his is not a Religious age," charges Carlyle in "Signs of the
Times" (1829). Yet in ane Eyre's world, this assertion is simply
untrue. Although Mr. Brocklehurst might be one of the
calculators of the profitable that Carlyle so despised, Miss
Temple, Helen Burns, St.John Rivers and his sisters, and even
Jane herself all have very strong religious feelings and belief.
Bronë accepted that religion was highly personal and very
important, as she showed with each of her characters' different
approaches to faith and the following of it. St.John is fanatic
and totalitarian, Helen frustratingly martyrlike, Miss Temple
kind and gentle, Jane troubled but persevering, and the sisters
peaceful and good in their attitudes toward religion. The way
the inhabitants of Brontë's book deal with theological
convictions is closely entwined with their identities.To her,
Religion is alive and very influential in people's lives and
souls. She and Carlyle do share a taste for metaphorical
foreshadowing, even if their views of contempo