Jane Eyre Quotes

But I feel this Helen: I must dislike those who, whatever I do to please them, persist in disliking me. I must resist those who punish me unjustly. It is as natural as that I should love those who show me affection, or submit to punishment when I feel it is deserved.

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 6. Jane’s childhood struggles with the cruel Reed family have left her with an unforgiving and rebellious nature. While she will love those who love her, she vows to resist those who unjustly punish her.

What a singularly deep impression her injustice seems to have made on your heart! No ill-usage so brands its record on my feelings. Would you not be happier if you tried to forget her severity, together with the passionate emotions it excited? Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs.

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 6. Helen Burns challenges Jane about holding on to her hatred and bitterness towards Mrs. Reed and John Reed. She advises Jane that she would be happier if she let go of her anger, as life is too short to be nursing grievances about the wrongs done to us. Helen is a devout Christian who symbolizes the Christian ideals of tolerence and forgiveness.

I hold another creed: which no one ever taught me, and which I seldom mention; but in which I delight, and to which I cling: for it extends hope to all: it makes Eternity a rest – a mighty home, not a terror and an abyss. Besides, with this creed, I can so clearly distinguish between the criminal and his crime; I can so sincerely forgive the first while I abhor the last: with this creed revenge never worries my heart, degradation never too deeply disgusts me, injustice never crushes me too low: I live in calm, looking to the end.

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 6. The pious and stoical Helen Burns explains her religious faith to the passionate and rebellious Jane. Continuously victimized by her teachers at Lowood, Helen accepts her punishments without protest, confusing the more feisty Jane. But Helen is able to distinguish between the sinner and the sin, believes in forgiveness and looks forward to Heaven as a welcoming place and her true home. So Helen is not affected by the mistreatment of teachers and the harsh conditions at Lowood. Instead she lives this life “in calm, looking to the end” – here she is referring to the Christian goal of getting to Heaven, as well as foreshadowing her own death.

Our clothing was insufficient to protect us from the severe cold: we had no boots, the snow got into our shoes and melted there: our ungloved hands became numbed and covered with chilblains, as were our feet. I remember well the distracting irritation I endured from this cause every evening, when my feet inflamed; and the torture of thrusting the swelled, raw, and stiff toes into my shoes in the morning.

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 7. The harsh environment and deprivations at Lowood charity school soon becomes apparent to Jane during her first three months there. There are heavy falls of snow and the girls are given inadequate clothing to protect them from the severe cold. As a result they suffer from painful chilblains.

Then the scanty supply of food was distressing: with the keen appetites of growing children, we had scarcely sufficient to keep alive a delicate invalid. From this deficiency of nourishment resulted an abuse, which pressed hardly on the younger pupils: whenever the famished great girls had an opportunity, they would coax or menace the little ones out of their portion. Many a time I have shared between two claimants the precious morsel of brown bread distributed at tea-time; and after relinquishing to a third half the contents of my mug of coffee, I have swallowed the remainder with an accompaniment of secret tears, forced from me by the exigency of hunger.

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 7. One of the biggest struggles for Jane and the other Lowood girls is against starvation, brought about by the meagre rations of food. They are barely enough to keep a delicate invalid alive. If you don’t freeze to death in Lowood, you may die of starvation there. Jane seems to swopped one abusive environment for another.

How we longed for the light and heat of a blazing fire when we got back! But, to the little ones at least, this was denied: each hearth in the schoolroom was immediately surrounded by a double row of great girls, and behind them the younger children crouched in groups, wrapping their starved arms in their pinafores.

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 7. The girls of Lowood are made walk two miles to church in the cold weather every Sunday. On their return there is a scramble to get near the fire but the younger ones get left out in the cold.

Oh, madam, when you put bread and cheese, instead of burnt porridge, into these children’s mouths, you may indeed feed their vile bodies, but you little think how you starve their immortal souls!

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 7. This shows the religious hypocrisy of Mr. Brocklehurst, the clergyman who operates Lowood boarding school for orphaned girls. He is speaking to Miss Temple, the kind and fair-minded teacher in charge of Lowood, who complains that breakfast was so bad that the pupils couldn’t eat it. She has ordered bread and cheese for lunch but is slammed by Brocklehurst for this. Burnt porridge is good for the girls’s souls, he declares.

Julia Severn, ma’am! And why has she, or any other, curled hair? Why, in defiance of every precept and principle of this house, does she conform to the world so openly – here in an evangelical, charitable establishment – as to wear her hair one mass of curls?…I wish these girls to be the children of Grace: and why that abundance? I have again and again intimated that I desire the hair to be arranged closely, modestly, plainly. Miss Temple, that girl’s hair must be cut off entirely; I will send a barber to-morrow.

