Independent Study Project
Jane Eyre
Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre, addresses many modern day problems regarding love including large age differences, abuse and religion, despite being set in a Victorian age. Jane was raised in an abusive family. She was without love for many years. In fact, the first time she consciously encountered love was the affection she received from Helen. Many children today face domestic abuse similar to the abuse Jane received at the Reed’s mansion. The inspiring thing is that Jane continues to work towards love despite being so abused and alone. Unfortunately, the love she received from Helen was brief. Soon, she moved on to Thornfield Hall where she encountered Mr. Rochester. As stated in the novel, Mr. Rochester was around twenty years older than Jane, yet their love flourished. The philosophy “age is just a number” comes to mind here. This is a phrase used frequently between youth today. The love between Jane and Mr. Rochester gives the users of this phrase an excellent example of how love prevails over age. Of course, love of another is not always enough to overcome the age barrier. There are things, such as religion, that are stronger bonds. Jane feels she cannot betray her god when asked to be Mr. Rochester’s mistress, so she leaves. From here, Jane becomes involved in a better situation at Moor House, where she finds family. She receives love from her family and only returns to Mr. Rochester when she fully understands what she wants and believes. From Jane Eyre, we can learn many things about love. We can learn that being in a terrible situation doesn’t mean you always will be, that age is no matter if love is truly there and that it is important to love and know yourself before you unconditionally love another.
After reading Jane Eyre I found that it had a strong resemblance to the famous love story Beauty and the Beast by Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont. Beauty goes to live with the Beast