‘Do
you know where the wicked go after death?’
‘They
go to hell.’ Was my ready and orthodox answer…
‘And
the Psalms? I hope you like them?’
‘No,
sir.’
‘No?
Oh shocking!...’
‘Psalms
are not interesting,’ I remarked.
--------
‘Love
your enemies; bless them that that curse you; do good to them that hate you and
despitefully use you’
‘Then
I should love Mrs. Reed, which I cannot do; I should bless her son John, which
is impossible.’
--------
I
had no need to make any change; I should not be called on to quit my sanctum of
the schoolroom; for a sanctum it was now become to me- ‘a very pleasant refuge
in time of trouble’ (Psalm 46.1)
--------
‘Love
me, then, or hate me, as you will,’ I said at last; ‘you have my full and free
forgiveness: ask now for God’s; and be at peace.’
--------
At the beginning of the novel, we become well
acquainted with Jane’s constitution and spirit, she is impressionable, but a
keen observer, and is liable to have fits of passion and vow not to forgive
those who have hurt her. Moreover, we sense some confusion and resistance in
the acceptance of religion, as can be seen by the defiant answer she gives to
Mr. Brocklehurst’s inquiries in the first excerpt given here. Moreover, we see
that the eventual resistance to understanding and accepting religion is because
she cannot at this point endeavor to forgive, much less love and bless those
that have wronged her (second excerpt), as is required by the tenants of
Christianity: “Whoever hits you on one
cheek, offer them the other also…” (Luke 6:29)
What I want to focus on here is the change that
occurs in Jane through the course of the book, using the few excerpts given
above. From being a person who thinks that the Psalms are not interesting and
to ensure that she does not go to hell, she must make sure she keeps in health
and does not die; Jane becomes a person whose sanctum becomes the Psalms in a
sense. A more obvious change perhaps is from her deeming it impossible to ever
love or bless Mrs. Reed and her son, this is exactly what she does when she
visits Gateshead again after John Reed’s death, and not only forgives both of
them, but blesses them as well. The change is thus profound, as it is thorough,
and Jane seems to have made a long journey from being a person who first
defied, and then could not bring herself to understand religion, as manifested
by those around her; to a person who in the time of severe trial becomes one
who will “keep the law given by God;
sanctioned by man.”
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