More wise words from our fictional friend, Jane Eyre. (I'm reading it for the first time, since I am tutoring Jacob and Isaac Maxwell in British Lit, etc. Warning: there will be spoilers.)
At this point in the novel, Jane has had her hopes of marriage to her beloved Mr. Rochester (literally) dashed at the altar, where it is revealed that he is already married. Turns out that the insane woman who lives on the third floor--and who periodically tries to burn him alive in his bed--is his wife, Bertha Mason. As might be expected, Jane is heartbroken. In this scene, however, her resolve is being severely tested by Mr. Rochester, who is trying to convince her that a marriage between them would not be immoral, since no one with half a heart could consider his marriage to Bertha morally binding. Endeavoring to lay a guilt-trip on her, he implores Jane:
"Is it better to drive a fellow-creature to despair than to transgress a mere human law--no man being injured by the breach?"
To which Jane honorably responds, in words that give us penetrating insight into the nature of sin:
"I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man. I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mad--as I am now. Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigor; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth? They have a worth--so I have always believed; and if I cannot believe it now, it is because I am insane--quite insane: with my veins running fire and my heart beating faster than I can count its throbs."
Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre, chapter 27.
At this point in the novel, Jane has had her hopes of marriage to her beloved Mr. Rochester (literally) dashed at the altar, where it is revealed that he is already married. Turns out that the insane woman who lives on the third floor--and who periodically tries to burn him alive in his bed--is his wife, Bertha Mason. As might be expected, Jane is heartbroken. In this scene, however, her resolve is being severely tested by Mr. Rochester, who is trying to convince her that a marriage between them would not be immoral, since no one with half a heart could consider his marriage to Bertha morally binding. Endeavoring to lay a guilt-trip on her, he implores Jane:
No comments:
Post a Comment