Stubbornness and Morals

     "'I repeat: I freely consent to go with you as your fellow-missionary, but not as your wife; I cannot marry you and become part of you.'
     'A part of me you must become,' he answered steadily; 'otherwise the whole bargain is void. How can I, a man not yet of thirty, take out with me to India a girl of nineteen, unless she be married to me? How can we forever be together -- sometimes in solitudes, sometimes amidst savage tribes -- and unwed?'
     'Very well,' I said shortly; 'under the circumstances, quite as well as if I were either your real sister, or a man and a clergyman like yourself.'
     'It is known that you are not my sister; I cannot introduce you as such: to attempt it would be to fasten injurious suspicions on us both. And for the rest, though you have a man's vigorous brain, you have a woman's heart and -- it would not do.'
     'It would do,' I affirmed with some disdain, 'perfectly well. I have a woman's heart, but not where you are concerned; for you I have only a comrade's constancy; a fellow-soldier's frankness, fidelity, fraternity, if you like; a neophyte's respect and submission to his hierophant: nothing more -- don't fear.'
     'It is what I want,' he said, speaking to himself; 'it is just what I want. And there are obstacles in the way: they must be hewn down. Jane, you would not repent marrying me -- be certain of that; we must be married. I repeat it: there is no other way; and undoubtedly enough of love would follow upon marriage to render the union right even in your eyes.'
     'I scorn your idea of love,' I could not help saying, as I rose up and stood before him, leaning my back against the rock. 'I scorn the counterfeit sentiment you offer: yes, St John, and I scorn you when you offer it.'" (380-381)

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This passage shows quite a lot about Jane, St John, and about the values of the time period in which they live. The two characters are shown through their dialogue, which characterizes them deeply, and the time period is shown in the ideas that both hold. We see Jane and St John as adamantly moral, Jane with her belief that she is equal to any man and St John with his belief that religious principles should dictate norms; these clashing views show Jane Eyre in perspective of the time period.

For Jane, this battle with St John is about her personal freedom and justice: she does not want to "become a part of" St John, for she believes in her worth as an individual. She will not work behind him, preferring to work alongside him, and she resents the implication that she cannot live sinlessly with a man. Jane knows that her "woman's heart" will not cloud her judgement any more than a man's heart would, and she asserts as much to St John. That idea of love, as an irresistible truth between men and women, disgusts her -- Jane prefers the idea of natural attraction, rather than affection born of custom. This all demonstrates her personality in full: the refusal to submit to any person, the feminist tendencies, and the romantic nature.

For St John, the battle is all about his own religious morals. He does not believe that men and women can or should live together without being married. Despite the fact that Jane is nearly his sister, he does not accept the nature of their relationship as being nonsexual or nonromantic. This is rooted in Christian ideas of marriage and human nature, and perhaps in St John's views that women are inherently tempting and sinful. St John is so unromantic in his world views, however: he believes that love can be forged from nothing more than habitual togetherness. He obviously respects Jane, not as a person, but simply as an intellect that can be used to further the wishes of God. This is shown in the demand that he is making of her and his refusal to accept her compromise.

These opposing opinions are representative of the time period. On the one hand, we have a woman fighting for her right to independence, and on the other we have a man being unreceptive to deviation from custom. This is shown all throughout the novel, where Jane represents the winds of change and the spirit of spontaneity, and the other characters represent stolid opposition to discrepancy. This passage shows all of this through that characterization of Jane and St John, and carries a key aspect of the novel through to the audience.