I thought of this excerpt very unnatural and out-of-the-ordinary because this novel has a prominent portion on morals but the novel ends with religion. This quote from St. John is from his letter to Jane and it resembles him accepting his death. His longing for heaven ends the novel. He tells his "Master" that he comes "quickly." Is he talking about God? It holds a very stark contrast to Mr.Rochester's quote on how we states he is coming. Mr.Rochester 'comes' to Jane while St. John 'comes' to God or heaven. But in the end, Jane has met her heaven as well which is the love of Mr.Rochester. Moreover, it is interesting because Jane seems to narrate on the topic of St. John more. Its as if she finds the topic of St. John's plan of action in foreign overseas more interesting than her own marriage even if she is not going along. Bronte ends with this quote which makes the reader have a strong reaction because of the unnatural ending. It made me think more and have to 'dig' my way through to why the author chose the last words of St. John's to be the ending.
I agree I found this hard to be an ironic twist of an ending. However at the same time it makes sense because it is an happy ending for St. John and for Jane as they both get to be with their "significant other". In Jane's case she gets to be with Rochester who she fell in love with and is still in love with even though he does not possess some of the same characteristics that he possessed before. St.John has devoted his life to what he believes is the correct way to uphold the christian faith. It is ironic though because at times it seems that faith/God intervened in the novel like when the tree was split in half by lightning, St. John's words provide almost an alluding factor to the reader as they dig through the novel with all of the twist and turns to find the truth in each scene
I agree I found this hard to be an ironic twist of an ending. However at the same time it makes sense because it is an happy ending for St. John and for Jane as they both get to be with their "significant other". In Jane's case she gets to be with Rochester who she fell in love with and is still in love with even though he does not possess some of the same characteristics that he possessed before. St.John has devoted his life to what he believes is the correct way to uphold the christian faith. It is ironic though because at times it seems that faith/God intervened in the novel like when the tree was split in half by lightning, St. John's words provide almost an alluding factor to the reader as they dig through the novel with all of the twist and turns to find the truth in each scene
I think that this ending is similar to the fact that throughout the novel, Jane has been trying to find her footing. In St. John's case, he found his home in the Cristian faith with Jesus, while Jane finally found Rochester. At the same time, I think it is significant that Jane ended religiously rather than something having to do with Rochester or even herself. Throughout the novel, she is not really religious. Of course she went to the school where she was required to go to church and be faithful, but I get the impression that she does not really approve of the way that religion was shown through the church. She saw how negatively it affected Helen, watched her be abused by the teachers and witnessed her friend dying in her arms. Early on, I feel like she believed that she was given an awful life and maybe didn't like God. But towards the end, once her life comes full-circle and she's in a home where she is loved, I think that Jane can then start to make a spiritual connection. Also, I think that St. John's character brings out the spiritual side of Jane. He is the first character to really push her towards religion and that takes her aback. But we see that she did begin to sway towards becoming a missionary, meaning he had affected her and made her realize the importance of religion. I think that religion is another aspect of Jane's life and character that may not seem significant, but truly deepens her character.
St. John having the final word is very significant because the novel is completely written from Jane's perspective. Throughout the whole story, we've read things from Jane's point of view. Yet, Bronte chooses to end with St. John? Obviously she had a reason to end the novel this way. I believe that Bronte wanted us to understand the depth of Jane's journey and to see truly how much she has grown since she was a young girl. Like Ayna said, Jane is not very religious throughout the novel, and perhaps that is because she believes that God has dealt her an unfortunate set of cards. But as the novel progresses and as Jane's situation improves, I think it becomes easier for Jane to accept religion into her life. St. John's presence in Jane's life also encouraged her new religious character. That is why St. John gets the final say. Jane's religious acceptance is the final symbol of her growth. It makes her change more apparent because we saw how she felt about religion in the beginning of the novel and we see how she feels now. She has definitely changed as a person. Although she keeps her passionate and independent personality, she finds a new life in religion.
I agree with Wesley and Ayna about the religious aspect of the end of the book. It definitely foreshadows Jane's future life that is more centered and devoted to religion. However unlike Wesley I feel that Bronte had a different motive behind ending the book with St. John's last words. Throughout the book Jane struggles with the fact that her status and position in life/society have stopped her from making an impact on others; she felt very insignificant. By ending the book with St. John the reader cam see the effect that Jane had left on him and allows the reader to infer that she has left a mark on the other characters she had encountered.
