Refusal to Sacrifice Moral Principles in Jane EyreThe need to love and be loved is a fundamental general characteristic of human nature. However, the moral principles and beliefs that govern this need are decided by the individual. In the novel Jane Eyre, author Charlotte Brontë vividly describes the personalities and beliefs of different characters. When the reader first meets the main character, ten-year-old orphan Jane Eyre, she is living at Gateshead Hall in England with her Aunt Reed and three cousins, all of whom she greatly despises. Soon after, Jane was sent to the Lowood Institution, a school for girls, where she would live for the next eight years. Jane then moves to Thornfield Hall to work as a governess for Mr. Rochester; they fall in love and plan to get married. However, during the wedding ceremony, it is revealed that Mr. Rochester already has a wife. Humiliated, Jane leaves Thornfield and goes to Moor House. There, Jane hears Mr. Rochester's voice calling to her one evening; she immediately returns to Thornfield to find a charred and desolate house burned down by Mr. Rochester's mad wife. During the tragedy, Mr. Rochester's wife dies and he loses a hand and the sight in both eyes. However, as his wife has died, Jane and Mr. Rochester are free to marry and do so. Although Jane's existence is rooted in the need to love and be loved, she has an intense character and refuses to sacrifice her moral principles and beliefs no matter the situation. Jane's intense character is first observed when Mrs. Reed warns the director of the film. Lowood School, "to guard against her [Jane's] worst fault, a tendency toward deception" (41). Later, Jane tells Mrs. Reed that she is not a deceitful child and... middle of paper... oh she loves, but Mr. Rochester. This perspective also demonstrates Jane's unwillingness to submit to an unethical situation against her beliefs. Throughout the novel Jane Eyre, it is revealed that Jane is a character whose existence is rooted in the need to love and be loved. However, he is an intensely passionate character who refuses to sacrifice his moral principles and beliefs. Although the desire to love and be loved is a general characteristic of human nature, the manner in which this need is obtained depends on the moral principles and beliefs of the individual. Works cited and consulted Brontë, Charlotte. The great classics of the world: Jane Eyre. New York: Grolier Incorporated. Gates, Barbara Timm, ed. Critical essays on Charlotte Brontë. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1990. Pickrel, Paul. “Jane Eyre: The Apocalypse of the Body.” ELH 53 (1986): 165-82.