"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.