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The effect of coming into a fortune on a human being: How do you see this in the novel Jane Eyre?
by Elena Gil (2008-09, 5ºB)
It is said that when a fortune accrues to a person, its character would very probably not be changed in the crucial. Had he been a pessimistic, embittered person during all his life, he would have remained a pessimist, though now a wealthy one. Were he to be a cheerful character, he would turn into a cheerful gentleman of ample means. This thesis shall mean that big events do not change our disposition to live on the essentials.
In the beginning of the novel, Jane finds herself confined to Gateshead, under the protection of her aunt, who is not in the least fond of her. This fact seems to affect her in the sense she will always feel the lack of a well-loving family and thus pursue any shadow of it she might encounter. At Lowood, she met Helen Burns, who was affectionate in the extreme to Jane, and Miss Temple, the nearest motherly figure, together with Bessie, Jane gets to know throughout her life. Those two characters offered us some of the warmest moments in the novel. From that shelter did Jane fly to Mr Rochester's site, who waved from coldness to warmth, Jane thus finding herself entertained enough at Thornfield Hall. There, not only did Mr Rochester's hidden wife tear them apart but their different position made also a happy ending quite unreal for both of them. After Jane's running away from him and her bearing cold and hunger, she finally found solace at Moor House, near the Rivers. Working as a school-mistress in the village school, amongst whom she described as 'heavy-looking, gaping rustics' girls, she found those could easily turn into 'sharp-witted girls enough' through her teaching. However, when Jane seemed to have finally found herself 'sitting in sunshine, calm and sweet', St John revealed her new condition as 'quite an heiress'. Jane's first reaction is that of sharing her inheritance with those who gave her refuge, now her acknowledged kin. To St John's objections she protests, admitting her craving for a home, for brothers and sisters: 'I must and will have them now'. These news received, Jane decides to quit the school, rearrange the Rivers' home and live a peaceful life at her sisters’ side for the moment.
All in all, we can easily notice a change in Jane's attitude: her seek for power is now at its end for she will no longer be an insignificant governess. Money and connections, Jane now has. It's time to turn to Mr Rochester.