I thought of this excerpt very unnatural and out-of-the-ordinary because this novel has a prominent portion on morals but the novel ends with religion. This quote from St. John is from his letter to Jane and it resembles him accepting his death. His longing for heaven ends the novel. He tells his "Master" that he comes "quickly." Is he talking about God? It holds a very stark contrast to Mr.Rochester's quote on how we states he is coming. Mr.Rochester 'comes' to Jane while St. John 'comes' to God or heaven. But in the end, Jane has met her heaven as well which is the love of Mr.Rochester.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, it is interesting because Jane seems to narrate on the topic of St. John more. Its as if she finds the topic of St. John's plan of action in foreign overseas more interesting than her own marriage even if she is not going along. Bronte ends with this quote which makes the reader have a strong reaction because of the unnatural ending. It made me think more and have to 'dig' my way through to why the author chose the last words of St. John's to be the ending.
I agree I found this hard to be an ironic twist of an ending. However at the same time it makes sense because it is an happy ending for St. John and for Jane as they both get to be with their "significant other". In Jane's case she gets to be with Rochester who she fell in love with and is still in love with even though he does not possess some of the same characteristics that he possessed before. St.John has devoted his life to what he believes is the correct way to uphold the christian faith. It is ironic though because at times it seems that faith/God intervened in the novel like when the tree was split in half by lightning,
DeleteSt. John's words provide almost an alluding factor to the reader as they dig through the novel with all of the twist and turns to find the truth in each scene
I agree I found this hard to be an ironic twist of an ending. However at the same time it makes sense because it is an happy ending for St. John and for Jane as they both get to be with their "significant other". In Jane's case she gets to be with Rochester who she fell in love with and is still in love with even though he does not possess some of the same characteristics that he possessed before. St.John has devoted his life to what he believes is the correct way to uphold the christian faith. It is ironic though because at times it seems that faith/God intervened in the novel like when the tree was split in half by lightning,
DeleteSt. John's words provide almost an alluding factor to the reader as they dig through the novel with all of the twist and turns to find the truth in each scene
I think that this ending is similar to the fact that throughout the novel, Jane has been trying to find her footing. In St. John's case, he found his home in the Cristian faith with Jesus, while Jane finally found Rochester. At the same time, I think it is significant that Jane ended religiously rather than something having to do with Rochester or even herself. Throughout the novel, she is not really religious. Of course she went to the school where she was required to go to church and be faithful, but I get the impression that she does not really approve of the way that religion was shown through the church. She saw how negatively it affected Helen, watched her be abused by the teachers and witnessed her friend dying in her arms. Early on, I feel like she believed that she was given an awful life and maybe didn't like God. But towards the end, once her life comes full-circle and she's in a home where she is loved, I think that Jane can then start to make a spiritual connection. Also, I think that St. John's character brings out the spiritual side of Jane. He is the first character to really push her towards religion and that takes her aback. But we see that she did begin to sway towards becoming a missionary, meaning he had affected her and made her realize the importance of religion. I think that religion is another aspect of Jane's life and character that may not seem significant, but truly deepens her character.
ReplyDeleteSt. John having the final word is very significant because the novel is completely written from Jane's perspective. Throughout the whole story, we've read things from Jane's point of view. Yet, Bronte chooses to end with St. John? Obviously she had a reason to end the novel this way. I believe that Bronte wanted us to understand the depth of Jane's journey and to see truly how much she has grown since she was a young girl. Like Ayna said, Jane is not very religious throughout the novel, and perhaps that is because she believes that God has dealt her an unfortunate set of cards. But as the novel progresses and as Jane's situation improves, I think it becomes easier for Jane to accept religion into her life. St. John's presence in Jane's life also encouraged her new religious character. That is why St. John gets the final say. Jane's religious acceptance is the final symbol of her growth. It makes her change more apparent because we saw how she felt about religion in the beginning of the novel and we see how she feels now. She has definitely changed as a person. Although she keeps her passionate and independent personality, she finds a new life in religion.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Wesley and Ayna about the religious aspect of the end of the book. It definitely foreshadows Jane's future life that is more centered and devoted to religion. However unlike Wesley I feel that Bronte had a different motive behind ending the book with St. John's last words. Throughout the book Jane struggles with the fact that her status and position in life/society have stopped her from making an impact on others; she felt very insignificant. By ending the book with St. John the reader cam see the effect that Jane had left on him and allows the reader to infer that she has left a mark on the other characters she had encountered.
Delete