Jane Eyre- Conflict

   Question #2            

The conflict in Jane Eyre is partly internal. Jane struggles with her own feelings and temperament, causing conflict with the people around her. In many cases she is forced to choose between the passionate, caring side of her personality and her cool, collected, conscience. As a child, Jane gives vent to her passionate feelings when she collides with Mrs. Reed. By doing so, she makes herself a lifelong enemy with whom she never reconciles. After Mrs. Reed’s death, Jane realizes that, “living, she had ever hated me- dying, she must hate me still.” (page 144)

After Jane’s childhood, her conflict is all a result of her dealings with men. In Jane’s first year at school, Mr. Brocklehurst tells the school that Jane is deceitful. Instead of responding to this accusation with passionate hatred, however, Jane stays calm, learning to control her feelings for the first time.

Later in the novel, two men propose to Jane. These two proposals are the source of an even greater conflict. If Jane accepts Mr. Rochester, then she will let her cool conscience sleep, defying the laws that she has set for herself. On the other hand, if Jane accepts St. John, then she will be defying all of her passion and emotion. Jane’s conflicts as a child leave her with enemies, and she loses relationships that she might have cultivated with her aunt and cousins. As Jane grows, however, she learns to balance both sides of her personality, and consequently achieves happiness later in her life.

 Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: Random House, 1943. Print