Companionship In Jane Eyre

Words: 1296
Pages: 6
Open Document
Thesis: Jane struggles with balancing her independence and the need for companionship with her relationships with Helen, St. John and Rochester

Body Paragraph 1: Helen
With her relationship with Helen, Jane explores her need to be cared for by the world. Jane’s struggle to balance her needs for companionship and independence is especially apparent in her relationship with Helen Burns. When Jane first meets Helen, Jane is in desperate need of companionship. Jane never felt companionship at Gateshead, and she searches for someone when she starts school at Lowood.The first way that Helen helps Jane with her struggle with isolation is when Mr. Brocklehurst makes Jane stay alone for a period of time as a punishment. Helen’s smile inspires Jane--on …show more content…
Rochester. One significant moment where Jane emphasizes with Mr. Rochester regarding isolation is when Mr. Rochester falls off his horse and Jane is unwilling to leave him alone and face the world. In fact, she cannot even bear to leave him alone because she understands the pain and suffering it brings. She tells him, ““I cannot think of leaving you at so late an hour, in this solitary lane, till I see you are fit to mount your horse.” Her comment is especially important considering the conversation that Mr. Rochester and Jane have about demons and the challenges of being alone later on. The mounting of the horse also implies the carrying on of life, and Jane’s unwillingness to let Mr. Rochester carry on with his life alone, not caring for anyone and with no one caring for him because she has experienced his pain. Jane also values her freedom over her need for companionship when she leaves Mr. Rochester because of his not informing her about his wife, Bertha Mason. When he is trying to coax her to stay regardless, she tells him, “the more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.” Her comment shows her search for herself and her gaining of self-respect over the relationship that she has for Mr. Rochester. This stage is a turning point in Jane’s emotional development, as she understands the importance of her freedom and the importance of her long-term happiness, not just the temporary rush she would feel with Mr. Rochester. Her prioritization is especially apparent when she soliloquizes, “There was a heaven--a temporary heaven--in this room for me; if I chose: I had but go in and say...”. The temporary heaven would of course be staying with Mr. Rochester at the expense of being her own person, and figuring out the real world for herself. At the end of the book, Jane makes her final choice about Mr.
Show More

Related Documents: Companionship In Jane Eyre

Importance Of Companionship In Jane Eyre

Jane’s relationship with Mr. Rochester is fraught with contradictions--making a choice between freedom and companionship is hard for Jane, but also central to their relationship. When he falls off his horse, ,Jane emphasizes with Mr. Rochester --she cannot bear to leave him, even though she does not know him, because she understands the pain and suffering being alone brings. Giving reason for lingering, she assures him, “I cannot think of leaving you at so late an hour, in this solitary lane, till…

Words 464 - Pages 2

Good Vs Evil In Jane Eyre

"Oh Jane! My hope-my love-my life!" broke in anguish from Rochester’s lips. Then came a deep, strong sob” Bronte 324. This quote, like the character Rochester, can be regarded two different ways, good vs evil. The good in the quote is evidentially the true love that bursts through the seams as Rochester utters these passionate words. But it also shows the evil of betrayal and reminds readers once again that Rochester hid his marriage from Jane. In the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Mr. Rochester…

Words 552 - Pages 3