Religion Through Spiritual Explorations in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre

Religion Through Spiritual Explorations in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre In Jane Eyre, religion is embraced through a series of spiritual explorations. Bronte portrays Jane's character and zest for religion by revealing Jane's transitions from Gateshead to Lowood, Lowood to Thornfield, and Thornfield to Moor House. Jane ultimately rejects everyone of these organized styles of worship. However, that does not mean that she rejects all their beliefs. She is forever changed by each experience and they have helped mold her view on religion and her relationship with God. Each location plays a significant role in the development of Jane's perspective on religion. Jane struggles to acquire true faith in God, which will help her overcome the obstacles of her nomadic life. Within Jane Eyre, Bronte shows a feeling of anti-Catholicism through the character of Jane?s cousin, Eliza Reed. The novel portrays Eliza as a picture of rigidity: Two young ladies appeared before me; one very tall, almost as tall as Miss Ingram,--very thin too, with a sallow face and severe mien. There was something ascetic in her look, which was augmented by the extreme plainness of a straight-skirted, black, stuff dress, a starched linen collar, hair combed away from the temples, and the nun-like ornament of a string of ebony beads and a crucifix. (Bronte 228) Eliza had certainly taken on the ritualistic side of Catholicism. (Rife) She is described as a busy person, but "it was difficult to say what she did: or rather, to discover any result of her diligence" (Bronte 234). Bronte had the same feelings toward the Catholic faith. Charlotte and many other English Protestants viewed Catholics as people who worshipped idols diligently, yet d... ...r himself. (Cashwell) As we can see, Jane is obviously affected by her experiences at each of these different stages in her life. At Lowood she learned the strict adherence to the religious and moral values that were taught there. Even though she may not have agreed with all of them, they molded her views on morality, shown in her experiences with Rochester. She also learned of sacrifice through St. John, who sacrificed true love for the greater good of his religious calling. Bronte deals with quite a few religious topics and pretty much finds something wrong with each form of Christianity. Jane finally finds a personal relationship with God, and even though she may not agree with one of the forms of organized Christianity, she finally fells a spiritual inner peace. Works Cited: Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1996.