In life, several variables influence an individual's growth. These variables can include any aspect of a person's life, from family influence to personal passions. In the novels Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea, the authors use certain themes to shape the lives of their female protagonists. Charlotte Bronte's broad scope of Jane Eyre's life journey creates a comprehensive emotional picture of Jane's spiritual growth. Similarly, Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys tells of a mysterious character from Jane Eyre, Antoinette Cosway, Mr. Rochester's wife. As Jane and Antoinette mature, friendship, education, spirituality, and romantic love influence their growth and outlook on life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay As a child, Jane's friendships help her remain optimistic and ambitious as she faces countless challenges. At Gateshead Hall, Jane identifies the maid, Bessie, as her only friend among her evil family. Although Bessie cannot defend Jane from this injustice, she shows Jane patience and love. Bessie's friendship teaches Jane to see friends as a source of hope. This mindset sticks with Jane as she travels to Lowood, Thornfield Hall, Moor House and, finally, Ferndean. Early in her time at Lowood, Jane finds solidarity in a fellow student, Helen Burns. Due to a virtually loveless childhood, Jane expresses to Helen her fear of being ostracized again. Her fears increase when Mr. Brocklehurst warns all the teachers and pupils at Lowood to beware of Jane, telling the lies Jane's aunt told him. In response to Jane's insecurity, Helen says, “'If all the world hated you and thought you evil, while your conscience approved you and absolved you from guilt, you would not be without friends'” (Bronte 94). Helen explains how self-confidence is the key to facing adversity, because in truth God's judgment is the only opinion that matters. Jane accepts Helen's optimistic outlook on life. Indeed, her newfound value for personal integrity helps her gain Mr. Rochester's respect in later chapters. Unlike Jane, Antoinette's relationships in Wide Sargasso Sea bring cynicism and little happiness to her life. At the beginning of the novel, Antoinette lives as a social pariah in the Coulibri Estate. Growing up in isolation, Antoinette befriends a young black girl, Tia. From Tia, Antoinette learns about the gossip surrounding her family. Tia speaks openly about the murmurs of the nearby Spanish town: “She [Tia] hears all of us poor people like beggars… The real white people, they have gold money. They didn't look at us, no one saw them approaching us. The white people of old are now nothing but white niggers, and the black niggers are better than the white niggers” (Rhys 22). Hostilely, Tia deprecates Antoinette's valor. Although Antoinette is kept sheltered from the outside world, she still suffers emotionally due to the prejudices of her neighbors. Not even her first friend will spare her from embarrassment. This initial exposure to her poor social status shapes Antoinette's view of herself and her family. The quality of life continues to deteriorate for her when her house burns down and her mother dies after supposedly losing her sanity. Such a tumultuous background contributes to his low self-esteem and distrust of others. In the face of adversity, Jane and Antoinette willingly embrace education as a way to escape their disappointing lives. In Antoinette's situation, her escape to the convent protects her fromhis family's tragic fall into chaos. Antoinette describes her convent school as “a place of sun and death where very early in the morning the beating of a wooden signal woke the nine of us who slept in the long dormitory” (Rhys 51). In this quote Antonietta expresses her gratitude for the seclusion of the convent. Surprisingly, she remains grateful despite the disconcerting presence of death. Antoinette's willingness to overlook the less attractive aspects of the convent demonstrates how grateful she is to simply be far from her former life as a social outcast. Similar to Antoinette, Jane initially sees Lowood Institution as an escape from her punitive aunt. However, the theme of education has a stronger meaning in Jane's growth than in Antoinette's. Anne's education opens up opportunities for her in Jane Eyre and recurs often as an important topic, but in Wide Sargasso Sea education is mentioned once, briefly. Despite this disparity, both characters shared the same romanticized view of religious schools. For Jane, “it implied a long journey, an entire separation from Gateshead, the entry into a new life” (Bronte 28). Jane hopes to start a new life in Lowood. During Jane's tenure at Lowood, Christian education is characterized as an ascetic lifestyle. A prime example of this mentality is when Mr. Brocklehurst, Lowood's benefactor, scolds a teacher for serving the girls bread and cheese outside of normal meal times, an action brought on by serving burnt porridge for breakfast. Mr. Brocklehurst preaches to her: "You know that my plan in raising these girls is not to accustom them to habits of luxury and indulgence, but to make them hardy, patient, unselfish... Oh, madam, when you put bread and cheese, instead of burnt porridge, in the mouths of these children, you can really feed their vile bodies, but you don't think