Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre is celebrated as a landmark of feminist literature—but what if its deepest argument is actually theological? Scholar Sarah Barnette reveals the novel's hidden spiritual architecture and what it teaches about submission, conscience, and salvation.
Far from a story of female independence, Jane Eyre is at its heart a profoundly pious text, shaped by the tension between Calvinist predestination and Arminian free will. Barnette traces Jane's pilgrim's journey from pride to humility, rebellion to submission—arguing that the novel's climax is not romantic but soteriological: Jane's deliverance depends entirely on her hard-won ability to hear and obey her conscience.
About the Author:
Sarah Barnette is a scholar of Victorian literature and Romantic studies, with an Masters in Literature from the University of St. Andrews.