Freedom And Love In Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will.” (Bronte 406) For a character who, as a child, would do anything to be the recipient of loving behavior, Jane Eyre hits a major turning point in her character development when she recognizes that she has free will and can be independent. Jane grows up in a household where love is a distorted image, so she has no real example of what love should be. She has difficulty attempting to define it for herself. For the majority of her life, Jane struggles with finding the balance of individual freedom and the overwhelming feelings of love inside of a relationship; however, at the end of the novel she is able to accept an equilibrium. In her childhood, Jane has a larger presence of freedom than love. This being said, she desires to belong, to be a part of something, to be loved. Her “family” is constantly putting her down, disrespecting her, and not showing her the love that a family should. She refers to the boy, John Reed, who is similar to a older brother in relation as someone who “[bullies and punishes her,] not two or …show more content…
As a child, there is no example of what love should be, and Jane develops an extreme desire to love. When she goes to live with Rochester and falls in love with him, Jane looses all of her control over self-reliance. She gains this back after Rochester 's previous marriage is revealed and Jane goes to live with St. John. After finding her independence and recognizing that she still loves him, Jane returns to Rochester and is able to apply the newfound balance to her relationship. When in a relationship, there is often a desire to ignore the logical side of love, much like Jane early in her life. How would the concept of love be different if it was reversed, and there was more trust in the logic