In a small village of Harmony, the reputation of Mr. Davidson was so incredible that it blew and
stuck into people’s eyes. Mr. Davidson’s house was like a king’s palace. It was full of servants, and busy with the frequent visits of the businessmen. Like a huge food storage in house, Mr. Davidson had money storages in his palace. When Mrs. Davidson goes out of her palace with all the gold and silver jewelry on, the whole village keeps looking at her endlessly. The majesty of Mr. Davidson was praised in all the neighbor villages. The life of Mr. Davidson was full of happiness and prosperity. But one night an incident which shouldn’t have happened took place.

            It was a dark moon night and dire blackness had spread all over the place. The whole place was so quiet and still. Only the babbling sound of the brook near Mr. Davidson’s palace was heard. Often howling of the foxes in the nearby fields intensified the scariness of the dark night. It was night that scares even a guard. That night, in the killing cold of winter, everyone was bundled up and enjoying their sleep in their houses. All of a sudden, there came a scream of run… run…run…from the palace. The whole village woke up and ran towards Mr. Davidson’s palace. 

This picture represents freedom/independence.

"I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will" (Bronte 284).

          Jane has desired for freedom since childhood. She proclaims a desire to be as free and independent as a bird but, she makes it very clear that she is not a bird within a snare. Her declaration here means that she is in fact an independent human being with choices and free will. At Lowood, Jane gets bored doing all the same stuff, and she doesn't like being caught at a single place for years. She longs for a new place and desires for liberty. To get out of Lowood, Jane advertises in a newspaper which is very independent for a woman to do at that time. It was very rare for any woman/governess to advertise in newspaper since woman were not supposed to provide for themselves. She doesn't like to be controlled by anyone. Although Jane loves Rochester, she does not do what he wants her to do. Rochester wants her to stay with him but she does not think it is right to stay with him and therefore, she wants to leave. Later, Jane does leave. Jane has her own morals and once she decides to do something, she sticks to it. She does not let anyone convince her and make her do what she does not want to do. However, she does let St. John control her at some point. For example, St. John makes her learn Hindostanee. She is not willing to learn it but she has to since he is the one who saved her from dying. Later in the novel, Jane marries Rochester not because she needs a man to rely on, but because she loves him. She marries Rochester, a guy who is twice as old as her. She does not care what people would think about her, she does what she wills to do. Therefore, Jane is an independent woman. 

Reader's Response-Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre - Onion Peel

“… I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendliness, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself. I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man. I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mad – as I am now. Laws and principles are not for the times where there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rises in mutiny against their rigour; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth? They have a worth – so I have always believed; and if I cannot believe it now, it is because I am insane – quite insane: with my veins running fire, and my heart beating faster than I can count its throbs” (Bronte 356).

In this quotation, Jane states her strong sense of moral integrity over and against her intense feelings. Rochester is the first person who has truly loved Jane. However, now that Jane knows that Rochester has a wife, she has to abandon him. Rochester has been trying to persuade Jane to stay with him at Thornfield. Yet, she knows that staying with him would mean compromising herself. By marrying a man who has a wife already, she thinks, she would lose her self-respect. This passage also shows Jane’s understanding of religion. She sees God as a giver of laws by which she must live. When Jane cannot take judgment, she looks to these principles for reference. The laws made by God are for everyone and should be obeyed in any condition. For instance, when I have strong desire to do something which is inappropriate, I have to think that it is inappropriate and God will punish me for that. If I were Jane, I would have probably taken the same decision as her because I think that it is immoral and unacceptable to come in between a husband and a wife.

When Jane uses words like ‘mad’ and ‘insane’ for herself, it brings out an interesting parallel between Bertha and her. Bertha is a double for Jane, who represents what Jane feels within herself. Also, the description of Jane’s blood running like ‘fire’ symbolizes the passion ad suffering Jane goes through.