Monday, December 14, 2009

Have Faith and Hope for the Best

Who has the control of our lives? The typical answer would be that oneself does because we make all the choices and decisions of our daily and routinely life. The idea that our future is in our hands keeps us happy, but what happens when we come across a situation in which we have no say in whatsoever? We torment ourselves and are made unhappy by this order of events. However, in her novel Jane Eyre, the author Charlotte Bronte teaches us that instead of going through life grieving that we can not make all the choices ourselves, we should simply have faith that destiny will be kind enough to let those things which we cannot alter, turn out for the best. Bronte presents this by taking the reader through the life of a young lady, who faces numerable difficulties which bring many choices for her to make, but also an equal number of decisions which she has no control over.
There are two ideas about what determines an individuals life. One is the idea of free will which states that we have full control of our lives and how it will end up. The second is the concept of pre-determination or destiny, which says that our entire lives and everything that happens in them have been determined before we are even in our mother's womb. Bronte seems to take the stance of destiny in her novel. "It can never be, sir; it does not sound likely. Human beings never enjoy complete happiness in this world. I was not born for a different destiny to the rest of my species: to imagine such a lot befalling me is a fairy tale--a day-dream."(262) Bronte's main character Jane Eyre, states here how human beings are driven by destiny, and each individuals destiny is somewhat similar, so in conclusion why be bothered by not being able to take some choices ourselves if no one else can either. Jane faces many circumstances in which she wishes certain things would or would not happen. She wishes to be together with her love Mr. Rochester, but when her wedding is ruined by the news of Mr. Rochester having another wife, she is devastated and wishes never to see Edward Rochester again. She flees from him so she won't be tempted to fall for him again. She is convinced that since that event happened, they are not meant for each other, but as the blog "Things Happen for a Reason” by Angelica Toscano says, “ If its meant to happen, its meant to happen. And if its not, its not.” Jane tries to alter her destiny by running away from what would lead her to it because she is afraid to get hurt again, and if it were her choice. she would never see Rochester again. But indeed things do happen for a reason, and Angelica explains in her blog why this unpleasant event had to occur to Jane before she could marry. “Throughout the year she has been through a lot. From poverty and having to live on the streets and beg for food to inheriting 20,000 pounds from her Uncle John and finding out she has family. She went from having nothing to everything...Over the years she has become independent and has control over her own life. She has grown morally and I believe she is now ready to marry...Jane became who she is and what she wanted to be. She needed to find out who she was. And after a rough experience she knows who she is...This was for Jane's benefit and now she is ready.” Just as Jane was not able to alter her love life, neither can anyone else, so why grieve over our lack of choice in destiny.
Perhaps the greatest example of a fate and predetermination ideal is that of God. Bronte's stance on destiny is also backed up by that of a god that controls the destiny of each individual. She introduces this idea through her character Helen Burns, whom is the one that sparks up Jane's beliefs in the father of all things.
"I believe; I have faith: I am going to God."

"Where is God? What is God?"

"My Maker and yours, who will never destroy what He created. I rely
implicitly on His power, and confide wholly in His goodness: I
count the hours till that eventful one arrives which shall restore
me to Him, reveal Him to me."

"You are sure, then, Helen, that there is such a place as heaven,
and that our souls can get to it when we die?"

"I am sure there is a future state; I believe God is good; I can
resign my immortal part to Him without any misgiving. God is my
father; God is my friend: I love Him; I believe He loves me."(82-83)

Helen teaches Jane that the lord holds all things in his power and that only he knows what will become of each individual. She shows Jane that if we have faith in the all mighty one we can be sure that our future will be a good one that'll lead us to him. Helen was a true believer in her faith and some of this rubbed of on Jane. In her blog “Have a Little Faith”, Lizett her view on how Jane was able to overcome all her troubling adversities. “ Why has Jane dealt with everything she's been through? Is it because she knows that in the end she will come out a better person? I think not. I think she believed that God had good things planned out for her. Everything that she has been through would have just been torture if nothing good had ever come from it. She had faith....All Jane ever had to do was stay true to herself and trust in God. That's all anyone has to do, trust that God knows what's best for him.” Lizett explains that no circumstance is too troublesome for you when you believe that God will come through to you. Perhaps if one is not happy for not being able to take all the choices by oneself, they can set their eyes on the lord who will always take a better choice for us than we would.
Some will never be happy knowing that the conclusion to their life is not in their hands. They will continue to live in denial and trying to run away from their destiny. However, Bronte wants the reader to know that our happiness in life depends on us being comfortable with the circumstances, and new events that life throws at us without intending or trying to runaway or change them. We must find ways to deal with the fear of not knowing what will be of us in order to be happy. As once again Lizett states in her blog, “As humans we will always want more. It's our nature to always desire more than what we have. I'm not saying you can't be happy; being happy is possible. But if you constantly remind yourself that you can never achieve true happiness then you'll never be even remotely happy.”

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