St. John and Jane Eyre

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The ability to express our intentions and have others see our point of view makes one sympathetic. “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte follows the story of a rebellious young girl who matures into a stable woman. During her life journey, Jane encounters many people including St. John. St. John is has devoted his life to God and wishes to bring Jane to India with him. St. John is a sympathetic character because he truly believes that his commitment to his religion will benefit him in the after life.

Because Jane is the narrator, the reader is given a biased point of view that St. John’s character is unfavorable. Throughout Jane’s life she has had oppressive male figures dominate her life, such as John Reed and Mr. Brocklehurst; thus, Jane can conditioned herself to be apprehensive when confronting men. After gaining her physical and emotional strength back, Jane studies St. John’s character. Jane’s first impression of St. John is pessimistic, she states “Had he been a statue instead of a man, he could not have been easier”(Bronte 329). By comparing St. John to a statue the reader is forced to see St. John as someone who is cold and rigid. Jane sets up the perception that St.John is disconnected from human feelings. Jane also presents a biased view of men when she first meets Rochester, who later becomes her husband. Furthermore, Jane’s first impressions of Rochester are also negative. Upon first being introduced to Rochester, after he asked to see her, Jane comments, “But it appeared he was not in the mood to notice us, for he never lifted his head as we approached. . . There was something in the forced stiffed bow, in the impatient yet formal tone, which he seemed to further expresses”(Bronte 111). Upon meeting Rochester for the fir...

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... idolatry and messianic symbolism in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre." Philological Quarterly 81.1 (2002): 81. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Oates, Joyce Carol. Jane Eyre. Toronto: Bantam, 1987. Print.

Peterson, Linda H. "'The Feelings and Claims of Little People: Heroic Missionary Memoirs, Domestic(ated) Spiritual Autobiography, and Jane Eyre: An Autobiography." Traditions of Victorian Women's Autobiography: The Poetics and Politics of Life Writing. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1999. 80.108. Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Lynn M. Zott. Vol. 112. Detroit: 2002. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Searle, Alison. “An Idolatrous Imagination? Biblical Theology and Romantics in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre”. Christianity and Literature. 56:1(2008): n. page. Gale Resources. Web. 28 April 2013.

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