Jane Eyre: A Pleasant Feeling from Forgiveness

This was very pleasant; there is no happiness like that of being loved by your fellow creatures, and feeling that your presence is an addition to their comfort. (Charlotte Brontë, p. 260)

Jane Eyre is an orphaned girl who is plain, small and she has unpleasant looking. On the contrary, she is also described as an intelligent and independent character. In the book, it is mentioned that when she was a child, she was very unhappy because her parents died, had to live with her aunt in Gateshead Hall, and was sent to the terrible school (Lowood Institute). From Jane’s struggles throughout her childhood experiences, the reader gets to know the feelings to be a child who is dependent and being controlled by adult to be disciplined and to have good behaviors. Moreover, Jane’s character also tells the reader about the things that people need to know from a child fantasies when having a very difficult time after getting several punishments of not following the requirements to be a good child.

In Lowood Institute, Jane finds Miss Temple and Helen Burns as her role model and best friend. Jane respects Miss Temple for she has given a positive impact to her students, Jane Eyre and Helen Burns. She is a caring and good teacher because she treats and guides her students very well. Besides, her only best friend, who is Helen Burns, is described as calm, loving, and intelligent and from her point of view, both Jane and reader learn about her devotion to God. It is proved when she says to Jane:

“I am sure there is a future state; I believe God is good; I can resign my immortal part to Him without any misgiving. God is my father; God is my friend: I love Him; I believe He loves me.” (p. 82)

From their friendship, I get to understand the sense of losing a best friend because Helen was died after suffering from diseases. Moreover, I can learn that from their friendship, people have a chance to love and to learn about ourselves as a human being.

When Jane grows up, she becomes such a heroine person because she really values her life and is very passionate to speak the truth in order to express her desire. Besides, after moving to Thornfield Hall, she also becomes a good teacher for Adèle because she teaches her student to value herself as a girl and soon, her student becomes a great student. In this place, she also learns a difficulty and joy of being an adult because this is the place where she meets her first love, Mr. Rochester. He is described as an intelligent, intellectual and sympathetic character who also falls in love with Jane. On the contrary, he has been married to Bertha Manson who is out of control. From Bertha Manson and Jane Eyre, the reader learns that both of them share similarities because they have a romantic relationship with Mr. Rochester. Besides, both of them shares the feeling of being imprisoned in the house for Jane was imprisoned when she was child in the “red room” while Bertha was imprisoned in her husband house. Mr. Rochester and Jane are haunted because the presence of Bertha is actually destroyed their romantic relationship. In connection with that, Jane refuses to get married with Mr. Rochester because she values herself as a person and wants to save his life by doing that even though she has a very difficult time at that time of being penniless. From Jane’s experiences, the reader learns that valuable property and money, which Mr. Rochester has, is not important compared to the feeling of knowing the bitter truth. It is the same as the feeling when a girl meet a man that she wants to marry, she will feel all kinds of joyous and happiness things in her future life, and it is being destroyed after knowing the fact that the man has already had a wife which is still alive.

Again, Jane Eyre moves to another place after experiencing a very difficult time with Mr. Rochester. In the process of finding a new place to live, she has to experience to be a penniless and becomes a beggar to seek a new job. I learn that people always have a choice when having a difficult time, to just let it come and do nothing, or to learn and grow from our difficulties by seeking an opportunity. By her own faith, she finally finds the River’s family home at Moor House and there she finds her cousins and knows the fact that her uncle who just died inherited his property to her. In this place, her cousin, St. John Rivers also asks her to marry him and accompany him to go to India and again, she refuses the marriage proposals, but she is willing to go to India. Based on her point of view, Jane places herself as her sister and St. John does not love her for he just want a companionship from her to live as a missionary in Calcuta, India.

Before starting a new life, Jane asks a permission to visit Thornfield Hall, and soon finds the fact that the house is empty. After getting to know the reason that Mr. Rochester moves to Ferndean because of the tragic event which is caused by his late wife, Bertha Mason, Jane finds her Mr. Rochester and Pilot in that house. Even though Jane finds the fact that Mr. Rochester is blind, both of them still get married and become very happy to start a new chapter of their life as husband and wife. Therefore, the reader learns that love is made within our minds, souls, and hearts and it grows stronger when we can share the same feelings of forgiving our bitter past experiences.

Above all, I learn that Charlotte Brontë has given described a charming and lovable character as Jane has that a middle class woman can also get a chance to be respectable. Charlotte Brontë gives the reader a better understanding that woman can take a role in life and it feels pleasant to read her novel. In short, forgiveness is pleasant as we can accept the reality in our life, find a way to have a better life and we deserve to be happy and to love and be loved.