In Jane Eyre, we get the first glimpse of Jane's independent spirit when she protests her cruel treatment at the hands of her aunt in Chapter 4:
"I will never call you aunt again...I will say the very thought of you makes me sick, and that you treated me with miserable cruelty."
After this outburst, Jane experiences a sense of liberation: "My soul began to expand, to exult with the strangest sense of freedom."...
In Jane Eyre, we get the first glimpse of Jane's independent spirit when she protests her cruel treatment at the hands of her aunt in Chapter 4:
"I will never call you aunt again...I will say the very thought of you makes me sick, and that you treated me with miserable cruelty."
After this outburst, Jane experiences a sense of liberation: "My soul began to expand, to exult with the strangest sense of freedom." This feeling encourages her sense of independence to blossom and paves the way for many more instances, beginning next with Jane's departure from Lowood School and acceptance of the position of governess at Thornfield Hall, in Chapter 10.
It is at Thornfield, in her relationship with Mr Rochester, that we see Jane's independent spirit truly flourish. Part of the reason for this is that Rochester does not treat Jane as his inferior; he grows to love her and views her as his equal, despite their differences in social class and wealth. When Rochester proposes marriage, for example, in Chapter 23, Jane is so stunned that she believes he is mocking her. This prompts a strong independent reaction:
"I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will, which I now exert to leave you."
While Jane accepts his proposal, the discovery of his secret wife, Bertha, prompts her to leave Thornfield. But it is her independence which reunites the couple later on: Jane rejects St John's proposal of marriage and asserts her need for emotional fulfillment by returning, for the final time, to Rochester at Thornfield Hall.
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