“My bride is here . . . because my equal is here.” (295)

This quote shows a great change in Mr. Rochester. Now that he and Jane are truly equals, they can get married. Previously, he had felt as though he was above Jane and women in general to the point that only having a mistress was perfectly acceptable. Now, however, he is not objectifying her as merely someone he can control, but as someone he truly loves. The reader can infer that this is the beginning of a loving relationship in which both partners play an equal role - a novel idea for Jane and Rochester’s time, but the ideal for many couples being married in the 21st century.

EDIT: Bronte uses this as yet another instance in which Jane's life defies convention. Jane holds herself as a strong, independent woman who will not settle for less than what she feels she deserves, including settling to only be the mistress to the love of her life. Once he has finally accepted her as his equal - a novel idea in a time when woman were by far considered to be the "weaker sex" - Jane will enter into the marriage, obviously on her own terms.

“. . .we have a genuine witch in the house, who is in close alliance with the old gentleman.” (224)

Miss Ingram’s worry of the witch and devil (“the old gentleman”) in their midst, and the general consensus from everyone else gathered, speaks to how closed-minded the masses really are. They cannot explain how the fortune teller operates either in worldly or religious reasons, for that reason, she must be in cahoots with the devil or have some similar dark motive. Bronte depicts Jane as clearly not worried by these “evil” persons, just as she is not worried about many of societies other esoteric beliefs. Because of this, Jane comes across as open-minded when those around her are much more dogmatic – an idea which carries through the entire novel.

“. . . Gulliver’s Travels . . .” (17)

In Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift, the protagonist is frequently ostracized by those around him due to his difference from the tiny people around him when he arrives in their land simply because he is seen as a giant. Then, he is treated similarly in a land of giants simply because he appears to be miniscule from their vantage point. No matter what, he does not fit in simply because of a factor he cannot control. This is similar to the situation experienced by Jane: she never quite fits in, and not for lack of trying. To anyone that has ever read Gulliver’s Travels, Bronte makes it clear from the first chapter's reference that this is the fate to which Jane shall be subjected throughout her tale.

EDIT: Jane has difficulty fitting in, despite her efforts to do so, because she is so different from most other women of her time. While they are content to remain objectified, meek, and dominated, Jane refuses to let this become her fate. Throughout her life she may be ostracized for her true nature, but she remains independent, strong-willed, and opinionated despite the circumstances.

Source:

"SparkNotes: Gulliver’s Travels." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. Web. 03 Jan. 2010. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gulliver/.

"Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last." (xlvi)

This quote, in the preface, sets up the tone of the rest of novel, and in many ways sums up exactly what is to come in the next 400 or so pages. Many see Jane as immoral because she is strong willed in many ways and manages to emerge from each trying situation stronger than she went into it. They don’t feel as though women should be able to persevere without a strong man to help them. In the same way, this quote foreshadows what is to come from the relationship with St. John Rivers – he qualifies as one that uses religion as an excuse for his self-righteousness, even telling Jane that it is against God not to marry him. This quote represents one of the main themes of the novel: to go against tradition is not always because it is “wrong.” It may be perfectly fine for some individuals, but that does not mean that it is perfectly fine for all.

"Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilised by education: they grow

Jane Eyre, of all people, would have the right to complain about the situation into which life has thrust her. She is an orphan who has been thrown out by the very people who were entrusted to care for her. She is bumped from place to place, never feeling at home for a good part of her life. Much of this has to do not with the people who know her best, but with those that don’t know her at all. And yet, she understands prejudices. She accepts that people will judge her because of circumstances over which she has had little or no control, and does not fight this. Jane knows that she can do very little to change how people will perceive her, just as very little can be done to remove weeds that have grown in a stone pathway (as any landscaper or gardener knows).

"It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquillity: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it." (123

This dissatisfaction with tranquility seems to be a personal motto for Jane throughout the novel. While other women are content to fall into typical “women’s work” such as being a homemaker, school teacher, or governess, Jane merely puts on a front of satisfaction. Instead, she is always wondering about what else might be out there for her to experience or to be; what else could form her into the person she dreams of someday being. Just because society demands that women behave in a certain manner does not determine that Jane herself will be happy with this. She is a modern day woman, in a very pre-modern time.

“A new chapter in a novel is something like a new scene in a play; and when I draw up the curtain this time, reader, you must fancy you see in a room

By speaking to the reader, Bronte’s novel leaves the bubble in which it could exist. Without statements so blatantly directed at the reader, Jane’s words would have no home. She is not writing in a diary, or speaking to anyone in particular so it seems, until this statement is made. Through engaging the reader, Bronte draws them into Jane’s tale. They are no longer outside observers, but instead participants throughout the protagonist’s life.

“. . .Resurgam. . . ” (91)

Jane marks Helen’s grave with the word “resurgam” which is the Latin root of the English word “resurgence.” Literally translated, “resurgam” means “I shall rise again.” Placing this word on Helen’s grave marker is, on the surface, a reference to Helen’s Christian religion – a religion that dictates that all the dead will rise with the second coming of Christ. The delay between Helen’s death and Jane’s addition of this word speaks to a growth that occurred in Jane in this time. She has obviously become a more spiritual person throughout her life and experiences and the fact that she is still thinking of Helen implies that their brief friendship obviously had an impact.

Source:

"Resurgam - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary." Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. Web. 03 Jan. 2010. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resurgam.

