Monday, January 23, 2012

Never say die! The Helen Burns Story.

I firmly believe that Helen Burns and St. John Rivers are soulmates. The need to suffer and please God was the drive of Helen's life and St. John believes that the pain of the body will please the eternal soul. The Christian beliefs that these two character hold so dearly is the sole thing that will be there undoing.
Martydom must be  Helen/ St. John foundation belief, Jane does NOT share their sentiment. "God did not give me my life to throw away; and to do as you wish me would, I begin to think, be almost equivalent to committing suicide." pg352. Which begs the question, "Does St. John see Jane's rational thought? If so, isn't suicide a sin with in the Christian religion. 
Even after the second refusal from Jane to marry and join St.John in India, St. John is confused that Jane would still accompany him as his wife but would join the party to India as an associate. St. John just does not get it, then again Helen never really got Jane either.

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2 comments:

  1. anngentileJanuary 24, 2012 at 5:17 AM

    I agree totally that Jane does not share their martyrdom sentimentality! You hit the nail on the head. I think Jane clearly believes that there is a God and religion should play a part in people's lives, but not organized religion and certainly not the type of religion that St. John professed! She admires them, but doesn't agree with how they worship.

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  2. HeidiJanuary 28, 2012 at 9:59 AM

    I like the idea of a paper comparing St. John and Helen...could be very interesting!

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