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 7. Lowood supervisor Mr. Brocklehurst objects to the girls in the school having curly hair, implying that it is ungodly to wear anything other than straight hair. Singling out one girl who has naturally curly red hair, he orders that it should all be cut off in the interests of modesty.

“I have a Master to serve whose kingdom is not of this world; my mission is to mortify in these girls the lusts of the flesh; to teach them to clothe themselves with shame-facedness and sobriety – not with braided hair and costly apparel and each of the young persons before us has a string of hair twisted in plaits which vanity itself might have woven; these, I repeat, must be cut off; think of the time wasted, of – ”
Mr. Brocklehurst was here interrupted: three other visitors, ladies, now entered the room. They ought to have come a little sooner, to have heard his lecture on dress, for they were splendidly attired in velvet, silk, and furs. The two younger of the trio (fine girls of sixteen and seventeen) had grey beaver hats, then in fashion, shaded with ostrich plumes, and from under the brim of this graceful head-dress fell a profusion of light tresses, elaborately curled; the elder lady was enveloped in a costly velvet shawl, trimmed with ermine, and she wore a false front of French curls.

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 7. Mr. Brockehurst lectures the Lowood pupils and their teacher Miss Temple on the importance of wearing plain clothes and straight hair with no curls. He believes that he is on a mission from God to save them from the “lusts of the flesh.” But the barefaced religious hypocrisy and irony of what he preaches are exposed when his wife and two daughters enter the room. They are adorned in luxurious clothing, covered in expensive silk and velvet and animal furs, and are displaying elaborate curls! While he and his family permit themselves to live extravagantly, the poor orphaned girls of Lowood must live plain lives.

Who would think that the Evil One had already found a servant and agent in her?

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 7. The tyrannical supervisor of Lowood School Mr. Brocklehurst singles Jane out, stands her on a stool, and publicly humiliates her in front of the entire school. He labels the child an agent of the devil. This is the fuller quote from the hypocritical clergyman into whose care the impoverished little girls of Lowood have been entrusted: “You see she is yet young; you observe she possesses the ordinary form of childhood: God has graciously given her the shape that He has given to all of us; no signal of deformity points her out as a marked character. Who would think that the Evil One had already found a servant and agent in her? Yet such, I grieve to say, is the case.”

“My dear children,” pursued the black marble clergyman, with pathos, “this is a sad, a melancholy occasion; for it becomes my duty to warn you that this girl, who might be one of God’s own lambs, is a little castaway: not a member of the true flock, but evidently an interloper and an alien. You must be on your guard against her; you must shun her example; if necessary, avoid her company, exclude her from your sports, and shut her from your converse. Teachers, you must watch her; keep your eyes on her movements, weigh well her words, scrutinise her actions, punish her body to save the soul; if, indeed, such salvation be possible, for…this girl is – a liar!”

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 7. Mr. Brocklehurst repeats what he has been told by Mrs. Reed and announces to the whole school that Jane is a liar. Declaring her an interloper and alien, he asks that she be shunned. Punish her body to save the soul, urges the clergyman man whose faith is all hell-fire and brimstone. Brocklehurst is abusive to the children in his school and represents the worst kind of extreme evengelical zeal. An appropriate metaphor likens the bible-thumping Brocklehurst, who weaponizes religion to frighten and intimidate little girls in his care, to black marble.

What my sensations were, no language can describe; but just as they all rose, stifling my breath and constricting my throat, a girl came up and passed me; in passing, she lifted her eyes. What a strange light inspired them! What an extraordinary sensation that ray sent through me! How the new feelings bore me up! It was as if a martyr, a hero, had passed a slave or victim, and imparted strength in the transit. I mastered the rising hysteria, lifted up my head, and took a firm stand on the stool.

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 7. Jane describes how Helen Burns helps her while she is being punished by Mr. Brocklehurst at Lowood. As she stands on the punishment stool, her “pedestal of infamy,” Helen reaches out to give Jane hope and strength during her trial of humiliation. Similes comparing Helen to a martyr and Jane to a slave are used to describe the moment. Helen’s depiction as a martyr is foreshadowing of her own death by tuberculosis at a very young age in the infamous Lowood School.

Such is the imperfect nature of man! such spots are there on the disc of the clearest planet; and eyes like Miss Scatcherd’s can only see those minute defects, and are blind to the full brightness of the orb.

