Happy Ending？
Not having a distinguished family, a noble status, an abundance of wealth and outstanding appearance, Jane Eyre was living in a materialistic and snobbish society, which resulted in the fact that the society had enough reasons to despise her. Nevertheless, Jane Eyre was self-respecting and self-empowered, firmly and almost stubbornly believing that all people are born equal. Her quest for individual freedom and her advocacy of equality in life made her demanding in her relationship with Rochester, who was looked forward to connect with Jane Eyre’s soul, not denying her worth and demeaned her because of her imperfect appearance and ungraceful status.
In nineteenth-century England, marriage was more subordinate to status and wealth, and a woman like Jane Eyre, who was neither pretty nor had a family fortune, was impossible to be admired by the so-called gentlemen of high society. Rochester's existence to Jane Eyre could be described as a miracle, giving Jane Eyre the joy of life and the sweetness of love. While at that time, Jane Eyre introduced a concept that is still deafening to the modern mind – men and women are equal in love. The saying is deeply branded in my mind: " I swear to you, if God gives me wealth and beauty, I will make you can't leave me, just as I can't leave you now. Although I am not beautiful and poor, we are equal, just as we all kneel in front of God through the graveyard after death."
In fact, Jane and Rochester's love is the love of the times. Although it seems to be splendid and out of the ordinary, it does not escape that time. Although the author was seeking a kind of spiritual equality, she was ultimately not able to escape the externalized material and status equality. That is, in the end, Rochester was blind and poor, while Jane unexpectedly inherited a large estate, which really made the marriage a marriage a good match. This is not because the author herself is old-fashioned and unable to escape the time and society, but the equality of love. Like a man and a dog, even if they develop feelings for each other, they cannot generate love and thus marriage, which is caused by the natural inequality between the two parties. Of course, this is an exaggerated way of expressing the truth, which is essentially true. Two people without a common language and similar background cannot develop a stable love and marriage, as Jane Eyre displays to us - Jane and Rochester were both orphans and had similar personality of stubborn, who were balanced in terms of status and wealth eventually. In that way, I suppose that it is inaccuracy for some people to see this novel as a diatribe on women's emancipation and equality in love. It is a story of the time, showing us a love that ultimately tends to be equal.
From my perspective, well-matched love is not specific to a particular country or era, but is a natural principle in human society, which develops with the development of social history. Throughout the ages, there must be many people who have tried to pursue an unmatched love. Nevertheless, the majority of them have ended up in vain, or perhaps succeeded at great cost, which invariably confirms the validity of such love concept. In the case of love in contemporary society, we may fall in love with someone because of their characters, appearances, etc., nevertheless, we have to get along and live with him or her because of their world outlooks, habits and the ways they treat others. Although we seek and pursue free love and equal love, this cannot erase the fact that two people are too distinguishing. For instance, if an individual with a high level of education falls in love with a person with a low level of education, it is difficult for them to communicate and get along with each other. It is not a matter of discrimination in terms of education, but rather the differences in abilities, ways of dealing with problems and concepts hidden behind the education, which affects our daily lives and choices and thus affects the relationship between two people.
The novel has designed a very bright and happy ending - although Rochester become a cripple and his estate was ruined, it was such a condition that Jane Eyre was no longer conflicted between dignity and love, but could obtain her dignity and true love at the same time. Nevertheless, in our real life, do all loves end up like the prince and princess in the fairy tale, living happily in the end?
There is no doubt that the answer is no, but we should understand that love is indeed based on financial independence and spiritual equality. It is not to say that all love without equality won't end with happy ending. Nevertheless, if both partners build intimacy on an equal footing from the start, it must be a lot easier to find our true love and Mr.Right.
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