Examples Of Sacrifice In Jane Eyre

“What do I sacrifice? Famine for food, expectation for content. To be privileged to put my arms round what I value-to press my lips to what I love-to repose on what I trust: is that to make a sacrifice? If so, then certainly I delight in sacrifice”(About.com Classic Literature). Jane has lived a hard life and because of that she just wants to be independent and respected. But to have those things she has to sacrifice her happiness and the chance of not being with the man she loves. She wants to be happy and to have the feeling of being loved, but she knows that she would not be able to be happy if she does not respect herself. And if she was with Mr. Rochester, the man she loves, then she would lose her self respect because Mr. Rochester is still married, so she would not be his wife she will just be the other women.

Rochester and wants to be with him, but she knows that if she is with him then she would lose her respect rather than gain it. If she allowed herself to marry Mr. Rochester and become known as his other woman, than she would definitely lose any kind of respect she has for herself and from others. She does not want to be his other woman, she wants to be his only one. “Rochester is the first person who has ever truly loved her. Yet she knows that staying with him would mean compromising herself, because she would be Rochester’s mistress rather than his wife. Not only would she lose her self-respect, she would probably lose Rochester’s, too, in the end”(Sparknotes.com). Growing up, she never had respect, and now that she is older that is all she wants. She wants to be respected and feel loved because she never had