about how you starve their immortal souls!” (Bronte 84)In his speech, Mr. Brocklehurst describes Christian education Christian students, according to his piety, must be self-sufficient and independent of excess comforts. She believes that conveniences made for girls – in this case, an edible meal – distract them from this principle, depriving their souls Mr. Brocklehurst's callous character, Bronte, establishes a negative portrayal of education in the exposition of Jane Eyre. However, as the novel progresses and Jane matures, education becomes a useful tool. After Mr. Brocklehurst is replaced, Jane learns to enjoy her studies more, becoming an excellent student and an exemplary teacher. Her tenacious passion for learning allows her to voraciously seize opportunities. Furthermore, her education continues to benefit her in her life after Lowood. Her brilliant skills land her a job as Adele's nanny at Gateshead Hall, for example. Second, her perspicacity captivates Mr. Rochester, a man of high taste and standards. Ultimately, her background helps her land a job as a teacher in Morton and win the respect of St. John Rivers, a stoic preacher. In contrast to the theme of education, spirituality plays contradictory roles in the lives of the two heroines. In Wide Sargasso Sea, religion has a sinister presence, appearing alongside negative events in Antoinette's life. Religion is specifically associated with betrayal. For example, a biblical allusion occurs when Antoinette turns to Christophine, begging for a love potion. After receiving the potion, Antoinette leaves Christophine's quarters and notices that "nearby a rooster was crowing and I [Antoinette] thought: 'This is for treason, but who is thetraitor?'" (Rhys 107). This biblical allusion to cockcrow refers to two disloyal disciples of Jesus, Judas and Peter. As Jesus had predicted at the Last Supper, Judas led the Romans to him in the Garden of Gethsemane, and Peter denied his allegiance to Jesus three times before the rooster crowed. Antoinette recalls the meaning of the rooster's crow and reflects on who would be the traitor in her situation. Clearly from Mr. Rochester's perspective, Antoinette is behaving like a traitor since the potion gives him the sensation of drowning in his sleep. This allusion occurs a few pages later, when Mr. Rochester is conspiring to get rid of Antoinette. He writes a letter to his father explaining his decision to return to England. outside a rooster was crowing insistently” (Rhys 147). Unlike Antoinette, Mr. Rochester does not heed the rooster's warning. Ironically, he does not recognize the biblical meaning of the rooster's crowing, even though he claims to be a practicing Christian. Jane Eyre proposes a different development of spirituality. At the beginning of Jane Eyre, Bronte introduces Mr. Brocklehurst, the benefactor of the Lowood Institution. Although he claims to be a humble Christian who needs only the bare minimum, he lives extravagantly and pampers his family with indulgences. Through this character Bronte presents spirituality as a form of hypocrisy. However, Bronte explores a more positive view of spirituality through the words of Helen Burns, Jane's childhood friend. Unlike Mr. Brocklehurst, Helen uses Christianity to generate in herself an unconditional love for all people, no matter how they treat her. At Lowood, Helen is often picked on by her teacher and punished for the slightest infraction. Jane watches as Helen accepts this mistreatment with grace. Stunned, Jane confronts Helen, curious to know why Helen refuses to report her punisher. In her responses, Helen passes along Bible verses about loving everyone, even criminals. He says, “'I can distinguish so clearly between the criminal and his crime; I can sincerely forgive the former while I abhor the latter: with this belief, revenge never worries my heart, degradation never disgusts me too much, injustice never crushes me too low: I live in calm, looking to the end'” (Bronte 77) . Helen's religion gives her inner peace and the ability to forgive easily, get angry slowly, and love completely. His calm character remains steadfast even when he falls ill with typhus. Through Helen's influence, Jane develops a deeper connection to the purpose of Christianity, to love and be humble. Her friendship with Helen helps her forgive her aunt and cousins ​​for mistreating her. Helen showed her how to soften her heart. Another aspect of spirituality concerns the inner spirit of Jane herself. Many times Mr. Rochester calls her an angel. Throughout her journey, Jane nourishes her spirit while remaining mindful of her religious upbringing. Finally, the theme of romantic love strongly motivates Jane, but the lack of romantic love ruins Antoinette. At the end of Jane Eyre¸ Jane finally returns to her love, Mr. Rochester, now paralyzed after the fire of his mansion, and marries him. She lives happily knowing "what it means to live entirely for and with what I love most on earth...No woman has ever been closer to her partner than I" (Bronte 656). Jane proudly professes her love for Mr. Rochester and claims to be the most attentive and devoted lover of all. Her loyalty is demonstrated as she continues to care for him in Ferndean. In Wide Sargasso Sea, Antoinette expresses her unbridled animosity towards Mr. Rochester after witnessing his.