In the novel Jane Eyre, author Charlotte Bronte depicts a strong-minded and

independent character in Jane Eyre. Charlotte accomplishes this through the

utilization of the foil character Helen Burns. Jane, at the time of meeting Helen,
possessed several negative traits that stood in stark contrast to Helene’s morality.
Likewise the facets of Helen’s character were too much for Jane to emulate.
However Helen’s tragic and sudden death later proved to have a lasting impact on
Jane’s character. Charlotte Bronte portrayed a God-oriented, submissive, and
virtuous girl in Helen Burns in order to get across to Jane the aspects that she was
lacking.

Out of all the motifs in the novel, religion remained prominent. Helen was
fiercely devoted to God and understood that a healthy relationship with virtue would
grant her admission into heaven. As Helen died in Jane’s cradling embrace, she
reassured Jane that she was going to join God in his eternal kingdom. Helen
encouraged Jane to live a similar life, which Jane ultimately could not accept. This
became evident with the introduction of St. John later in the novel. She could have
chosen a loveless but devoted life to God with St. John and almost accepted the
decision. This was perhaps a lasting remnant of Helen on Jane. Also reflective of this
were other instances in the novel where Jane prayed to God for guidance. However
Jane ultimately rejected God’s will by rejecting St. John and in turn refusing Helen’s
way of life. Helen also believed that a part of being virtuous was to submit to control
and not fight back.

Helen was humiliated many times in Lowood, which Jane could not stand to
watch. Jane was eager for Helen to retaliate, reflecting her own incident with her
Aunt Reed. After being sentenced to a terrifying experience in the red room, Jane
finally struck back at Aunt Reed, professing her burning hatred for her. After hearing
the cruel childhood story of Jane, Helen was sympathetic but rather unmoved. Helen
encouraged Jane to let go of the fire and anger that burned within her, lest she
become no better than her aunt or cousin, John Reed. At the time Jane scoffed at
the idea of ever dousing the flame, but ultimately came to terms with it. As word
got to Jane of her dying Aunt Reed, Jane decided to pause her budding relationship
with Rochester to go visit her. Helen also stood as a virtuous role model for Jane.

Helen’s submission to abuse and torment while still maintaining a devotion to

God exemplifies her virtuous character. As mentioned before, Jane took the time to
go see her dying aunt one last time and even forgave her. While back at Gateshead,
she also took time to assist the two cousins she had never favored. After the
revelation of Bertha’ existence, Jane realized that she could not lead a virtuous life
with an already-married man, and thus had to flee. However a life with St. John
would have resulted in the exact opposite. Despite this fact however, Jane still
chose love over virtue. Likewise although she rejected Helen’s ideal, she still
received her love in the end.
 Jane Eyre stood as a polar opposite of character next to Helen Burns. Helen
encouraged Jane to love God, endure abuse, and maintain virtue. Helen’s death also
solidified these aspects in Jane’s mind. However her ideals were also extreme in the
sense that Jane could never full adopt them. In the end Jane learned to blend these
aspects with her own ideals and was able to attain true happiness.