Jane Eyre

Honors English

16 February 2007

Independence and Love in Jane Eyre

Throughout Jane Eyre, Jane searches for a way to express herself as an independent person who needs help from no one, yet she also wishes to have the love and companionship of others. Often times, Jane finds that she can have independence but no one to share her life with, or she can have the love of another at the loss of her independence. Jane's entire journey is based on the goal of achieving a seamless blend between independence and love, a mixture that rarely seems to go hand in hand.

The story begins with a young Jane Eyre who is essentially neither loved by anyone nor independent in nature. At this point in the story, the reader discovers that Jane is an orphan and is being supported by the Reed family. This discovery is made through the portrayal of John Reed when he is taunting Jane about her social status. John claims that since it is his family who supports Jane, it is their choice to dictate the circumstances under which she lives. In this case, Jane is not allowed to play with the younger Reed children or read a book that belongs to the Reeds. The fact that6 Jane is an orphan living under someone else's roof displays that she has not yet gained her independence. The Reed's, as it can be seen by their actions above, are also terribly cruel to Jane. After John is done taunting Jane about the book he hits her with it. A fight ensues, in which Jane is victorious. Despite the fact that John instigated the fight, Jane is punished by being sent to the "red-room" by Mrs. Reed. The Reeds are Jane's only acquaintances, and since they do not treat her lovingly, she basically has no one in her life that is close to her.

When the story progresses to Jane's life at Lowood School, love and independence finally begin to make a show in Jane's life. Jane finds a mother figure in Mrs. Temple while she is attending the school. Mrs. Temple is, in reality, the only truly kind teacher at the school, and she shows Jane a taste of what being loved is all about. A major example of the relationship between Mrs. Temple and Jane is when Jane is accused in front of the entire school of being a liar. It wounds Jane severely that many of the students and faculty believe that statement, but Mrs. Temple does not automatically take the accusation at face value. Upon finally hearing Jane's rebuttal to the situation, Mrs. Temple believes her and vows that she will clear Jane's name of the false statement, which she eventually does. However, the school also introduces a character who questions Jane's search for love. While this character, Helen Burns, does not condemn love, she states the Jane bases her actions too much on the quest for love. Helen believes that one should look forward more to the promise of a reward in the after-life than the immediate gratifications (such as love) of life. Jane disagrees with Helen and her meek outlook on life but is still able to make friends with her, which helps Jane to receive anther kind of love. The independence factor can be viewed by the simple fact that Jane is no longer dependent on the Reeds for complete support. At Lowood, she has the ability to express herself a little bit more freely. In addition to this, she also becomes a teacher after graduating the school.

The next stage in Jane's maturance in independence and love occurs during her interim as a governess at Thornfield for Mr. Rochester. She immediately sets herself as independent by taking the job. In this manner, she is earning her own money and must fend for herself in the world. However, the main focal point of this stage is the love that develops between Rochester and Jane. Jane first realized that she loves Rochester when the character of Blanche Ingram arrives on the scene. Blanche Ingram and Rochester are supposedly very close to one another. They are both rich and aristocratic people and seem to be the perfect match for each other. When Rochester brings this Miss Ingram to Thornfield, Jane begins to entertain thoughts of marrying Rochester herself. Though Miss Ingram and Rochester are rumored to be infatuated with on another, it soon becomes evident that Rochester much prefers Jane's company to that of Miss Ingram's. This is revealed in two major ways. The first is seen in Rochester's parting response to Jane on the night of the party. He wishes for Jane to stay with him