Jane Eyre: Key Quotations

Below is a list of all of the quotations we have covered organised by character and theme:

Independence and Self-Respect

Jane Eyre:

1. "I am no bird, and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will."
2. "Do you think I am an automaton?—a machine without feelings?" Edward Rochester:
3. "You are my sympathy—my better self—my good angel."

Love and Relationships

Jane Eyre:

3. "Do you think I am an automaton?—a machine without feelings?" Edward Rochester:
4. "You are my sympathy—my better self—my good angel."
5. "I am not a villain: feel that, and pass on."

St. John Rivers: 4. "I am cold: no fervor infects me." 5. "Reason, and not feeling, is my guide."

Religion and Morality

Helen Burns:

4. "It is not violence that best overcomes hate—nor vengeance that most certainly heals injury."
5. "I live in calm, looking to the end."

Social Class and Gender

Bertha Mason:

6. "The lunatic is both cunning and malignant."
7. "She sucked the blood: she said she'd drain my heart." Mrs. Reed:
8. "You have no business to take our books; you are a dependent, mama says; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg, and not to live here with gentlemen's children like us."
9. "I am glad you are no relation of mine. I will never call you aunt again as long as I live."

Mr. Brocklehurst: 5. "You must be on your guard against her; you must shun her example: if necessary, avoid her company, exclude her from your sports, and shut her out from your converse." 6. "Humility is a Christian grace, and one peculiarly appropriate to the pupils of Lowood."