mr. Brocklehurst is another figure of glaring religious hypocrisy in Jane Eyre. He preaches an ostensibly Christian doctrine of self-denial and deprivation as the path to spiritual salvation, but only for the poor orphans at his school. Mr. Brocklehurst uses this philosophy to justify the school’s refusal to provide for students’ basic needs. Meanwhile, he profits by skimming from the top of the donations he receives, financing his family’s lavish lifestyle.

Helen Burns, on the other hand, is a morally complex character that forces the reader to whether her extreme form of Christianity is positive, damaging, or somewhere in-between. Helen espouses a religious philosophy steeped in love, forgiveness, and passive acceptance of punishment. She gracefully accepts harsh scolding and beatings from cruel teachers, believing that she—rather than her abuser—is always at fault. Though Jane admires Helen’s inner peace, she finds by the ways Helen’s philosophy justifies others’ mistreatment disturbing.

Jane Eyre’s most significant moral complexity is Mr. Rochester’s indissoluble connection to his first wife Bertha. Both he and Bertha are in some ways victims and in other ways perpetrators. She behaves violently toward her husband and other residents of Thornfield; but she has been imprisoned in the attic for 15 years, and cannot communicate her frustration in any other way. Similarly, Mr. Rochester is equal parts victim and perpetrator: His father and Bertha’s family tricked him into marrying a mentally ill woman, but he chooses to similarly trick Jane into marrying him without knowing the full truth. Jane feels torn between her sympathies and desire for Mr. Rochester, and her commitment to the moral sanctity of marriage. In a direct address, Jane invites her readers to consider how they might react if they were made to feel like “the instrument of evil to what you wholly love” (801).

Thus, Jane Eyre encourages readers to put aside conventional ideas of morality and religious self-righteousness in favor of a deeper, more nuanced approach.

Religious faith and romantic love thematically meld in Jane Eyre. The love between Jane and Mr. Rochester is likened to religious devotion, consisting of passion, deep connection, and loyalty. Though Jane initially struggles with this melding of religious faith and romantic love, she comes to accept her communion with Mr. Rochester as a sort of holy sign; Mr. Rochester’s love feels divine because their union is ordained by God.

In the weeks leading up to Jane and Mr. Rochester’s first wedding, Jane is amazed—and somewhat disturbed—to find that Mr. Rochester has subsumed the space in her mind that God once occupied. She reflects, “He stood between me and every thought of religion, as an eclipse intervenes between man and the broad sun. I could not, in those days, see God for His creature: of whom I had made an idol” (683). Thus, when Jane discovers the truth of Mr. Rochester’s first marriage to Bertha, she worries that this love will pull her into a life of immoral behavior and sin, and that their love itself is sinful, threatening to overwhelm her moral judgment.

The cold, passionless character of St. John Rivers is a foil for Mr. Rochester and his overwhelming desires. Jane repeatedly describes St. John as un-emotive and statue-like, and clearly not in love with her. For a brief moment, Jane observes him flush with romantic passion when considering a drawing of Rosamund Oliver—the woman he truly loves, but St. John represses this passion, deeming it a distraction to his stern, serious religious dedication. Observing this act of repression, Jane decides that it is wrong to repress romantic love and instead live life as a cold, emotionless statue. When St. John proposes to Jane—urging her to marry him and serve as a missionary in India—Jane has an epiphany regarding the connection between religious faith and love. She rejects his proposal, replying, “I will give my heart to God […] You do not want it” (1,016).

Later, Jane hears Mr. Rochester calling out to her from a great distance, as though some supernatural power carries his voice. Jane tells the voice, “Wait for me! Oh, I will come!” (1,051), interpreting this supernatural communication as a sign that her religious trial—the “test” of her faith—is over, and God wants her and Mr. Rochester to be together. Jane’s cry echoes the words St. John calls out to God when he is near death many years later: “Surely I come quickly! […] Amen; even so come, Lord Jesus!” (1,136). The explicit comparison between Jane’s passion for Mr. Rochester and St. John’s religious devotion confirms the connection between romantic love and religious faith. It also leaves room for many interpretations about St. John’s true nature: Will he soon be united with God (his only true love), or are these the empty cries of a cold, lonely, loveless man?