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MONEY AND FREEDOM IN BRONTE NOVELS
In Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bront, Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bront, and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne Bront, the desire for freedom is a constant theme. Although freedom in Victorian society is usually associated with having money, it is actually much more complicated than thatat least in these Bront novels. Freedom comes in different forms, and usually with a price.
In Jane Eyre, Jane is continually yearning for liberty and independence, but she cannot make up her mind about what kind of freedom she desires. Throughout the novel, she is offered several different types of freedom. As a child, she dreams only of freedom from Mrs. Reed, yet she already understands that with it there comes a priceeven though she is miserable living with the Reeds, she would rather remain with them than live with poor relations "Poverty looks grim to poor; still more so to children they have not much idea of industrious, working, respectable poverty …poverty for me was synonymous with degradation…I wasn't not heroic enough to purchase liberty at the price for caste" (8). At the time, her limited material comfort seems more important to her than freedom.
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When she is sent away to school, she is freed from the awful Reeds, who treated her with cruelty, only to enter a new form of imprisonment and dependency at Lowood Institution. After several years, she wishes for something more "I tired of the routine of eight years in one afternoon. I desired liberty; for liberty I gasped" (151). She accepts a position as a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she meets and falls in love with the extremely wealthy Edward Rochester. With his proposal of marriage, Mr. Rochester offers her emotional freedom and financial well being, but she refuses to accept it on his terms. Jane tries to keep her identity intact by resisting Edward's attempts to buy her new things and insisting on dressing the same as before. She resents being dependent on him "It would, indeed be a relief…if I had ever so small an independency; I can never bear being dressed like a doll by Mr. Rochester…if I had but a prospect of one day bringing [him] an accession of fortune, I could better endure to be kept by him now" (54). She will not become someone else, even for the man she loves. This is a somewhat modern way of looking at things, as it was commonplace for women of that era to rely financially on their husbands, as well as to become whatever it was their husbands expected of them.
Mr. Rochester's fortune was acquired through the machinations of his father and brother "I must be provided for by a wealthy marriage…They thought only of the thirty thousand pounds, and joined in the plot against me" (6). He had been sacrificed by his father's greed. As a result he had money and independence, but he was tied forever to an insane woman he could not love. To him, Jane is an opportunity to free himself from the chains of his past. He feels he has suffered enough, that is misfortunes in the past have given him the right to feel he deserves the freedom to love and marry again "travel yourself to what clime you will, and form what tie you like. That woman, who has so abused your long-sufferingso sullied your name; so outraged your honor; so blighted your youthis not your wife; nor are you her husband" (). He is willing to defy the laws of man and god to serve himself.
Jane, however, feels differently. She refuses to become Mr. Rochester's mistresswithout the sanctity of marriage, she risks losing Mr. Rochester's respect "to become the successor of [his former mistresses], he would one day regard me with the same feeling which now in his mind desecrated their memory" (40). To stay with Mr. Rochester would mean surrendering her integrity, her morals, and her principles, which have thus far guided her through life "Laws and principles are not for the time when there is no temptation…they have a worthso I have always believed" (408). She forfeits his love, which would make her a "slave in fool's paradise", to be "free and honest" (455). While Jane's motivating force is her search for love and autonomy, she refuses to sacrifice herself in the process.
St. John Rivers is Mr. Rochester's opposite. He takes Jane in after she is left with nothing and offers her a job as a teacher in a poor school. Although Jane still harbors the same fear of poverty she had as a child, she swallows her pride and accepts the position, despite the initial degradation she feels. After all--it enables her to be self-reliant "It was independent; and the fear of servitude with strangers entered my soul like iron" (450). She learns to overcome her snobbish feelings of disgust for her students, and becomes a part of the community. It is then that Bront decides to award her heroine with an inheritance of 0,000 pounds "It is a fine thing, reader, to be lifted in a moment from indigence to wealth…independence would be glorious" (47-480). Jane has finally earned her precious freedombut she is still unfulfilled. After striving for liberty at every opportunity, when it is at last granted to her, it is still not enough. She attributes her feelings of emptiness to being separated from Mr. Rochester. When St. John pleads with her to accompany him to India, she realizes that she must move on. She submits to his requests, with the exception of his marriage proposalshe will not be his wife. Once again, Jane refuses to sacrifice her needs "I will give the missionary my energiesit is all he wantsbut not myself" (505). With St. John she would have her integrity and her morals intact, as well as an abundance of money, but no love.