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 7. Jane makes this observation after Helen Burns is flogged by her teacher Miss Scatcherd for something very minor. Using metaphrorical imagery she makes the point that some people can only see the tiny flaws in others, while blind to the full brightness of the person. Some you can just never satisfy – like Miss Scatcherd!

I had meant to be so good, and to do so much at Lowood; to make so many friends, to earn respect, and win affection. Already I had made visible progress: that very morning I had reached the head of my class; Miss Miller had praised me warmly; Miss Temple had smiled approbation; she had promised to teach me drawing, and to let me learn French, if I continued to make similar improvement two months longer: and then I was well-received by my fellow-pupils; treated as an equal by those of my own age, and not molested by any: now, here I lay again crushed and trodden on; and could I ever rise more?

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 8. Education is very important to Jane who is eager to use her time in Lowood School to improve herself in subjects like art and French. She also yearns for respect and affection, which she did not experience while in Gateshead. She reports progress with the help of the kindly and compassionate Miss Temple. But she now feels crushed again by Mr. Brocklehurst’s public humiliation of her.

While sobbing out this wish in broken accents, some one approached; I started up – again Helen Burns was near me…She sat down on the ground near me, embraced her knees with her arms, and rested her head upon them; in that attitude she remained silent as an Indian.

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 8. It is easy to see why Helen Burns becomes Jane’s best friend at Lowood. At Jane’s time of crisis, having been embarrassed and humiliated by Mr. Brocklehurst, she draws strength from Helen being close to her. While Jane breaks down and sobs, Helen sits down on the ground beside her and offers her the healing balm of friendship. A simile describes Helen’s stoical attitude – “silent as an Indian.”

Mr. Brocklehurst is not a god: nor is he even a great and admired man: he is little liked here; he never took steps to make himself liked. Had he treated you as an especial favourite, you would have found enemies, declared or covert, all around you; as it is, the greater number would offer you sympathy if they dared.

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 8. Helen Burns offers comfort to Jane after she is forced to stand on a stool in front of the whole school by Mr. Brocklehurst. She tries to make Jane feel better by saying that everyone is sympathetic to her because they don’t like Mr. Brocklehurst either.

If all the world hated you and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved of you and absolved you from guilt, you would not be without friends.

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 8. Helen Burns offers this advice to Jane, who is feeling alone and sorry for herself because she has been called a liar before the whole school by Mr. Brocklehurst. Jane has suffered with feelings of loneliness and inadequacy and isolation throughout her young life. Helen tries to convince her that people in the school don’t despise her or believe she is a liar, but instead pity her. She urges Jane to follow her conscience and not the crowd and she will find that she has friends.

No; I know I should think well of myself; but that is not enough; if others don’t love me, I would rather die than live – I cannot bear to be solitary and hated, Helen. Look here; to gain some real affection from you, or Miss Temple, or any other whom I truly love, I would willingly submit to have the bone of my arm broken, or to let a bull toss me, or to stand behind a kicking horse, and lit it dash its hoof at my chest.

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 8. Jane admits to her friend and classmate Helen her desperate need to be loved. For too long Jane has been deprived of love as a child while growing up in her Aunt Reed’s house. Thinking well of herself is not enough, Jane declares, as she recognizes the depth of her need for affection from other human beings.

Hush, Jane! you think too much of the love of human beings; you are too impulsive, too vehement; the Sovereign hand that created your frame, and put life into it, has provided you with other resources than your feeble self, or than creatures feeble as you. Besides this earth, and besides the race of men, there is an invisible world and a kingdom of spirits: that world is round us, for it is everywhere; and those spirits watch us, for they are commissioned to guard us; and if we were dying in pain and shame, if scorn smote us on all sides and hatred crushed us, angels see our tortures, recognise our innocence…God waits only the separation of spirit from flesh to crown us with a full reward. Why, then, should we ever sink overwhelmed with distress, when life is soon over, and death is so certain an entrance to happiness – to glory?

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 8. Helen Burns consoles Jane after her humiliation by Brocklehurst. Helen has a very strong Christian faith and a very religious way of thinking about adversity. Here she addresses Jane’s statement that she needs to be loved by others and would sacrifice almost anything for that. She chides Jane for thinking too much about human love. She advises her to have faith in God’s love and tells her that his angels watch over and guard us, seeing our pain and recognizing our innocence. Death and the separation of the spirit from the body offers the reward of eternal happiness and the glory of Heaven, Helen assures her. This foreshadows how Helen herself will succumb to illness, leading to her death.

