Religion is one of the main themes of Charlotte Bronte’s famous novel Jane Eyre. Throughout the novel, we can see the presence of religion. The first major theme of this novel is love. The novel also represents the condition of women in Victorian England. At the same time, the influence of science was increasing and the influence of religion was decreasing. In England, there were two major branches of Christianity, Catholic and Protestant, and these are still present today. Catholics were minorities. In this novel, Jane Eyre showed that she was not a strong supporter of Catholicism. There is some level of strictness in Catholic Christianity. For example, Catholic priests cannot marry. On the contrary, Protestant Christianity was not so strict. They could marry. In this novel, Jane Eyre indirectly showed her support for Protestant Christianity.
But this does not mean that Charlotte Bronte strongly supported Protestant Christianity. All she tried to say is that there must be a balance between religion and human life. In this regard, we can take a look at the two male central characters of the novel- Edward Fairfax Rochester and St. John Eyre Rivers. St. John Eyre Rivers was a good person. He was very much devoted to religion. Due to his strong devotion, he wanted to become a missionary and went to India to spread Christianity. He did not love Jane Eyre very much. However, he wanted to marry Jane Eyre for his own interest. We can see that his self-interest was very important to him. He understood that Jane Eyre was a good woman, and if he got married to her and took her to India, his life would be very comfortable.
On the other hand, from a religious standpoint, it cannot be said that Edward Rochester was a good person because he was already married and his wife was mentally challenged. He was leading a very unhappy married life. Yet, he fell in love with Jane and wanted to marry her. He did not tell her about his wife. On the day of their wedding, this painful secret came out in front of everyone and their wedding stopped. Jane Eyre received a major shock and stealthily left Rochester’s house. But after this incident, Rochester became a changed person. At one point, he lost his eyesight. He felt bad about himself and tried to become a good person. In this way, he redeemed himself. Despite being a bad person, Rochester earns readers’ love and respect. Rivers may be a good person from a religious point of view, but readers do not find him attractive.
Jane Eyre herself was a religious person. She could have continued her relationship with Rochester even after knowing about his first wife, but it would be an immoral relationship on religious ground. So, she did not do that. She herself was a religious and moral person. Instead of marrying Rochester, she leaves him. When she came to know about Rochester’s accident and the death of his wife, she returned to him and married him. Like a good wife, she fulfills all her duties towards her husband. The moral sense that we see in Jane Eyre is very much similar to that of Christianity.
It cannot be said that Charlotte Bronte wholeheartedly supported Christianity. She showed that many clergymen were not good. Mr. Brocklehurst, the self-righteous clergyman who runs Lowood School for Girls, was a major example of such a person. He often quotes from the Bible, but in real life, he does not care about religion but his self-interest. He humiliated little Jane for no reason. He did not provide any facilities to the children of the school and always deprived them. Showing benevolence is one of the most important teachings of the Bible and Jesus Christ, but Mr. Brocklehurst does not observe those teachings in real life. Through this character, Charlotte Bronte tried to show the hypocrisy of Christianity and clergymen.
In
her novel, Charlotte Bronte did not deny the importance of religion. She showed
both the good and bad sides of religion in this novel. Jane Eyre was a pious
woman, but she was not a staunch follower of religion. We see a beautiful
combination of humanity and religion in her character. The author mainly tried
to show that if we follow religion extremely then it does not bring any good to
society. Instead of following religion blindly, we should approach humanity
through religion. Then our society will be highly benefitted. According to her,
Brocklehurst is not a good person to Charlotte Bronte although he quotes from
the Bible frequently. St. John Eyre Rivers is a good and moral person, but he
has no emotion or love. He wanted to marry Jane not out of his love for her but
his self-interest. Rochester in the beginning did not tell Jane about his
marriage, but he is the only person who truly loved Jane. In the end, we see
that he becomes a good person which is why Jane married him and found happiness
in her life.
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