Jane Eyre: The Conflict of Duty and Desire

  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë vividly portrays a profound struggle of duality, a delicate balance between the opposing forces of passion and reason. As the novel delves into the life and struggle of Jane Eyre, St. John Rivers, her cousin and rescuer, embodies a striking representation of this conflict. A devout Christian, St. John adheres to rigorous moral values, abandoning comfort and idolizing the idea of sacrifice. His unwavering commitment to duty and denial of his internal demands contribute to a perpetual struggle within the framework of his desires and duty as Morton’s clergyman. Through his interactions with Rosamond Oliver, St. John illustrates his psychological dichotomy, a clash between his passionate desires, longing for her, and his spiritual commitment to missionary work. St. John is in a continuous grapple with his penchant for Rosamond and his responsibility to his religion. Withal, his internal strife highlights themes of a deeper existential paradox—prevalent throughout the novel—as he wrestles with his need for personal fulfillment and his dedication to a life of self-sacrifice. Ultimately, despite his great inexpressible fondness for Rosamond, St. John rejects her. St. John’s refusal to divulge his personal ardor highlights his tense character. Likewise, as a result of his distant and cold demeanor, St. John is left to pursue his missionary activities desolated and alone. In the end, he succumbs to death’s eternal embrace, unmarried and committed to his Christian faith. St. John’s struggle and eventual rejection of his desires emphasize the costs of this moral rigidity between personal avidity and obligational devotion, showcasing the immense tension between duty and passion, and consequently, revealing his inability to reconcile these opposing forces within himself. Thus, through St. John’s development and contestation for fulfillment, Brontë illuminates the meaning behind her novel—the duality of the human condition, the dangerous consequences of abandoning personal passions, and the external struggle between moral obligation and individual fulfillment. 

As per Victorian England values, Rosamond Oliver is an irresistible beauty of high social standing and wealth. In every regard, St. John should find it effortless to desire her. Jane’s initial impression of Rosamond in Chapter 31 portrays her as an “earthly angel,” a figure who seems to have been blessed by divine fortune in all aspects, possessing remarkable beauty and affluence (Brontë 553). However, to Jane’s surprise, St. John behaves distinctly cold and distant from Rosamond. While she invites him to her house, St. John bluntly refuses her request. When Rosamond extends her hand to be kissed, St. John simply places his hand upon it. Through these simple, yet guarded, interactions, Brontë demonstrates St. John’s intense internal struggle with love and duty. Though St. John cares for Rosamond, he represses his feelings in order to conform to his views as a strict Christian man. In a society strongly dictated by social norms, conventions, and established roles, St. John is restricted by his position as a clergyman and cannot endorse his feelings—despite his deep desire to. Although St. John attempts to conceal his feelings, Jane’s keen observation and insight make them apparent to her. From the way he blushes when Rosamond enters the school room to his prolonged fondness for her portrait in Chapter 32, St. John’s desire and attraction to Rosamond is evident. However, St. John’s commitment to his religion contends directly with his ardor for Rosamond. As a man of devout faith, St. John strongly believes that a life in pursuit of sacrifice and complete devotion to God is a life of fulfillment. Instead of seeking out his love for Rosamond, who is in his eyes unfit to be a missionary’s wife, and therefore his wife, St. John actively seeks to pursue a marriage with Jane in the interest of marrying someone who would “make a suitable missionary’s wife” (Brontë 677). Rather than following his heart, St. John grounds himself in the values of his Christian identity and prevents passion from illuminating, justifying his refusal of Rosamond with her incompetency as a missionary’s partner. Thus, in the quest for eternal salvation, St. John strives for a higher purpose, ready to forsake his worldly existence and the fleeting desires of Rosamond. St. John imposes these values onto Jane, who comparably faces a psychological dichotomy between her longing for Mr. Rochester and her recognition of the immorality behind marrying him while he remains married to Bertha Mason. Likewise, Mr. Rochester struggles with managing an equipoise within his love for Jane and his duty to Bertha. In this way, Brontë presents the central message and theme of the work—the unavoidable paradoxes of human existence and the moral complexities of personal desires and ethical responsibilities. St. John, Jane, and Mr. Rochester’s circumstances and behaviors are not clear-cut displays of morality or immorality. Rather, their ambiguity allows them to transform into exemplifications of the human condition, a mix of black and white, a constant balance of duty and inner cravings. 

