St. John's Way And The Wayward Reader Analysis

Throughout his article, “St. John’s Way and the Wayward Reader,” Jerome Beaty introduces the idea of reading throughout two different views. Beauty compares St. John and Jane to emphasize their views of religious duty, and he divides the views into the categories of “religious” and “humanistic.” On the "humanistic" side, there's Jane, who endeavors into more domestic duties than that of her counterpart, Jane also tends to mix her duties with the application of a more level-headed earthly love. This way of thinking is ultimately rejected by St. John, taking on the "religious" side, who solely relies on religion and the word of God to accomplish his views of heroism. The two views also intertwine as Beaty makes the point that St. John and Jane, although having different callings, both of the characters seek peace through the will of God. …show more content…
John's "path to salvation" contrasts the two, but there can only be one true path to salvation, but its rather the fact that both Jane and St. John have a different way of living out their salvation. Beaty suggests that much analysis of Jane Eyre focuses on a “critical reading” where the readers tend to only view the story with Jane's view in mind. With the focus narrowed in on Jane, the readers don't get the full validity of the story. In order to include the broader aspects that interplay in Jane Eyre, Beaty stresses that it is important to view past the focus of Jane and see that the two views of religion are important because they reflect the culture, which contains a multitude of views. Because of the attachment to Jane that most readers feel, it is likely that we have a tendency to overlook St. John's endeavors. With St. John being the last thought of the novel, it relates his importance to the text as a