Helen had calmed me; but in the tranquility she imparted there was an alloy of inexpressible sadness. I felt the impression of woe as she spoke, but I could not tell whence it came; and when, having done speaking, she breathed a little fast and coughed a short cough, I momentarily forgot my own sorrows to yield to a vague concern for her.

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 8. Jane reflects on when her friend Helen provided her with comfort and calm after her punishment and humiliation at Lowood. But Jane has the sense of a sadness and impression of woe in Helen’s voice as she speaks. She is concerned about Helen’s breathing and cough. Being foreshadowed here is the serious illness that Helen will sadly succumb to, the symptoms of which she is at this time experiencing. Despite her being unwell, Helen displays selfless love for a friend when she gives herself to help and care for Jane.

Some heavy clouds, swept from the sky by a rising wind, had left the moon bare; and her light, streaming in through a window near, shone full both on us and on the approaching figure, which we at once recognised as Miss Temple.

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 8. After Jane is falsely accused of being a liar by Mr. Brocklehurst, the appearance of the moon through the window and sweeping away of heavy clouds foreshadow an upcoming positive event. Miss Temple appears, comforts Jane and her friend Helen in her room with cake and tea and the three spend a happy evening together. Throughout the novel the weather and the moon are used by Bronte to herald positive or negative events and moods.

I resolved, in the depth of my heart, that I would be most moderate…I told her all the story of my sad childhood. Exhausted by emotion, my language was more subdued than it generally was when it developed that sad theme; and mindful of Helen’s warnings against the indulgence of resentment, I infused into the narrative far less of gall and wormwood than ordinary. Thus restrained and simplified, it sounded more credible: I felt as I went on that Miss Temple fully believed me.

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 8. Having been denounced to the entire school as a liar by Mr. Brocklehurst, Jane is invited by Miss Temple to speak in her own defense and give her side of the story. Miss Temple, along with Helen, is one of the few people in the life of the young Jane, to demonstrate kindness and the affection you would usually get from family. Jane opens up to Miss Temple about her difficult childhood growing up with her aunt’s family at Gateshead. But she takes on board Helen’s advice and recounts her story with less resentment and bitterness than usual. Helen and Miss Temple have become two important people in Jane’s life and she wants to keep that connection.

We feasted that evening as on nectar and ambrosia; and not the least delight of the entertainment was the smile of gratification with which our hostess regarded us, as we satisfied our famished appetites on the delicate fare she liberally supplied.

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 8. Miss Temple invites Jane and Helen to her room and treats them to slices of seed-cake and tea, bringing Jane much comfort after her public humiliation by Brocklehurst. The importance of the new bond of friendship and affection between the head teacher and her two young students is underlined by metaphors comparing the fare they feast on to ambrosia and nectar, the food and drink of the Greek gods. Orphan Jane has discovered a new and loving surrogate family at Lowood.

As to Helen Burns, I was struck with wonder. The refreshing meal, the brilliant fire, the presence and kindness of her beloved instructress, or perhaps more than all these, something in her own unique mind, had roused her powers within her. They woke, they kindled; first, they glowed in the bright tint of her cheek, which till this hour I had never seen but pale and bloodless; then they shone in the liquid lustre of her eyes, which had suddenly acquired a beauty more singular than that of Miss Temple’s – a beauty neither of fine colour, nor long eyelash, nor penciled brow, but of meaning, of movement, of radiance. Then her soul sat on her lips, and language flowed…Such was the characteristic of Helen’s discourse on that, to me, memorable evening; her spirit seemed hastening to live within a very brief span as much as many live during a protracted existence.

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 8. Helen’s inner beauty and spirituality shine forth to Jane during a wonderful night they spend together with Miss Temple at Lowood. Jane is wonder-struck by Helen and sees her as unique and angel-like. To Jane she becomes a kind of heavenly spirit with a radiance about her and a mystical power and strength, “her soul sat on her lips” as she speaks.

They conversed of things I had never heard of; of nations and times past; of countries far away: of secrets of nature discovered or guessed at: they spoke of books: how many they had read! What stores of knowledge they possessed! Then they seemed so familiar with French names and French authors: but my amazement reached its climax when Miss Temple asked Helen if she sometimes snatched a moment to recall the Latin her father had taught her, and taking a book from a shelf, bade her read and construe a page of Virgil; and Helen obeyed, my organ of Veneration expanding at every sounding line.

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 8. Jane’s love of knowledge and learning is evident in this passage where she describes the lively conversation Miss Temple and Helen have on a range of diverse topics. She pays close attention to and soaks up everything they discuss. She is particularly excited when Helen at Miss Temple’s prompting does a reading from a book by the Roman poet Virgil.
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