Moreover, in addition to his concealed emotions, St. John’s cold and distant constitution perpetuates his passionless life. Above all, St. John aspires to lead a life culminated by his missionary work and service to God. By societal measures, St. John is regarded as a highly esteemed and virtuous individual, someone who embodies the ideals of duty and moral discipline. However, to Jane, who prioritizes personal fulfillment and the pursuit of happiness, St. John’s life appears constrained and devoid of genuine joy, sacrificed for the tentative promise of eternal bliss in the afterlife. Accordingly, Brontë critiques St. John and his rigid adherence to societal expectations, emphasizing the perils of conforming to convention at the expense of individuality and authentic human experience. Hence, Brontë utilizes St. John’s proposal to Jane, and her refusal of his proposal in Chapter 35, as a way to further highlight the disparity between them, evaluating the consequences of pursuing a life of orthodoxy and conformity in comparison to Jane’s natural inclination for freedom and identity. In this manner, Brontë generates social commentary on the society of her time, accentuating the significance of creating a path dictated by identity and personal freedoms. Brontë encourages the pursuit of autonomy, using St. John’s distinct circumstances to illustrate the confinement of accepting social norms and conforming to them. Ergo, Brontë reinforces the ideas of self-acceptance and fulfillment. Instead of seeking validation from extrinsic pressures, Brontë advocates for the defiance of societal expectations and the forging of an unconventional path toward authenticity and individuality. Thus, St. John’s cognitive dissonance and struggle to balance the tension between his passion and obligations reflect the novel’s central message of personal authenticity and its exploration of the complexity of the human condition. Ultimately, St. John’s solitary death at the end of the novel solidifies Brontë’s message about the dangers of excessive self-denial and the consequences of neglecting self-fulfillment. His death serves as the final consequence of his rigid adherence to duty and his refusal to embrace personal desires in an effort to obey his spiritual obligations. 

Conclusively, St. John’s torment between his devout religious duty and his desire for personal happiness—illustrated through his love for Rosamond Oliver—showcases his psychological dichotomy that mirrors the broader themes of Jane Eyre. St. John’s devotion to conformity through his continuous self-sacrifice and duty, coupled with his suppressed desires, highlights the imminent danger of becoming immersed in societal values. Although St. John is an individual of moral integrity and sound character, his end is tragic in comparison to Mr. Rochester and Jane’s conclusion considering their morally ambiguous identity. Thus, St. John’s tragic story, isolation, and death, consequently bring about the central message of the calamity behind the rejection of individual fulfillment. Through St. John’s journey, Brontë reinforces her critique of the dangers of excessive conservatism and the need for balance in life. By demonstrating St. John’s intense moral obligation and his emotionless state of living, Brontë ultimately reveals the paradox behind the human experience and showcases the impending doom of complying with societal commodities. St. John, in an effort to pursue eternal bliss, condemned himself to a life of stagnation and desolation. His hapless struggle and internal conflict between his personal desires and his higher calling demonstrate the painful consequences of unwavering devotion to an ideal that neglects the passion of human identity. By sacrificing his entire life to the pursuit of higher aspirations and missionary work, St. John becomes no longer human, but rather an entity that sees, breathes, and eats, but never feels. In this way, Brontë criticizes the strictness of society and the rigidness of Christian values, encouraging the embrace of passion, individual desires, and authenticity in her novel, Jane Eyre.

Works Cited

Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Edited by Richard J. Dunn, W.W. Norton & Company, 2001.