Jane Eyre: feminist chastity warrior?

Part of my Virginia weekend was seeing the new Jane Eyre film with one of my best girlfriends from high school. I hadn't read the book since we were in plaid uniform skirts, so I'd forgotten what a killer heroine Jane is. This time around I was really impressed by her moral fiber. I'm a big Elizabeth Bennett fan, but Jane has Lizzie's wit plus spiritual depth. I loved how Cary Fukanaga's adaptation prominently featured the novel's different religious ideas.  We even get to see Jane and the housekeeper saying grace over lunch! Here's how I found Jane Eyre an inspiring example of spiritual strength.

• She is mistreated by many people during her horrible childhood, but she doesn't let their wrongs destroy her. As a child, she rightly calls out Aunt Read for hypocrisy and cruelty, but eventually forgives her. 
• At Lowood school and later at the Rivers family home, she turns to her female friends for support and encouragement. 
• She doesn't need a man to survive - she's happy to work hard and support herself, even in a humble job at a country school. 
• When she does settle down, it's for a relationship of mutual self-giving and improvement. She won't settle just for being someone's assistant, no matter how noble his life goals. 
• Experiences with insanely dogmatic Christians doesn't turn her off from religion entirely. In fact, she leaves the man she loves rather than violate her moral code. 

It's on that last point that I found this version of Jane Eyre most inspiring. The scene where she refuses to live in bigamy with Mr. Rochester is so poignant, and I loved how this film depicted it. In the 2006 Masterpiece Theater version, Rochester is in control, actually lying on top of Jane in an attempt to persuade her by making out. It seemed too over-the-top for me. In Fukunaga's version, Jane is the stronger one. She holds her head up high and keeps Rochester at arm's length while he clings to her, broken down by his past mistakes.  It's obvious she desperately wants to be with him, but, as she so wisely puts it, "I must respect myself." With a cry of "God help me!" she flees the room of temptation and heartbreak.

As a single Catholic twenty-something, I was heartened by her determined fidelity to what Rochester called "some arbitrary man's law." On the surface, it might seem like she needlessly destroyed her own happiness, but staying at Thornfield would have cost the integrity that made her so attractive to Rochester in the first place. Her self-respect is what made her a survivor; she certainly would not have been happy if she compromised it. Jane's moral courage in turn brought out the best in Rochester; he stayed loyal and compassionate to his first wife to the end of that woman's life. I was heartened to see Jane not let her emotions get in the way of her values since, let's be honest, chastity can be hard when you genuinely love someone. 

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All in all, it's no surprise Jane Eyre continues to be a feminist icon to generations of readers. She's brave, long suffering, intelligent, self-sufficient and hardworking, a warrior for true virtue, but also capable of great love.