Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre is often regarded as one of the earliest major feminist novels because it gives voice and opportunity to a woman in the patriarchal society of the Victorian Era. In nineteenth century England, women were regarded as commodities with little subjectivity. This caused marriages to be perceived as transactions instead of unions, and women were often stripped of individuality and power when under their male counterparts. Thus, when the climax of the novel arrives with Jane’s decision to not accept St. John Rivers’ proposal, Jane demonstrates female autonomy that is a crucial element to the novel’s feminist stance.
Jane perceives her proposed marriage with St. John as a “sacrifice” on her behalf. She states, “If I do go with him—if I do make the sacrifice he urges, I will make it absolutely: I will throw all on the alter—heart, vitals, the entire victim” (Brontë 466). The figurative language of this quote aligns her marriage to St. John as an actual “killing” of her identity. She metaphorically compares the union to physical loss, and she refers to herself as a “victim.” Here, Jane adopts the patriarchal language of the Victorian society. If she were to marry St. John, she would lose her existence as an autonomous woman.
Further, there is no inherent love between Jane and St. John, as Jane claims that he is in love with “a beautiful young lady called Rosamond. He wanted to marry me only because he thought I should make a suitable missionary’s wife, which she would not have done” (Brontë 511). Again, Jane describes the marriage as a “business arrangement,” for St. John wants to marry her not out of love, but economic and social asset. This again relies heavily upon the patriarchal language of the time because it reduces Jane to a commodity. Jane condemns St. John’s decision to marry without love, stating that for St. John to “endure all forms of love” without passion is “monstrous” (Brontë 467). The fact that Jane holds love in high regards when it comes to marital unions is uncommon for the Victorian Era.
Thus, if the climax of Jane Eyre changed and Jane did accept St. John’s proposal, the feminist virtues of the novel would be undermined. First and foremost, Jane would have to sacrifice her identity and desire to marry for love. In Victorian England, women were instructed to be submissive, and if Jane gave way to St. John’s wishes, she would throw away her own identity and voice. This is captured in Jane’s decision to remain in England:
I believe I must say, yes — and yet I shudder. Alas! If I join St. John, I abandon half myself . . . I should suffer often, no doubt, attached to him only in this capacity: my body would be under rather a stringent yoke, but my heart and mind would be free. I should still have my unblighted self to turn to: my natural unenslaved feelings with which to communicate in moments of loneliness. (Brontë 503-507)
Jane realizes that she cannot go with St. John if she is to remain an empowered woman. Jane protects her freedom by refusing the proposal. Therefore, if the climax was reversed, Jane would revert to a submissive woman who yields to the commands of her male counterparts. This would greatly affect the rest of the narrative, not just in setting, as Jane would be moved to India, but it would affect the characterization of the women characters, as the main protagonist would have succumb to the constraints of the Victorian patriarchy. The novel would no longer be an expression of feminine autonomy, but a casebook of how women were suppressed in such a gendered society.
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