Free Jane Eyre and Villette Essay Sample

Outstanding writer of all times Charlotte Bronte wrote her autobiographical piece “Jane Eyre”, which became one of the ‘must read’ books.  This read entered legion of classics and  inspired millions of people. Even thought this piece is not fully autobiographic, we can trace every major event or life changing experience in the book to the reality of Charlotte Bronte. However, she gave herself space for creativity and addressing important for her issues in this book as well.  Good example would be Bronte’s choice to end the novel with an account of St. John’s death. The ending of Jane Eyre is one of the most disputed ending in literature.

St. John came to Jane’s rescue more than once. The obvious one is when he took her into his house, cured her and found her a job.  However there is much more to his role in her life than this. He was slightly fanatic about his religious beliefs, despite that Eyre describes him as a “good man ”. "I had found a brother: one I could be proud of”. But  his  obsession with religion with addition of light delusion brought him to icy reasoning and self-control. In other words he kept himself from all the things that made him happy, he was pathetic. He did not marry the woman he loved, instead he proposed to Jane.  St. John wanted to go to India and help  people,  he did all the right things for all the wrong reasons.  When he acted on something it was simply because it was the right thing to do in his mind.  Seeing how unhappy he was Jane decided to pursue her own happiness to avoid ending up like St. John.

If to look at this relationship more closely we can see that  St. John is one of the key figures on the life path of Jane Eyre. He gave  her everything that enabled her to have happy life full of love and passion  just as she wanted it to be. Her cousin informed Jane that she had inheritance from her uncle waiting for her. This legacy gave her right to marry her husband as equals. Seeing St.John miserable gave her a push  to strive for  better  future. If not her cousin she would not end up with her soul mate.

Ending her story with death of St.John was a way of tying up loose ends in the story and giving  it bigger emotional load.  The book acquired two endings in a way.  The happy ending where Jane gets married, has a child, and lives happily ever after.  In the end Bronte goes to explore another alternative, the life she would end up living if  she would agree to marry her cousin.  St.John was very unhappy man,  he kept filling void in his soul with  charity work. He  was guided with the idea that it was the right thing to do. For a person to be in such misery, death was the best escape possible. Moreover being religious person he would find peace in death and his misery would end.

Novel is based on life experience of Charlotte Bronte, but I think her goal was not to tell the story of her life, but to share the lesson she learned living it. “Gentle reader, may you never feel what I then felt? May your eyes never shed such stormy, scalding, heart-wrung tears as poured from mine. May you never appeal to Heaven in prayers so hopeless and so agonized as in that hour left my lips; for never may you, like me, dread to be the instrument of evil to what you wholly love.” The Part of the book that describes the death of her cousin is alike to the moral in the end of the fable. The conclusion she draw from her life is quite explicit,- to follow one’s heart and never give up  when facing hardships. However, every person will have to draw one’s own lessons as everybody has his or her own path and it is up to this person what road signs to read.

 

Have NO Inspiration
to write your essay?

Ask for Professional help