In Jane eyes, any sacrifice of her self, or self-worth, is another form of imprisonment. She is determined that her "heart and mind [remain] free" (507). Yet, in her refusal to St. John, she understands that her need to love and be loved are just as important. It is this realization that leads to her decision to return to Thornfield Hall, where she is reunited with the widowed Mr. Rochester. Jane finally finds fulfillment when she realizes that there can be equal balance between love and independence without losing herself in the process. Although marriage in itself is compromise, it is on Jane's terms. Most people would consider it burden to take care of a disabled husband, but it is one Jane takes on with pleasure, because it is equally reciprocated "I am my husband's life as fully as he is mine" (554). It is interesting how Bront depicts these two characters as being one person "No woman was ever nearer to her mate than I am ever more absolutely bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh" (554). It is almost identical to the attachment described between Heathcliff and Cathy in Emily Bront's Wuthering Heights.
In the novel, Cathy sacrifices her love for Heathcliff as well as her true nature for a higher class status and money. She loves Heathcliff, but also feels to marry him would degrade her "If Heathcliff and I married, we should beggars" (174-5). She would like to be "the greatest woman of the neighborhood" (171) and marry the rich and handsome Edgar Linton. While Jane Eyre was firm in her unwillingness to compromise herself for the sake of monetary freedom, Cathy is not so noble. Although she struggles with her love for Heathcliff and her desire for money, she chooses money. She knows it is the wrong choice "In whichever place the soul livesin my soul, and in my heart, I'm convinced I'm wrong…I've no more business to marry Edgar Linton than I have to be in heaven" (17-), but she makes it anyway. The result is she is now rich, but not happy. When Heathcliff returns after an absence of three years, a jealous Edgar assumes his rights as her husband tries to force her choose between himself and Heathcliff. She had not counted on this "Every Linton on the face of the earth might melt into nothing, before I could consent to forsake Heathcliff…I shouldn't be Mrs. Linton were such a price demanded" (174). Where as Cathy thought having money would enable her to free Heathcliff from Hindley's control, it only serves to divide herself from him forever, something she believed impossible "My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath…I am Heathcliff…don't talk of our separation againit is impractical" (175). She in turn begins to starve herself, exercising what little freedom she has on her body. She understands the restrictions of being a wife for the first time, and longs for the freedom of childhood "I wish I were a girl again, half savage and hardy, and free" (0). Having a rich husband is not exactly what she hoped it would beshe selfishly thought she could have everything money, class and independence, while staying true to herself in the process. She realizes her marriage to Edgar should never have happenedit is the catalyst for all that transpires with Heathcliff from that point on, even after her death.
Whatever remnants of a conscience that may have once existed as a boy in Heathcliff are now gone. He is utterly ruthless neither morals nor sentiments will impede him in his pursuit for revenge. He cheats Hindley out of his fortune, and takes over Wuthering Heights. He is becomes rich, but he derives no pleasure from his new status. He is so bitter over losing Cathy, and so driven towards revenge that he uses the money only as a tool in his vengeful plans. The money permits him to seduce Edgar's sister Isabella Linton, thus enabling him to rob Hareton and young Cathy of their rightful inheritances as well. Heathcliff may benefit from financial independence, but he is never able to enjoy ithis only enjoyment is the misery he inflicts on others. His desire for the money of his enemies has turned him into a monster. He is a prisoner to his hatred and obsession. Only when he is finally able to let go of them is he able to be content "I repent nothingI'm too happy" (47). He dies shortly after with a look of exultation on his face.
Another example of the price of fortune is the class barrier it creates in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne Bront. Helen Huntingdon is desperate for freedom; her husband Arthur exercises his control over her to make her stay with him. After much torment on her part she runs away from her alcoholic husband and earns a "lowly independence" (55) by selling paintings. Her husband eventually dies and she is rewarded with freedom and independence. She has inherited Arthur's estate, but her elevated status creates an obstacle between her and Gilbert. When Gilbert hears the news, he hesitates to contact herhe is a farmer and she is an heiress to a large estate "Doubtless there was a wide distinction between the rank and circumstances of Mrs. Huntingdon, the lady of Grassdale Manor, and those of Mrs. Graham the artist, the tenant of Wildfell Hall; and it might be deemed presumption in me to offer my hand to the former" (4). Gilbert's worries of financial inequality are similar to Jane Eyre's she initially refuses to even hope that Mr. Rochester could love her, only a governess. Both couples do overcome their problems and have their happy endings.
In all three of these Bront novels, the most evident similarity is that money and freedom are linked, but one does not define the other Catherine Earnshaw marries for money but loses her freedom in the process. Another theme is that freedom is earned, usually after a period of suffering or sacrifice Although both Jane and Helen inherit large fortunes at the end of each novel, neither has had an easy time of it. Charlotte and Anne both chose to have their respective heroines endure many trials and tribulations before they finally are awarded with money and a husband. In contrast, Cathy tried to win it the easy way, by marrying a man she did not love for money, with disastrous results. Even Mr. Rochester must lose an eye and a hand before he is freed from Bertha. However, the main lesson to be learned from the Bront's is that while money and freedom are essential to one's well being, without love they are worthless.
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