Why Every High School Student Should Read Jane Eyre by Abigail

Why Every High School Student Should Read Jane Eyre by Abigail - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

When I picked up Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, for the first time, I had no idea how much I would fall in love with this classic novel. With it being of gargantuan size and written over one hundred years ago, I was intimidated and dreading the reading and assignments that would accompany it. However, this disdain, in which I had developed by judging this book by its cover, could not even withstand the opening chapter.

Bronte establishes the woeful plight of an alienated girl who will grow up with every reason to be spiteful and vengeful. The mistreatment that young Jane faces from her caretaker is cruel, and at first, as one might expect, she is hateful to authority figures that at first might seem to be her oppressors. When she meets Helen, however, she learns humility and grace in facing adversity, and I think that this is an important lesson for young people. Many kids today have a mentality that when they are slighted or treated negatively, they have to take up arms and destroy their adversary. Helen shows that treating the “enemy” with respect and little to know passionate reaction warrants respect and less-severe punishment in the end. Helen also teaches Jane that authority figures are not always hard on you for the sake of being mean, but that they care for your progress in life, and if you are going to succeed you have to let them fix your habits without anger. This is another important lesson for the adolescent that might struggle with their parents or teachers.

Jane’s education is extremely important to her success as a woman in this nineteenth century society. Being poor and without a beneficiary, her education is the only thing that lands her a job at Thornfield as Adele’s governess. Many people today still rely on other people to take care of their finances, and I find this example a powerful symbol in that an education is key for making it in this world. She takes the academic skills and life skills that she acquired in school and applies them to her peculiar time under the roof of the mysterious Rochester. This becomes extremely important when she develops feelings for Rochester but finds herself in subtle competition for his attention with the high society women that his type are more apt to associate with in this age. The way Bronte articulates Jane’s hidden feelings for Rochester is brilliant in that over one hundred years after the novel was written, a high school student can pick up this book and still perfectly relate to what she is going through in her unrequited love. This is why Jane Eyre is a classic, and also why I would strongly recommend it to anyone who asks.
When a strange series of events occurs in which Rochester tries to marry Jane but it is revealed that he is already married to a madwoman, Jane and the reader are both devastated. Being alone all of her life, except for the brief period in which she had a friendship with Helen before she died, Jane was so close to having a family at Thornfield until it is all torn away from her. Rochester explains himself, and it is blatantly apparent that it would be extremely easy for Jane to remain at the mansion and marry him despite the mishap. But Bronte asserts in this moment one of the most important lessons of all, and it is one of independence. Although Jane loves Rochester dearly, she cannot remain with him out of ease of comfort. She has to prove herself as an independent woman. She has to ascertain that she loves him for him and not for the lavish lifestyle or clever companionship he provides. This is why she decides to leave him. This lesson is extremely important for high school kids who could already be or later on be victims of abusive and unhealthy relationships. It draws a line between love and dependency, and Jane’s decision to remain true to herself reminds the reader that being in a relationship does not mean that you have to oppress your goals, your values, or yourself.

Jane’s decision to finally return to Rochester once she is emotionally and financially stable is also a very important lesson to adolescents. This is the lesson of forgiveness. In all of Rochester’s wrongdoings as a husband to his first wife, courter to Jane, and father to Adele, he eventually atones for his transgressions and accepts the misery he has brought upon himself. Jane learns that she does not need to be cruel to him because he has learned from his mistakes, and they can be happy together. Their happy ending is significant because they recognize each other as equals. A controversial topic for Bronte’s time, it is still an issue between men and women today, as many adolescents like to joke about who “wears the pants” or who is “whipped.”

I hope that every student has an opportunity to read this novel because it is extremely important to the young, developing person. I hope they also learn from it as much as I do, and receive the significance of the plot gracefully and with contemplation. Like I mentioned before, (in nothing less than a cliché as old as time) I judged this book by its cover, and in turn it humbly changed my life.