Biblical Allusions in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre Essay

Biblical Allusions in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre One Sunday evening, shortly after Jane arrives at Lowood School, she is forced to recite the sixth chapter of St. Matthew as part of the daily lesson (70; ch. 7). This chapter in Matthew states, Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? / (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. / But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (31-33) Although these words are not stated overtly in the text, they aptly fit Janes situation. Cast off from the Reed household, Jane is†¦show more content†¦Historian Hugh McLeod, in Religion and Society in England, 1850-1914, writes that Protestants believed that the Bible should be in every home, and that it should be read every day (192). Although the different sects of Protestantism were varied throughout the Victorian era, almost all agreed that the Bible should be seen as the authoritative word of God (McLeod 100). In many upper-class families, the head of the household usually read from the Bible aloud while everyone else gathered around to listen, and even homes where no one could read displayed Bibles proudly. The Bible had appeals for different people. Bronte uses the Bible in Jane Eyre to develop her characters. Some members of society used the Bible to guide their lives, believing that it held all the answers for existence in this life and the next. Others just enjoyed the tales: The Bible provided an inexhaustible supply of dramatic stories, colourful characters, and memorable sayings, to which keen readers repeatedly returned as their own experience provided parallels with what they had read (McLeod 108). Even children were familiar with Biblical stories. As McLeod writes, Education in Sunday Schools, church day schools or Board Schools ensured that almost everyone had at least some knowledge of the Bible (107). Religious historian L. E. Elliott-Binns, in Religion in the Victorian Era, writes that Sunday schoolsShow MoreRelatedReligious Foreshadowing in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Essay832 Words   |  4 PagesReligious Foreshadowing in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Charlotte Brontà « uses several different symbols to foretell events that occur in Jane Eyre. For example, Brontà « uses birds to represent freedom, for which Jane longs and finally finds by the end of the novel. Fire is another symbol used by Brontà «: When Bertha sets Rochesters bed on fire, The image of fire might symbolize signifying first sinfulness, then rebirth (Vaughon). The symbolism most fascinating, however, is the way in whichRead MoreUse of Allusion in Jane Eyre2589 Words   |  11 PagesALLUSION IN JANE EYRE This paper will focus on the use of allusion that Bronte has made in her novel Jane Eyre. The novel is written in first person. The novel has in it elements of the gothic. The gothic novel is an amalgamation of romance and terror. The tradition started with Horace Walpole’s novel ‘the castle of Otronto’. Bronte uses elements of this tradition in Jane Eyre. Jane Eyre digresses from the other novels, writtenRead MoreReview Of Charlotte Bronte s Jane Eyre 10879 Words   |  44 PagesNotes Jane Eyre Background of author Name: Charlotte Bronte Birth/Death: April 21, 1816 to March 31,1855 Facts that connect: Mr. Brocklehurst is based off the Reverend Carus Wilson, the man who ran Cowan Bridge. Bronte lost two of her sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, to tuberculosis at Cowan Bridge. Bronte s brother, Patrick, became addicted to drugs and alcohol before he died. Similarities: She, along with her three sisters, was sent to the Clergy Daughters School at Cowan Bridge. Charlotte Bronte