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I believe that Charlotte Bronte presents a Biblical
worldview in her novel Jane Eyre in that two constant morals are upheld
throughout the book. These morals are
forgiveness and justice. One example
of forgiveness that we see is when Jane after enduring several years of hardship and abuse
at the hands of her Aunt Sarah Reed and her cousins John, Eliza and Georgina at Gateshead
Hall. Jane comes back from her position
as a governess at Thornfield when her Aunt Sarah is near death. Jane tells her aunt that
she forgives her for all the pain and suffering she caused Jane. Jane learned of forgiveness and she
learned how to move on with her life from her friends Miss Temple a teacher at Lowood and
Helen Burns a fellow student and close friend of Jane’s who died during an epidemic
at Lowood. Through them, Jane learned
what true forgiveness was, to forgive the person who has wronged you and then move on,
being determined not to let that affect your entire life.
There are many instances where the Bible tells us we are to forgive
those who offend us. Proverbs 19:11 says
“A man’s wisdom gives him patience, it is to his glory to overlook an
offense.” In Genesis 33:4-11 Easau
forgave Jacob for stealing his birthright, Genesis 45:5-15 and 50:19-21 tells us that
Joseph forgave his brothers for abusing him and selling him into slavery. David forgave
Saul for trying to kill him in 1st Samuel 24:10-12 and also in 2nd
Samuel 1:14-17. Jesus forgave his enemies in
Luke 23:34. Mark 11:25 says
“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so
that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” So here we
see that when Jane forgave her aunt and cousins for their abuse she was acting out a
Biblical trait. Something
that goes right along with forgiveness is justice. The
Bible says in Proverbs 24:17 that we are not to rejoice when our enemies fail or when harm
comes to them, Proverbs 24:29 also tells us that we are not to take justice into our own
hands. Jane very well could have wished harm
to come to her aunt and cousins, or to Mr. Brockelhurst but instead she forgave them and
she didn’t hold a grudge against them. In
Jane Eyre, Bronte portrays justice through her characters, a justice which is Biblical
because Jane forgave those who hurt her, allowing God to judge them. Proverbs 24:12 says
“If you say, "But we knew nothing about this," does not he who weighs the
heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person
according to what he has done?” God
knows when people wrong us, and he will repay “each person according to what he has
done”. Justice is seemingly
“served” as Jane’s aunt dies still harboring a deep hatred/jealousy towards
Jane, her cousin John commits suicide and his sisters, also Jane’s cousins lead
shallow, hypocritical lives. In contrast with her own, their lives seems so empty and
useless. Mr. Brocklehurts too is repaid for
his cruelty to the students at Lowood, he is removed from Lowood after the epidemic. How does Jane Eyre relate to Aristotle and Henry V ? Aristotle set the tone of courage by outlining what courage really is, which the Bible supports. Shakespeare in Henry V , upheld Aristotle's view of courage with regards to battle and the Bible supported that also. Bronte in Jane Eyre upheld Aristotle's view of courage in every person's life. Jane faced problems just like everyone in this world faces yet she had courage! She held on to what she knew to be right, she wasn't afraid to stand up for herself or make decisions. This supports Aristotle's view that courage is voluntary, that it is something one decides to do. Jane decided what she was going to do and then did it, allowing nothing to discourage her and no fear to consume her. Henry also shows this characteristic, against great odds he decided he wasn't going to be afraid of defeat and that he was going to lead his men as strongly as he could and he did! Both Henry and Jane succeeded in their tasks, Henry conquered France, Jane found at last true love . Click here to read about courage from a Biblical perspective Click here to return to navigation
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