The Eyre-y Queen
OK. So Andrew refers to Jane Eyre as "Jane Error," and Gibby clearly has no respect for the woman, but I think Charlotte Bronte's leading character has character and is worthy of respect. I'd like to know what you think about the matter--supporting your belief with details from the text, of course.
You could pretend to be Jane's defense attorney or her prosecutor. What do you see worthwhile in the character? What do you see as a fatal flaw? Or are you somewhere in between?
Think before you write. And think different thoughts than those who write before you, as usual!
Love,
Mrs. D
posted by Sister Sara @ 8:48 AM
11 comments
11 Comments:
I think Jane is a very respectable character. I pride myself in giving balanced opinions of people, so I don't really care if poeple agree with me or not. You can see from her actions that she is a very precise yet passionate person. This nature leads her to make decisions based off her impeccable morals. However, sometimes the decisions are swayed by her fatalistic viewpoint of the world. She is very respectable, but sometimes her extreme "all or nothing" emotions run away with her and cause her needless pain and suffering to others.
The character of Jane represented in this book is, in my opinion, inconsistent and rather rash in her actions. She spends the entire book either holding in emotions to her own detriment or lashing out in outbursts that hurt everyone else. True, Mrs. Reed did not treat her very well, but that is still no excuse to lash out in such a tirade of juvenile rage as Jane does. More important, though, it is her horrific decision to leave Mr. Rochester, whom she loves, and the comfort and security of Thornfield Hall (or wherever it is that Mr. Rochester would move them) to escape to a foreign place with no money, no extra clothes, and no immediate prospects of a home or employment to nearly die of starvation and cold does not strike me as the kind of action given to a rational, intelligent being. Forget the greater good, you can not serve God if you are dead.
I definitely believe that Jane is intelligent and rational. She makes decisions based on her principles. It would have been morally wrong for her to stay with Mr. Rochester, and Jane did what was right. Adultery is wrong no matter what the circumstances are, and basically Mr. Rochester was asking Jane to live with him in France without marrying him. We should follow God's ways and be holy, no matter what the consequences are (ie. no money, no extra clothes, etc.). Why do you think all the martyrs died? (after all, they can't serve God if they're dead either) It was because they wouldn't give up what they believed, they would not compromise their principles, and Jane did this same thing.
I think Jane is kinda like most of us. We all have our not-so-smart moves and we all have our wise moves. Jane sometimes gives into her emotions and doesn't make the right choice, but more than not, she makes the right choice. What everybody has said about her following God's law by leaving Rochester is correct. No matter how much you may think you love someone, if they're married to someone else YOU CAN'T BE WITH THEM! Jane also worked hard and made the most out of her opportunities at Lowood, even when all she loved had left. So even though she may have had her slip ups, overall she is considerably wise.
Jane absolutly blows me away; like Rebekah said, she told Mr. Rochester no when he wanted her to live with him. She had such courage and trust in God. She left Mr. R and just went walking, looking for someplace she could go, with no plan of how or where she was going to end up. She put her faith in the fact that God provides and totally gave Him control of what happened to her. That's faith right there!
Too late, Tanner. And dookieheadman, it doesn't matter how "heroic" Jane is in your eyes; God is in the little victories just as much as He is in the big ones. It's true that she's normal, and that's what's so wonderful about her. She's exactly like any other person, but she holds to her standards no matter what. You don't have to go out and do crazy things to honor God; you can do it right where you are and that is what Jane did. And how in the world can anyone say that Jane left Mr. Rochester for selfish reasons? Obviously, she wanted to stay with him, but because it would have been wrong, she left. Far from being selfish, she was actually denying herself what she desired so that she could obey God. And you know what, Bertha Mason was still a person even if she had gone crazy, and I don't care if Mr. Rochester "wanted to move on with his life," it would be wrong for him to divorce her and wrong for him to marry someone else. Circumstances don't matter; God's law does not change. Grrrrrr, as everyone might have guessed I'm pretty upset right now, but I should be over it by tomorrow.
And by the way, I think God cares more about people who aren't "special," who are messed up and need his mercy, than about people who are.
You're right, Ellie, that came out wrong. God doesn't care more about some people than others, but in Matthew 5 it says that the poor in spirit are blessed, and that the kingdom of God is theirs. That's kind of what I was trying to say.
jane eyre is very composed and does not let her emotions go away but she seems sort of fake, like when she sorta is falling for mr. r. she all of the sudden changes her mind and is like nope dont like him
I actually like Mr. Rochester, too. He did take care of his wife, and I think he could have divorced her not because she was crazy, but because she was unfaithful to him (I know that's somewhere in the Bible . . .). Also, yup, I think Bertha should be punished for her crimes, but Mr. Rochester shouldn't get married before she dies. And it's true that in the Old Testament people had more than one wife (before God gave the law), and I don't exactly understand that, but in the New Testament it says that men should only have one wife. So, while Bertha should have been punished and Mr. Rochester could have divorced her while remaining within the bounds of morality, these things did not happen in the book so it would have been wrong for Jane to marry him under the circumstances. (I don't know if this blog was a good idea, Mrs. D . . . it might be fun to read, though)
Wow! Consider this one graded. Love the heated battle of the words. I say the person with the best grammar and spelling wins!
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