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.”

Grab a hold life

Grab a hold of life
Take responsibility for your own actions. Credit yourself for what you choose to do. We have control over ourselves. We need to learn to liberate ourselves of chains we tie ourselves with. In life there are too few times when things happen the way they're supposed to. Get up and fight for what you want and the way you want it. In Jane Eyre, Jane is always ready to do make choices that change her life drastically. Jane leaving Thornfield and coming back were both choices that affected her strongly. She is the perfect example of someone who takes responsibility for her own actions. The real world is a road full of different choices. Jane choosing to leave Thornfield made her a strong, self accomplished, and independent woman. Had none of this occurred she would never be the Jane we all know. The one that got everything she ever wanted. She controlled her life and was always ready to make the difficult choices. She wasn't afraid to speak out and choose between the many paths that lay before her.
Jane's strength is one of the main factors that make her an in control woman. She is able to decide for herself when things need to be done. Jane left Thornfield without saying a word because it was the only way. She knew she would never leave if she saw him. This demonstrates exactly how strong she is, she chooses to disobey her heart. She chose to leave for her own good. It was all her choice. Her love for Mr.Rochester was too strong for her will. She says,"Gentle reader, may you never feel what I then felt! May your eyes never shed such stormy, scalding, heart-wrung tears as poured from mine. May you never appeal to Heaven in prayers so hopeless and so agonised as in that hour left my lips: for never may you, like me, dread to be the instrument of evil to what you wholly love."(327) This was a time in the novel when Jane is feeling betrayed, lost, and utterly depressed. She has just been betrayed by her one true love and she feels used. This is when we see how strong she truly is. She's able to leave the love of her life on her own free will to respect herself. Mr.Rochester proposed that she stay and be his mistress, but did he ever offer to divorce his wife? Why couldn't things have been on Jane's terms? Jane couldn't choose for Mr.Rochester, but she can choose for herself. Since Mr.Rochester chose to give Jane no other choice she leaves, while he foolishly thought she would become his mistress. I foolishly believed that Jane was a fool for leaving. However, I was wrong, Jane made the right choice. She was strong enough to see when she was being mistreated and even stronger to choose to leave. Besides like Lizett said in her blog, “Jane is a fighter.” “Have a little faith” Jane isn't foolish enough to leave her fate without a sole master. She controls herself. She is willing to take things into her own hands.
We all have control over what happens to us. Leaving Mr.Rochester opened up a few roads for her. She was able to discover her family. Yes, her family was just miraculously found, but had she not left she would never have discovered the truth. It was her choice that led to her feeling accomplished. It was nothing other then her choice that led her to find her family. Everything is in our hands if we want it to be. Had Jane not made the choice to leave she wouldn't be the Jane we know. She wouldn't feel self accomplished. She would have felt like she says,“...full of struggle, blackness, burning!”(321) She has just been destroyed by the love of her life. And she truly did feel all this agony at one time. No human should ever feel how Jane felt. We must all learn to change the day. Like Jane make the hard choices that might tear you up inside, but will help help your inner self so much more. More, than the agony that she felt. She left and that made all the difference. She of course still felt the pain, but her absence from her love helped her discover herself. She couldn't possibly betray herself and just let Mr.Rochester make the choice for her. She as Otilio said in his blog,“ ...will not make any compromises when it comes to love.” “No Compromises” Had Jane compromised her own beliefs she would never have reached this sense of self accomplishment. Love is to be pure and true and only to happen when both partners are ready. Jane had to make the choice of refusing his proposal for her own good. KAEH says, “She tried to run away and forget her whole experience at Thornfield Hall and to tear Edward Rochester from her heart.” “At the End of the Day Destiny Prevails” My companion is delegating that Jane had no choice in this and that she merely tried to do this, while all along it was destiny controlling her fate. However, Jane didn't just try, she did leave and she didn't want to forget. She left to cleanse her sole, but with no real want to forget him. In fact, while she is leaving Thornfield she says,“Mr.Rochester, I will love you and live with you through life till death,”(325). Jane is torn about leaving her love without a word, but it was all for the best for her. Things happened as she chose for them to happen. Jane made all these choices on her own and in the end it was all for the better.
We are all our own person and it isn't in our right ignore the good we do for ourselves. If we become strong and independent people it is simply because we choose to be. We need to learn to accept the good we have done for ourselves. If we become independent as we grow it is because we choose to be. Jane became independent the moment she became a teacher. Of course, she herself didn't feel so, because she had no real life. She had no companion to share her success with. She had a thirst to live and explore and that thirst would not be quenched until she felt accomplished and became even more independent. She truly found her independence when she discovered her new found wealth. Throughout the novel we see that Jane feels a bit insecure when she is too dependent on others. For example, when she is preparing to get married to Mr.Rochester, she disliked feeling like his little princess. She didn't like the fact that people would say she was only getting married to him because of the money. Clearly after she becomes wealthy she feels more comfortable being with Mr.Rochester because it is no longer about the money. She became wealthy because of the life she's lived. Like Lizett says in her blog,“Everything that she has been through would have just been torture if nothing good had ever come from it. She had faith. She hung on from living with a cruel aunt in a magnificent home to getting her heart torn to pieces and ending up homeless.” “Have a little faith” Jane chooses to have faith and live life. We all choose and for the life she's lived some type of compensation was due. All the choices she's made have transformed her into an independent woman. She truly got everything she wanted not by mere chance, but because she chooses.
“Through all the negativities and legal system, Jane fights to find her true love and gain power in independence. I believed it happened by faith that Jane finally got married to Mr. Rochester, but that faith was influenced by Jane's will to find her true self and gain her independence from normal society.” “Time to Break Free by Marcus” In all honesty it is her faith that makes her who she is. Her faith is based on choice. She chooses to have morals and be kind and good. Her aunt was a cold heartless woman, who was the only person Jane had to look up to as an adult figure. However, Jane chose to be different. Her drive to find her true self should be inspiring to us all. It was her want to be honest with herself that lead to her being the strong, independent, self accomplished woman she is.
In life we have but two choices that will shape the rest of our life: do you take responsibility for yourself and choose to be who you are or do you ignore your own responsibility and let everything that comes your way be? Should you take life by the waste and change it if you want to? Or should you just let it fly you by as it is? In the end, whichever which way our life turns out is only because we chose it that way. As AROF said,“...life is truly a gamble and you are the only thing that can better it.” “Life's a Gamble, Have fun”