In Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, the importance of God and religion is a central argument throughout the novel. The reason for such an argument is that the novel covers a wide spectrum of religious belief from a harsh and repressive Calvinist belief, to a pure and compassionate egalitarian approach; and it is within this spectrum that the character of Jane finds herself battling to find her position and identity. ... Rochester, Jane is able to see first hand what ideologies the religious extremes incur. Furthermore, Jane also adds complexities such as nature and a personal interpretation of the extreme polarities to personalize her own ideology. Therefore, Jane’s delineation of character depends on her interpreted balance of both personal and extreme religious ideologies.
The first religious extreme Jane encounters is a repressive Calvinist ideology that is presented by Mr. ... In Jeanette King’s book “Jane Eyre”, it is interpreted that, “Brockelhurst represents the most negative aspects of religion—punitive, frightening and repressive” (69). ... As Jane is exposed to Brockelhurst’s ideology, which is fundamentally done in her childhood, she initially adopts some of behaviors of vengeance and retaliation associated with Calvinist views but ultimately feels anguish from them: “Something of vengeance I had tasted for the first time, as aromatic wine it seemed, on swallowing warm and racy: its after-flavor, metallic and corroding, gave me a sensation as if I had been poisoned” (47). This identifies that although Jane is pleased at first with adopting these Calvinist views, they leave her feeling anguished and it is this feeling that essentially drives her away from this belief. ... Jane’s exposure to St John creates a major problem for her character. She is a very passionate person and in adopting St John’s philosophy, she must compromise her own attitudes and personal characteristics: “at his side always, and always restrained…forced to keep the fire of my nature continually low, to compel it to burn inwardly…this would be unbearable” (Bronte 453). Jane ultimately respects St John and his devotion, but he represents a form of spiritual suppression to her and therefore she finds his ideology unacceptable. ... John Rivers: Why Jane Eyre Preferred a Cynical Sinner to a Religious Zealot”, Bolt observes what Jane fundamentally dislikes in St. ... John’s creed is the root cause of Jane’s discourse with the belief structure a therefore rejects her belief in it.
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