st john rivers in jane eyre character analysis

John." Mr. Brocklehurst Most important, she cannot persuade herself to believe that refusing to do so is a sin. The iciness of St. John's character is most pronounced in his relationship with Rosamond Oliver. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. St. John stifles his passion for local beauty Rosamond Oliver and asks Jane to marry him instead because she would be a better missionarys wife. When the Rivers siblings discover her nearly frozen on their doorstep, they take her in and nurse her back to health. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. April 2008, 2Pages You'll be billed after your free trial ends. The first thing to explain about St. John Rivers is how to pronounce his first name, "St. John.". Ugh. When he proposes to Jane, whom he thinks would make a great missionary wife, shes appalled by the idea that he would marry someone he doesnt love. The reason everyone has been looking for Jane is that her uncle, Mr. Eyre of Madeira, is dead and has left his entire fortune to her, so she is now rich. SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. death is imminent and vowing to wait for God's will. CliffsNotes study guides are written by real teachers and professors, so no matter what you're studying, CliffsNotes can ease your homework headaches and help you score high on exams. She tells him that she is very happy to discover that she is related to the Rivers family, and she goes on to say that in St. John she has found a brother, and that in Diana and Mary she has found sisters. Stories provide Jane with an escape from her unhappy domestic situation, feeding her imagination and offering her a vast world beyond the troubles of her real life: By opening her inner ear, she hears "a tale my imagination created . Charlotte Bronte's 1847 masterpiece Jane Eyre tells the iconic love story of the governess Jane Eyre and her employer, Mr. Rochester. His handsome appearance indicates moral and intellectual superiority he has "a straight, classic nose; quite an Athenian mouth and chin" and contrasts with Rochester's more rugged features. reader that Diana and Mary both have married respectable and caring husbands and visit regularly. Youve successfully purchased a group discount. St. John has an empathetic and sympathetic character, but it is stony where Mr. Rochesters is deep and fertile and full of life. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. St. John RiversAlthough not introduced into the novel until the third part, his character plays a dramatic role in the final development of Jane. The way the content is organized, The protagonist and narrator, Jane is an orphaned girl caught between class boundaries, financial situations, and her own conflicted feelings. When St. John is rejected by Jane, he states that he harbors no ill will towards her, but it is quite plain by the cruel indifference to his own hurt feelings that he harbors a secret hated for Jane. St John isolates himself from Miss Rosamund by being cold-hearted and distant. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. Dont have an account? succeed. The novel charts the growth of Jane Eyre, the first-person narrator, from her unhappy childhood with her nasty relatives, the Reeds, to her blissful marriage to Rochester at Ferndean. She also holds a Master of Arts in English literature from the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, and a BA in English from Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tennessee. Jane's psychic abilities aren't merely imaginary: her dreams and visions have a real impact on her life. As fairy, Jane identifies herself as a special, magical creature. Swapping a stepmother for an aunt and stepsisters for cousins, Jane Eyre opens to a conspicuously similar family. St. John's argument of ownership also highlights his view of Jane as a subservient companion, not a woman with independent thoughts. Like Mr. Rochester, St. John has a commanding personality, but the two men contrast in their range of feelings. Jane will only enter into marriage with Rochester after she has gained a fortune and a family, and after she has been on the verge of abandoning passion altogether. His reserve and brooding suggest a troubled nature, and his zealous Christianity offers him neither serenity nor solace. Most of Jane's rebellions target the inequities of society, but much of her personality is fairly conventional. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. . $18.74/subscription + tax, Save 25% Mrs. Reed Jane's aunt-by-marriage is a selfish, hard-hearted woman who spoils her three horrible. Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre tells the love story of Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester. Besides, he is a man of religion who shows no signs of believing in the gospel of the brotherhood of man or of believing in universal love. St. John is the foil of Mr. Rochester. Renews March 8, 2023 January 2013. Again the surprised expression crossed his face. As a critic has pointed out, the broad-chested, grim-mouthed Rochester, sweeping past us on his black horse Mesrour, and followed by his Gytrash-like hound, is a modern apparition of Black Bothwell. Removing #book# Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support. Jane notices that St. John is in love with Rosamond Oliver, but he supresses his feelings for her. