Jane Eyre is a popular novel that details a life of struggle and pain for a girl named Jane. People reading the novel feel heartbroken for the girl and naturally hope that she will receive her own happy ending.
The good thing is that Jane Eyre does have a happy ending. She gets to marry the man she loves, Mr. Rochester and enters a marriage based on equal footing. Her marriage symbolizes the stability she has wanted all her life.
Read below as we talk more about Jane Eyre and the ending of her story.
What Happens at the End of Jane Eyre?
Jane goes to Thornfield after seeing a vision of Rochester, only to find out that Bertha has set fire to the mansion, rendering Rochester blind and maimed in the process. After Bertha’s passing, Jane decides to get married to Rochester.
Since she was young, Jane had to rely on the kindness and mercy of other people because she lacked both family and financial support. Now, Jane’s luck has turned around completely. Jane’s marriage to Rochester means that he must rely on her for his sight, and she has the ability to provide for herself financially.
Jane’s internal conflict between her fiery personality and her Christian moral understanding is a central theme throughout the story. At first, she turns down Rochester because she refuses to violate her principles. Yet she insists that tying the knot with St. John would be tantamount to suicide because it would mean accepting a loveless union as her fate.
By the time Jane goes back to Rochester, she has gained the financial freedom to be with Rochester as his true wife and the moral standing to do so.
Does Jane Eyre Have a Happy Ending?
Jane’s marriage to Rochester symbolizes a happy ending, but with a touch of bittersweetness. Rochester’s disability as a result of the Thornfield fire makes this celebration bittersweet. He’s lost his status as a charming and mysterious hero. Jane has also been through many hardships along the way.
But these sobering experiences are what make a happy marriage feasible for Jane and Rochester. Now that Bertha is gone, they can marry on solid ground with no chance of deception. Although Rochester has a disability, his condition allows the couple to have a companionate marriage that is founded on mutual equality.
A marriage between Rochester, while he was “whole,” and Jane, the impoverished, quiet, dependent former governess, would result in an unequal partnership in which Rochester would have had all the power. Rochester now relies on Jane just as much, if not more, than she does on him.
They’ve found happiness in each other, but it’s a different kind of bliss than the kind young people feel in the throes of new love. Because of their shared hardships, their appreciation for one another has deepened. They both understand what it’s like to be dejected and lonely.
Why is Jane Eyre’s Ending Criticized?
The fact that Jane’s journey concludes with her becoming a wife and a mother is enough to upset some people on its own. But there are also some other points of contention when it comes to the ending.
For starters, many people suggest that Rochester does not feel regret for what he’s done even by the end of the story, despite the fact that he lied to and tricked Jane and tried to enter into an illegal marriage with her, locked up his mad wife Bertha in the attic for many years, and also leads on Blanche Ingram.
In order for Jane and Rochester to have a legitimate marriage lacking any kind of deception, poor Bertha has to pass away, and that too in a horrific manner.
Jane hearing Rochester’s voice from an impossible distance is a supernatural detail that breaks the novel’s otherwise realistic tone.
The fact that Rochester must go blind and lose a hand so that Jane can become his “equal” at the end of the novel implies that a wife of a healthy man will always be subservient to her husband.
Rochester’s blindness and amputation of his hand are presented as “punishment” for his misdeeds, while his subsequent recovery of partial vision in one eye is presented as “God tempering justice with mercy.” The notion that disability is a punishment from God is harmful to people who live with disabilities.
The final chapter is commonly referred to as being too idealized. This is because it portrays Jane and Rochester’s marriage as being too perfect, and it also contains an excessive amount of enthusiasm from Jane about her gloriously happy existence.
Should Jane Have Left St. John?
St. John makes it quite obvious that he does not have any romantic feelings for Jane; rather, he only considers her as someone who would make an excellent companion for doing missionary work overseas. Jane has also witnessed him repeatedly deny his own happiness (because it is readily apparent that he is in love with Rosamund).
Rochester clearly has feelings of admiration for Jane, whereas St. John is simply concerned with doing what he considers to be “right,” regardless of how sad it makes him.
And Jane, being the passionate woman she was, would always have been unhappy in such a union. Therefore, it is very obvious that Jane made the correct choice when she decided to leave St. John for Rochester.
The Feminist Interpretation of Jane Eyre’s Ending
Some could argue that Jane gave up her independence voluntarily, giving weight to the argument that she is no longer her individual self. Jane and Rochester are now one being; they have become inseparable, sharing a single heart and taking on the “bone” and “flesh” of each other.
One could also draw the conclusion that Jane is giving up her intellectual and expressive abilities with this final transition. These two traits are what have defined Jane for the majority of the book. Even Jane draws parallels between her thoughts and her discussions with Rochester.
Despite the fact that ten years have passed since their wedding, Jane, who normally has no trouble expressing herself, finds that she is suddenly unable to do so when she is in Rochester’s presence.
On the other hand, some people have interpreted Jane Eyre’s ending in a more positive and hopeful way. Throughout the story, Jane stands as a symbol of resistance to patriarchy, striving for equality.
Rochester started off as a domineering, patriarchal figure, but he has gone through a transformation towards the end of the novel. Rochester has suffered devastating losses, including the loss of his home, his hand, and his vision. Rochester is not in a position to behave as if he is Jane’s “master” in all respects.
Jane is so independent that she can take care of Rochester without worrying about relying on anyone else. Unlike the first time she visited Rochester, when Jane relied exclusively on Rochester for emotional support, this time she will have a network of support at the Moor House.
With her head held high, Jane announces to the world, “Reader, I married him.” Her marriage is more than just a union of two individuals; it symbolizes the freedom from her past that Jane has sought throughout the story. Bront leaves it up to the reader in Jane Eyre to judge whether or not Jane’s final line acknowledges her road to freedom or is an expression of her giving up her autonomy.
Conclusion
So, although the ending of Jane Eyre depicts a happy Jane, there are some who find this conclusion bittersweet and others who find it devastating. At the end of the day, how the reader sees this ending depends on them.
