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Religion (St John (St John portrays the cold, calculating side of religion…
Religion
St John
St John portrays the cold, calculating side of religion, devoid of passion, and in such way similar to that of Helen's - inherent passion of humans is subdued
For a version of religion that is markedly similar to Helen's, St John incites a very different reaction from the reader, who do not sympathise with him, nor seem to understand his point of view as they do Helen's
Again, this is another view of religion that we see Jane dismiss - though in principle it is what she should desire - utter devotion to her Lord, she realises that she cannot bring herself to do this - she is not strong enough
St John's manipulative character also shows a more cynical view to religion; St John uses God almost as a threat to persuade Jane into marrying him: Do you think God will be satisfied with half an obligation, and as such Bronte criticises the use of religion and God as a manipulative technique, meant to scare people into doing things
St John is also presented as hypocritical; as a clergyman he should enjoy his job and love his enemies, however he did not appear to enjoy his works and ignores Jane and treats her differently after her rejection of his proposal: That night, after he had kissed his sisters, he thought proper to forget even to shake hands with me, but left the room in silence
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Helen Burns
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She teaches Jane to control her passion, and Christian forgiveness, which Jane then employs when forgiving Mrs Reed (you have my full and free forgiveness)
However, she also exposes Jane to a very submissive version of religion that she really would not want to pursue. Though it had its merits, eg. it taught Jane to control her passion, Jane still does not fully embrace it, as we see that it is not in her nature to do so; by nature she will always be a passionate person, and so to try to subdue that passion would not work
Rochester
Rochester is shown to have a complicated relationship with religion, as he does not really pray initially
However, Jane is shown to teach him to trust in God and during his separation from Jane, he says I began sometimes to pray. Very brief prayers they were, but very sincere
His losing of a hand and an eye is also reminiscent of Jesus' words that it would be better to do so than to sin
Mr Brocklehurst
Mr Brocklehurst's hypocritical version of religion is shown to be a criticism of the Evangelical movement of the 19th Century, and of the hypocrisy that was present in institutions such as the one presented in Lowood School
This negative portrayal of Mr Brocklehurst is shown through the use of language to describe him as a black pillar, the grim face at the top was like a carved mask, placed above the shaft by way of capital, evoking images of cold, hard and rock showing the hardness of his heart