Restrictions Based on Social Class

At the time of Bronte’s writing, there was no such thing as marrying “up.” Every individual was born into a certain social strata and was expected to marry someone of the same level when the time was right. Often, true love was not a driving factor in this, because society determined that outward appearances were more important. Nowhere is this more apparent than through the fact that Jane feels as though she cannot marry Mr. Rochester because she was not born into circumstance. Her social status holds her back – it keeps her from being happy simply because she thinks and is told that she cannot be. And despite this, Rochester wants to marry her anyway. This seems to be the point that Bronte is making throughout the novel with Jane and Rochester’s relationship: true love will conquer all, no matter what society may think or dictate to the contrary.

Feminism

Jane is a feminist in a time before feminism became mainstream. In the 1850s, when Bronte wrote the novel, there were few spheres in which women and men were on equal footing and yet Jane recognizes that they are, in fact, more alike than different. She says that “women feel just as men feel” (123), and throughout the novel works to ensure that she is on equal footing with the men in her life – including refusing to become Rochester’s mistress and only agreeing to marry him when they are finally on equal social footing.

Religious Conflict

Throughout the novel, Bronte portrays Jane as being wracked by moral conflict as it pertains to religion. With each deeply religious person she encounters – Mr. Brocklehurst, Helen Burns, and St. John Rivers – she questions her own religious beliefs. In the end, she rejects Brocklehurst’s hypocritical living of his religious belief, Helen’s passive version of hers, and St. John’s version that would require sacrificing Jane’s own emotional well-being. Despite all this, Jane remains a spiritual individual. She admits to praying several times throughout the novel, including at the interruption of her wedding and when she is homeless and destitute. This allows her to find her own form of spirituality, free from the pressures put on her by those around her to conform to the way they chose to believe.

“. . . not typhus. . .” (89)

Typhus is a bacterial disease that is spread to victims through lice or fleas, which logically connects it to unclean conditions. Endemic typhus, the more severe and deadly form is usually categorized by joint, back, and muscle pain. Those afflicted by typhus also can spike sharp fevers, leading to delirium, as they break out in rashes all over their bodies – rashes which bleed as the disease progresses. By showing just how widespread the infection was at Lowood, Bronte is implying that the conditions there were less-than-ideal and that hygiene may not have been a top priority for the girls there.

Source: "Typhus - Overview." University of Maryland Medical Center. Web. 03 Jan. 2010. http://www.umm.edu/ency/article/001363.htm.

“. . . for her complaint was consumption . . .” (89)

Consumption, also known as Tuberculosis or TB, is a bacterial disease that usually manifests itself in the lungs, as can be seen in the image, although in rare cases it affects the kidneys, spinal cord, or brain of an individual. At the time of Bronte’s writing, it was one of the leading causes of death in developed nations, which was party because it is a very drawn out illness. With Helen’s contraction of TB, she undoubtedly suffered in silence for a long time before drawing anyone else’s attention to her plight. This fits with the image of her created by Bronte: Helen is a martyr. She behaves as a “proper” lady should and never once complains about her condition or draws attention to herself until it is so advanced that she is just shy of death. The difference in her disease and that which attacks the rest of her schoolmates also serves as a mark that she probably does take very good care of herself, keeping clean, but no one – no matter how good or Christian or clean - can ever escape illness and death.

EDIT: Once Jane realizes this, it serves as an inspiration for her to not change who she is, despite social pressures. No matter how "right" the image that someone projects to the world may be, it will not save them from the same fate as everybody else: death. Jane realizes that she can go through life unhappy and die that way, or remain true to herself and eventually die knowing that she did what she thought was right for her - even if society may disagree with her judgment.

Source: CDC TB Basic TB Facts." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web. 03 Jan. 2010. http://www.cdc.gov/tb/topic/basics/default.htm

Photo : Lungs of a TB Patient. Digital image. Top News. Web. 3 Jan. 2010. .

“. . . for I lay that pleasant unction to my soul. . . “ (305)

This line is a reference Shakespeare’s Hamlet where a similar statement is made in act 3, scene 4 of the play (“lay not that flattering unction to your soul” line 147). Obviously, throughout Hamlet there is conflict and turmoil. When the above statement is made, Hamlet is in his mother’s room confronting her about all the misdeeds he thinks she has committed in marrying/loving the dead king’s brother. In similar fashion, when the statement is made in Jane Eyre, Rochester is proclaiming his love for her. Bronte makes this allusion to mark the similarities between the ways society views the two women’s situations: Queen Gertrude was seen to have been in the wrong because of the incestuous nature of the relationship; Jane is seen to be in the wrong because she and Mr. Rochester come from such different social strata.

Source: Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Print.

“. . . like Felix, I put if off to a more convenient season.” (59)

In the Bible, Felix is the Roman governor in charge of the trial of the Apostle Paul. He keeps Paul imprisoned without trial for over two years. With this reference, Bronte is saying that Jane will not address her religious misgivings and questions at the moment. She undoubtedly has been raised as a Christian, but yet cannot believe blindly in what she has been taught – she must make her own determinations as to what she should believe: a determination that she is now procrastinating about.

Source: Paul. King James Bible. University of Virginia, 1995. Web. 3. Jan. 2010. http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=KjvGene.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=all.

Photo: Paul Before Felix. Digital image. One Year Bible Images. Web. 3 Jan. 2010. http://oneyearbibleimages.com/paul_before_felix.jpg.

Isolation

From the very start of the book, Bronte depicts Jane an isolated individual. This isolation is physical while under her aunt’s care, as she is shunned into the red-room for her quarrel with John. This is the first instance of Jane’s strong-will getting her in trouble. At the time of Bronte’s writing, women were expected to be docile creatures – “proper” women would never get into an argument with a man. From the beginning of the novel, it is apparent to the read that Jane is not your typical 19th century woman. By isolating Jane from other women throughout the novel – first her family, then her schoolmates, and finally the women she works with – Bronte makes it apparent that Jane Eyre is not like most women.