Jane Eyre简爱 圣约翰

1、St.JohnnThe first thing to explain about St. John Rivers is how to pronounce his first name, St. John. Its not Saint John, although of course thats what it means; its pronounced SIN-jun. nHes not actually a saint, eitherits just a weird first namealthough he does think that hes one of the elect. Hig

2、h and MightynHes done some serious mortifying of the flesh in order to sacrifice all his desires and become a missionary in India. Mostly, this makes sense; he just isnt happy living calm, normal, domestic life. He has the drive that some people get to go out and prove themselves against strange cha

3、llenges and unbearable odds.nBut there is one thing he hasnt been able to stop himself from wanting: Miss Rosamond Oliver, the local, wealthy beauty. She loves him, he loves her, her dad is okay with itit should work out. nHe thinks, though, that shed be a bad missionary wife, and so he refuses to l

4、et himself act on his feelings for her. Giving up the missionary-in-India project just isnt possible.Iceberg, Dead Ahead!nApart from this one passion, St. John is hard and cold, hes frozen over, hes cold as an iceberg. He may be handsome, blonde, and blue-eyed, but he might as well be no longer fles

5、h, but marblelike some kind of Greek statue of Apollo. When he proposes to Jane, whom he thinks would make a great missionary wife, shes appalled by the idea that he would marry someone he doesnt love. a foil to Edward RochesternWhereas Rochester is passionate, St. John is austere and ambitious. Jan

6、e often describes Rochesters eyes as flashing and flaming, whereas she constantly associates St. John with rock, ice, and snow. Marriage with Rochester represents the abandonment of principle for the consummation of passion, but marriage to St. John would mean sacrificing passion for principle. Why

7、Jane refuses to marry himnWhen inviting her to come to India with him as a missionary, St. John offers Jane the chance to make meaningful contribution to society. However, life with him would mean life without true love, in which Janes need for spiritual solace would be filled only by retreat into t

8、he recesses of her own soul. Independence would be accompanied by loneliness, and joining St. John would require Jane to neglect her own legitimate needs for love and emotional support. Her consideration of St. Johns proposal leads Jane to understand that, paradoxically, a large part of ones persona

9、l freedom is found in a relationship of mutual emotional dependence. nFrom the long conversation between and John and Jane, when he asking Jane to marry him and be the wife of a missionary, his aggressive and controlling in his interactions with others exposed. He was entirely alienated from his fee

10、lings and devoted solely to an austere ambition. n“Now, I did not like this, reader, St. John was a man; but I began to feel he had spoken truth of himself, when he said he was hard and cold. The humanities and amenities of life had no attraction for him.As I looked at his lofty forehead, still and

11、pale as a white stoneI comprehended all at once that he would hardly make a good husband.”( Volume, Chapter ) From Janes words, we can see John was not an ideal husband. n He never said “I love you” to Jane, nor did he remember to shake hands with her when living. He just wanted a wife he can “influ

12、ence efficiently” and “retain absolutely”, rather someone he beloved. nWhat s more, Rochester gave Jane freedom while John threatened Jane like a “shackle” through his assertion of his “masterhood”. Optimistic critics point to Janes description of St. John as her reminder that the marriage she rejected would offer her much more stifling. nBy entering into m