Body and Soul

^Helen Burns laying down some knowledge.

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         In Jane Eyre, the relationship between the mortal body and the immortal soul is examined and fictionalized through Jane's interactions with the novel's side characters, most specifically Helen and Mr. Rochester. Each character's interpretation of this metaphysical relationship is a result of the primary religious belief of their era and geographical location: Christianity. Traditional Roman Catholic teachings regarding the detriments of the flesh and the qualities of the spirit are espoused and firmly believed by Eyre and her contemporaries.

         The body is considered corruptible and trivial in Eyre's world, being viewed as merely the worldly vehicle in which an individual's soul passes transiently through the physical plane. Helen Burns's teachings to the young Jane Eyre illustrate this point. Through Helen, Jane discovers the insignificance of her own worldly state, as well as the true value of her immortal soul. From Jane's encounters with Helen, a transformation occurs within Jane's character. She no longer bursts forth in a futile and uncontrollable rage whenever forced to suffering, but instead remains calm, bolstered by the consoling knowledge of the physical world's triviality. The teachings of Helen Burns bubble up quite dramatically out of Jane's character during her emotional tirade towards Mr. Rochester shortly before the nobleman asks for Jane's hand in marriage: “I am not speaking to you now through the medium of custom, conventionalities, nor even of mortal flesh: – it is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave, and we stood at God's feet, equal, – as we are!”(Jane Eyre p. 338). Here Jane downplays the significance of the body as the basis for human experience, and points out the overall importance of the soul. She describes the equality of human spirits as the root of meaningful relationships and experiences, and comments on the inequality of physical forms as a product of the body's corruptible nature.

          Helen's words on the nature of the human soul also contribute to permutations of Jane's character concerning the metaphysical. On her deathbed, Helen preaches that “By dying young I shall escape great sufferings”(Jane Eyre p. 146) and describes God as “My Maker and yours; who will never destroy what he created” (Jane Eyre p. 147). Mortal existence is described as an experience characterized by the presence of pain and suffering, which in Christian theology is due to and explained by the base corruptibleness of the flesh. The soul, considered to be the true manifestation of Creation in humans, is utterly indestructible, and it is from this eternal durability that true contentedness can be derived. Poor Plain Jane and her humbling existence, characterized by sublime acts of suffering and abuse, are merely the results of the unfortunate corruption of mortal existence. Unfair social hierarchies, institutions, and customs are nothing more than reflections of this shortcoming of the sublunary. Jane's cathartic discovery of this fact, under the tutelage of Helen Burns, leads to her calm and borderline submissive qualities later in life, as well as to her novel notions of spiritual equality in regards to Mr. Rochester et alia.