Theme~ Longing for Family


"I now clapped my hands in sudden joy- my pulse bounded, my veins thrilled"(392)

Throughout the story of Jane Eyre we can see the theme of, longing for family. When she was young and her parents died she wanted nothing more then to be loved by her Aunt Reed. She in return was hated by her aunt and sent away to Lowood, a charitable institution. At Lowood Jane becomes fast friends with Helen, Helen is the closest thing she has to family in the world. Sadly this sisterly love was not to last long, Helen died with Jane in her arms. At Thornfield Jane plans to marry Mr. Rochester and become a part of his family, this too was ruined when she learned of the crazy wife he keeps locked up in the house. It is not until she ran away and almost died she gains a family in the Rivers. The quote above is after Jane learns they are her cousins, her real blood relatives. St. John is shocked that Jane was more excited by this fact then that she is a heiress of a great fortune. Jane feels beyond blessed to have found a family, people to love and give each a share of her fortune. The need for a Family is not satisfied until the ending of the novel.

1 comment:

  1. The way you set up the description of the quote was really good! The way that you described from the beginning of the story to the end was a good touch. The details that you put into the reasoning of why you used the quote you did was quite a good touch also. The description is deep enough to be able to understand almost the whole story with out reading it, Wonderful job!

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