“Vashti is rewritten as Berth, the woman who is banish for her refusal to conform to Rochester’s expectations of feminine behavior; when Rochester’s decides to marry Jane while remaining married to Bertha, he describes himself as passing a law, “unalterable as that of the Medes and Persians”, that his aims and motives are right.”(Hawley)
Jane once again set out upon her journey this time to return to Thornwood and her once lover Rochester. “This part of the story is the healing and blessing part of Jane's Christian pilgrimage.”(Goff) Upon her return to Thornwood she finds nothing but burnt ash and rumble in the place where Thornwood once stood. Jane later discovers Bertha had set the house a blaze and had been killed. She is also told that Rochester was maimed in an attempt to rescue her and had lost his sight and right hand, a reference to Old Testament symbol of retribution. Jane and Rochester are once again reunited and enter in to matrimony now that Rochester has been freed from the chains of Bertha. “Jane had passed all of the tests of her Christian faithfulness and was now rewarded.”(Goff)
Through Jane’s pilgrimage the reader is able to see Jane develop both individually and spiritually. She is able to resist the temptations of her heart and of others, which allows her to develop into the Christian ideal. Though the similarities between The Pilgrims Progress and Jane Eyre are evident, Jane Eyre is still a different work in its own means and has a different teaching to be learned.
Work Cited Page
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Ed. Nemesvari, Richard. Ontario: Broadview Press Ltd, 2004
Goff, Donna. Jane Eyre: A Pilgrim’s Progress. Called to Liber. Ed. Donna Goff. 30 April, 2005. 22 Feb. 2010 < http://calledtoliber.blogspot.com/2006/07/jane-eyre-pilgrims-progress.html>.
Pickrel, Paul. “Jane Eyre: The Apocalypse of the Body.” ELH 53.1 (1986): 165-182.
Schwingen, Mary. “Fantasy, Realism, and Narrative in Jane Eyre” Victorian Web. 25 Nov....