The Role of Sin

1. The Role of Sin Connor Dunne, John Griffin, Suzanne Hickey, Jennifer Nguyen, Courtney Pham

2. Prompt • What is the role of sin in the book? Look for blot, contamination, polluted, sin, evil, sullied, bane. • What is the significance of religion in the novel? • How does religion shape Jane and her decisions throughout the story?

3. The Beginning: Gateshead Hall • “Deceit is, indeed, a sad fault in a child… it is akin to falsehood, and all liars will have their portion in the lake burning with fire and brimstone…” (Brontë 31) • “God will punish her: He might strike her dead in the midst of her tantrums, and then where would she go?” (Brontë 8) • As Jane is growing up, her adopted “family” views her as an ungraceful, sinful child, a liar who will burn in hell. • Jane, with her strong temperament and powerful beliefs, begins to feel remorseful of her actions, despite her belief that she is justified in her rebellious attitude. • From early in her childhood, Jane is taught indirectly, through her experience in the Red Room, that sinners will be punished, which is the foundation of her character and her development as the book progresses.

4. Lowood Teaches Forgiveness • “But the time will soon come when we shall put them off in putting off our corruptible bodies when debasement and sin will fall from us and only the spark of the spirit will remain.” (Bronte 58) • In this quote Helen explain forgiveness to Jane and the importance of forgiving those that wrongly punish her. She talks about forgiving the sins of others which stays with Jane her whole life and affects her relationship with others throughout the novel.

5. The Hypocritical Headmaster • “My mission is to mortify in these girls the lust of the flesh, to teach them to clothe themselves with shamefacedness and sobriety.” (Bronte 65) • Mr. Brocklehurst comes to Lowood and lectures Miss Temple and the girls on the sin of pride and gluttony. After telling a girl with curly hair to cut it off, he justifies it by stating they, “do not conform to nature.” He then continues to condemn Jane, forcing the school to shun her for her “sins”. Shortly after, his family walks in wearing velvet, silk, and fur, in stark contrast to the lacking, impoverished clothing the students are supplied with. This demonstrates his hypocrisy towards religion and sin.

6. Forgiving and Redemption • "You intimated that to have a sullied memory is a perpetual bane. It seems to me, that if you tried hard, you would in time find it possible to become what you yourself would approve" (Bronte 145). • Jane and Rochester have a deep conversation about sin, forgiveness, and redemption. • Forgiveness and redemption are reoccurring themes in the novel. The sins committed in the novel, such as Mrs. Reed's cruelty and Rochester's adultery, end with forgiveness and redemption. The characters pay for their sins with penance. For example Mrs.Reed becomes very ill and is driven to seek forgiveness from Jane. Another example, Rochester ends up becoming blind and losing a hand in the fire at Thornfield, but then gains Jane's forgiveness and self redemption.

7. The Return to Gateshead Hall • “You had no right to be born; for you make no use of life. Instead of living for, in, and with yourself, as a reasonable being ought, you seek only to fasten your feebleness on some other person’s strengths: if no one can be found willing to burden her or himself with such a fat, weak, puffy, useless thing, you cry out that you are ill-treated, neglected, miserable” (Brontë 252). • “Love me, then, or hate me, as you will… you have my full and free forgiveness: ask now for God’s and be at peace” (Brontë 257). • Eliza and Georgiana represent two ends of the spectrum: Eliza is cold, punctual piety, while Georgiana is spoiled, trifling frivolity. • The condescending tone is derived from the supposed “religious” life that is meant to be superior to the whims of mortals. • Jane forgives Mrs. Reed for her misdeeds against her, but cannot absolve Mrs. Reed’s sins for her.

8. The Adultery at Thornfield • "I will keep the law of God sanctioned by man...Laws and principles are not for times when there is no temptation: they are for moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigour...If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth?" (Brontë 343). • Mr.Rochester's sin is lusting for a new wife when he already is bound to Bertha Mason. His lust for Jane drives him to almost commit bigamy. • Jane upholds her morals to do the right thing. Even though Jane wants to be with Mr.Rochester, she resists her desires. Therefore her religion has once again withheld her from happiness and has led her to make a certain decision which alters her journey in the novel.

9. The Guilt at Moor Hall • “You left me too suddenly last night. Had you stayed but a little longer, you would have laid your hand on the Christian’s cross and the angel’s crown. I shall expect your clear decision when I return this day fortnight. Meantime, watch and pray that you enter not into temptation: the spirit, I trust, is willing, but the flesh, I see, is weak. I shall pray for you hourly. –Yours, St. John.” (Brontë 457) • After Jane hears the voice of Rochester the previous night, St. John leaves her a letter saying to resist temptation during his absence.  He uses the theme of temptation (a closely related term to sin in Christianity) as means of guilt tripping Jane into remaining at the Moor house and marrying him when he returns. St. John claims that it is the morally right and Christian thing to do.

10. Being Prudish at Moor Hall • “Fancy me yielding and melting, as I am doing: human love rising like a freshly opened fountain in my mind and overflowing with sweet inundation all the field I have so carefully and with such labour prepared-- so assiduously sown with the seeds of good intentions, of self-denying plans. And now it is deluged with a nectarous flood– the young germs swamped– delicious poison cankering them… She is mine– I am hers– this present life and passing world suffice to me” (Brontë 404). • St. John views himself as a holy and pious man and his love of Rosamond Oliver as temptation that he cannot indulge in. • His self-denial may appear as religious and giving, however, it can also be viewed as unkind and cold.

11. Relation to the Novel • Religion plays an important role in Jane Eyre. Jane, when faced with decisions that question her moral standings, relies on her own beliefs and the fine line between right and wrong. • Sin portrays the weaknesses in the characters of the story, from the hypocritical Mr. Brocklehurst to the overly pious St. John. While on the opposite sides of the spectrum, both characters, as well as many others, are unable to fully understand the complex ethics and morals that Jane embodies. • Pertaining to sin, a common motif in the book is FORGIVENESS. From Mrs. Reed to Mr. Rochester, Jane displays her moral strength in her ability to forgive those who have wronged her. • While Jane Eyre does not center around the religious workings of the novel, sin and religion play a role in both guiding Jane down righteous paths and away from morally ambiguous roles and contrasting Jane, who is a strong character, with the lesser characters around her.

12. Works Cited • Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: Bantam Dell, 1987. Print. • http://zakeno.deviantart.com/art/The-Red-Room-323562664 • http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xGSPUwDl4vc/UavBWftKm2I/AAAAAAAABDs/F30F0dx126k/s1600/darcymeme.jpg • http://www.readbreatherelax.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/jane-austen-pride-and-prejudice-meme.jpg • https://p.gr-assets.com/540x540/fit/hostedimages/1380385133/743963.gif • http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/JaneEyre.jpg • http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/terms/B/ByronicHero.htm • http://wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com/blogs/nakedpastor/files/2013/07/feel-like-crap-550x550.jpg • http://575english.ucoz.ru/jane_eyre_06_465x370.jpg • http://www.moviequotesandmore.com/image-files/jane-eyre-12.jpg • http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/16/jane-eyre-lessons-_n_4101000.html • http://s3.media.squarespace.com/production/634259/10048350/_8HjvYT6rjg0/R-ckfEi5DWI/AAAAAAAACe0/rlajhZdPM68/s400/jane_eyre_05_465x370.jpg • http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/03/06/movies/jane-eyre-versions-slide-FSJK/jane-eyre-versions-slide-FSJK-blog480.jpg • http://www.rizzotees.com/images/P/LG-FINAL-ABSTINENCE-T-S.jpg