Love as a Theme in Jane Eyre

Love is an important theme in the famous novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Jane's love for Rochester is clearly noticeable throughout the novel. But Jane's true love for Rochster becomes appearent in only a few of her actions and emotions. Although it may seem Rochester manipulated her heart's desire, this can be disproven in her actions towards him. Jane followed her heart in the end, by returning to Rochester. Jane's true love for Roshester becomes appearant during her walks with him at Thornfield. Jane is affected by him so much that "[her] blanks of existence were filled up; [her] bodily health improved; [she] gathered flesh and strenght" (160). She felt like his "presence in a room was more cheering than the brightest fire" (166). When Blanche - a new woman in Rochester's life - came along, Jane began to grow jelous, which reveals how much she actually really loves Rochester. She begins to hate herself saying "he is not of your order: keep to your caste, and be too self-respecting to lavish the love of the whole heart, soul, and strength, where such a gift is not wanted and would be despised (184). With the presence of Blanche, Jane begins pointing out her insuficiencies and the things she hates about herself. This clearly expresses jelousy, and how much she is actually in love with Rochester. In the end, she clearly expressed her love for Rochester when he expressed his love for her. She seemed to have been waiting for the moment for eternity. When she was asked to marry him, she agreed immeadiatly. At the day of the marriage, Jane emotions are like they have never been. She says "to look at Mr. Rochester's face was to feel that not a second of delay would be tolerated for any purpose" (331). Eager to marry him, they went on with the marriage. When Jane falls in love with Rochester then St. John Rivers, she realizes that although both men have different views of her and different reasons for wanting to marry her, they share the same motive: ultimately, to destroy her selfhood. Rochester's love for Jane is not only spiritual, but passionate. Although she feels the same way about him, she refuses to be his mistress because of moral issues. "It would not be wicked to love me," (343) Rochester protests. Jane stands her ground: "It would be to obey you" (343). By rejecting Rochester, Jane puts her needs before anyone else's. This clearly shows that her heart was not heart and emotions were not completely manipulated by Rochester. In conclusion, Jane's desire to be with Rochester was evident, and was clearly true love. When she realized about Rochester's past life and his wife, she managed to change her mind and not be persuaded to marry. Jane in the end followed her heart, and without obstacles that once existed, married the man she truly loved.