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Independence would be accompanied by loneliness, and joining St. John would require Jane to neglect her own legitimate needs for love and emotional support. and spends a happy Christmas with Mary and Diana, who have returned from their jobs. They are the restless sea, tossing the sufferer recklessly and unpredictably, from the highest highs to the lowest lows. Jane, like Cinderella, is an orphan who lives with a less-than-loving extended family. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. They were under a yoke,I could free them: they were scattered,I could reunite them: the independence, the affluence which was mine, might be theirs too. But, it is Jane's relationship with St. John Rivers that establishes one of the novel's most significant themes: the conflict between passion and morality. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. The Rivers sisters tell Jane that they suspect that, benefactors is the rich and classically beautiful Rosamond Oliver. Besides rejecting traditional views of class, she also denigrates society's attempts to restrict women's activities. St. John Rivers as a character in the novel is important from yet another point of view. He sits quiet brooding over nobody knows what. But it is the lesser-known character of St. John Rivers who ultimately forces Jane to choose between passion and duty. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. St. John Rivers Timeline and Summary. In fact, she often seems to provide a model of proper English womanhood: frank, sincere, and lacking in personal vanity. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. These are weakness, a failure of the flesh that drives one away from one's Christian duty. We later see this spiritual path taken to the extreme by Jane's cousin and would-be husband, St. John Rivers. Edward Fairfax Rochester. Jane can see that Rosamond and, Rosamond makes frequent visits to the school, conveniently arriving when, Notices and letters were posted everywhere to find Jane. Jane Eyre, Chapter 31. Diana and Mary Rivers are the complete opposites of Georgiana and Mary Reed, for example, and I see St John Rivers as the near-polar opposite of Mr Rochester. Condemned by some as the poster child for the submissive, tradition-bound Victorian woman, more favorable readings see Jane as an example of early feminism: a woman guided by an independent will, an autonomous morality, and the passions which lead her to reunite with the love of her life, regardless of the consequences. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights. character was given the name that her father had intended to give a son. Hes not actually a saint, eitherits just a weird first namealthough he does think that hes one of the elect. Jane Eyre has a fair number of characters who are polar opposites. Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams. Jane, however, cannot consent to take holy vows where no real love is present, nor can she give her body to a man she does not love, even if he is her husband. Struggling with distance learning? Check out our video lessons, summaries and exercises, just one click away. A rich and beautiful woman who supports Jane's school at Morton. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. (Also, while were talking about names, it might be worth thinking about Janes two different cousins named John: John Reed and St. John Rivers.). (including. St. John is a parish minister with lofty ambitions, namely to become a missionary in the most unforgiving regions of the British Empire. It is impossible to love such a man, while Mr. Rochester, even in his stern moods is preferable to this inexorable priest. Giving up the missionary-in-India project just isnt possible: "It is strange," pursued he, "that while I love Rosamond Oliver so wildlywith all the intensity, indeed, of a first passion, the object of which is exquisitely beautiful, graceful, fascinatingI experience at the same time a calm, unwarped consciousness that she would not make me a good wife; that she is not the partner suited to me; that I should discover this within a year after marriage; and that to twelve months rapture would succeed a lifetime of regret. Detailed analysis of Characters in Charlotte Bront's Jane Eyre. I could never rest in communication with strong, discreet, and refined minds, whether male or female, till I had passed the outworks of conventional reserve, and crossed the threshold of confidence, and won a place by their heart's very hearthstone. This organizer is intended to guide your reading and focus your thoughts in preparation for the discussions, free response essay, and mid-term exam you will engage in when you return . This website helped me pass! St. John is the man who saves Jane Eyre's life when she is starving and would have died of sheer exhaustion and hunger. The last letter which Jane receives from him moves her to tears though she also feels happy to learn that he feels almost certain of the reward that he would receive from the Lord. St John comes from a good family, but his father lost most of the family money after a bad business decision. St. She tells him she would only go to work in India as his sister. Reserve and brooding suggest a troubled nature, and lacking in personal vanity Jane, like Cinderella, is orphan! To access notes and highlights frank, sincere, and lacking in personal vanity such man! 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