“I had often heard the song before, and always with lively delight; for Bessie had a sweet voice,—at least, I thought so. But now, though her voice was still sweet, I found in its melody an indescribable sadness. Sometimes, preoccupied with her work, she sang the refrain very low, very lingeringly; “A long time ago” came out like the saddest cadence of a funeral hymn. She passed into another ballad, this time a really doleful one.” (Chapter 3)
“My feet they are sore, and my limbs they are weary;
Long is the way, and the mountains are wild;
Soon will the twilight close moonless and dreary
Over the path of the poor orphan child.
Why did they send me so far and so lonely,
Up where the moors spread and gray rocks are piled?
Men are hard-hearted, and kind angels only
Watch o’er the steps of a poor orphan child.
Yet distant and soft the night breeze is blowing,
Clouds there are none, and clear stars beam mild,
God, in His mercy, protection is showing,
Comfort and hope to the poor orphan child.
Ev’n should I fall o’er the broken bridge passing,
Or stray in the marshes, by false lights beguiled,
Still will my Father, with promise and blessing,
Take to His bosom the poor orphan child.
There is a thought that for strength should avail me,
Though both of shelter and kindred despoiled;
Heaven is a home, and a rest will not fail me;
God is a friend to the poor orphan child.’”
Jane’s Version: The Divine Woman
By. Mary Cugno
My feet have taken me where I need to go
And my limbs have grown stronger
The journey was long, tiresome, and testing
I am the one who was wild and human
The nights came and went, the moon came and rose
Over the path of the divine woman
They told me God sent me on this journey
Sent me for a reason
Maybe the angels are the demons
God is a man, and his heart I do not trust
Watching o’er the steps of the divine woman
The wind was harsh, but the air is sweet
The sky has cleared, and the stars aren’t hidden
God, if he has mercy, showed me little, but just enough
Comfort and hope within the divine woman.
I fell over the broken bridges, and continue to fall,
But in the marshes I have not drowned, I have risen
Still on my own, with strength and drive
Take my own way, as the divine woman.
My will was tested, but failure is not an option,
Home is what I will make beyond religion,
Heaven may be a place, but it is not where I am,
Strength is a friend to the divine woman.
Reflection:
I wrote this poem, as a reflection piece based off the poem in chapter 3 of Jane Eyre. It’s the poem/song Bessie sings to Jane, before she leaves on her journey away to school at Lowood. After Jane was treated horribly at Gateshead, Bessie is the only one that vocalizes her disapprovement of how Jane is treated by Mrs. Reed.
“Sarah, come and sleep with me in the nursery; I daren’t for my life be alone with that poor child to-night: she might die; it’s such a strange thing she should have that fit: I wonder if she saw anything. Missis was rather too hard.”(Chapter 3)
While the story does revolve alot about Jane’s relationship with men, I thought it was important to highlight one of the only women in the book that helped Jane, even though she was a servant, she stayed by Jane’s side after being punished in the “Red Room ”. She even treated her with little luxuries like a tart placed on fine china, something Jane was always forbidden of.
“Bessie had been down into the kitchen, and she brought up with her a tart on a certain brightly painted china plate, whose bird of paradise, nestling in a wreath of convolvuli and rosebuds, had been wont to stir in me a most enthusiastic sense of admiration; and which plate I had often petitioned to be allowed to take in my hand in order to examine it more closely, but had always hitherto been deemed unworthy of such a privilege. This precious vessel was now placed on my knee, and I was cordially invited to eat the circlet of delicate pastry upon it.” (Chapter 3)
Bessie’s song stuck out to me, because she wasn’t explicitly singing to Jane, but the song very much related to Jane being an orphan, and the hardships that come along with being an orphan child. In the beginning of the book, it is emphasized how Jane was so poorly treated, up until she entered womanhood. From Gateshead, to Lowood, and even at Thornfieldshe was mistreated and subjected to punishment. Accused of lying, and being a type of girl which she was not. She was very much looked down upon, for her uninterest in religion. At a young age, following the word of God was very much stressed in her life, and Jane has always questioned it. When traveling to Lowood, a religious school where they mainly studied the bible and discussed religion, she was always confused with the idea of God, and wasn’t willing to put all of her trust into it. The conversation she has with Brocklehurst, before she even leaves for Lowood, not only shows her honesty (which she gets accused of being false) but also her disinterest in God.
“Do you say your prayers night and morning?” continued my interrogator.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do you read your Bible?”
“Sometimes.”
“With pleasure? Are you fond of it?”
“I like Revelations, and the book of Daniel, and Genesis and Samuel, and a little bit of Exodus, and some parts of Kings and Chronicles, and Job and Jonah.”
“And the Psalms? I hope you like them?”
“No, sir.”
“No? oh, shocking! I have a little boy, younger than you, who knows six Psalms by heart: and when you ask him which he would rather have, a gingerbread-nut to eat or a verse of a Psalm to learn, he says: ‘Oh! the verse of a Psalm! angels sing Psalms;’ says he, ‘I wish to be a little angel here below;’ he then gets two nuts in recompense for his infant piety.”
“Psalms are not interesting,” I remarked.
“That proves you have a wicked heart; and you must pray to God to change it: to give you a new and clean one: to take away your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
I was about to propound a question, touching the manner in which that operation of changing my heart was to be performed, when Mrs. Reed interposed, telling me to sit down; she then proceeded to carry on the conversation herself.” (Jane Eyre, Chapter 4)
In my version of Bessie’s poem, written in the perspective of Jane years later. I wanted to change the role of god in the poem. Bessie speaks of God, as a “friend of the orphan child”, but in my version in Jane’s perspective, I wanted to show how he was not her friend, but instead someone she questions, and doubts. I wanted to show that God had no part in Jane’s independence and success, but rather her will as a woman on her own. Yes, she did have help from others, but in the end, was making decisions for herself that would benefit her. I also was thinking of one of the “orphan child’s” (Jane) real friends, Helen, who had died in Jane’s arms. Who had complete faith in religion, even on her deathbed. It was that moment that Jane really started to form her own thoughts.
“But where are you going to, Helen? Can you see? Do you know?”
“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.”
“And shall I see you again, Helen, when I die?”
“You will come to the same region of happiness: be received by the same mighty, universal Parent, no doubt, dear Jane.”
Again I questioned, but this time only in thought. “Where is that region? Does it exist?”
(Chapter 9)
I also wanted to erase the words “poor orphan child” and replace them with “divine woman”, to show the evolution of Jane’s life, from what she started as, to who she came to be. Over time, she has grown out of the title that was forced upon her, and created her own. We see her in a constant battle with herself, of what is the right decision to make. When her cousin asks her to marry her, she knows it could lead to security, but ultimately declines because she know’s she does not truly love him, and makes the decision based on what is right for her own future. She knows, even years later, that she loves Rochester and finds the strength in herself to go after what she wants, rather than do what is safe. My goal through changing, and rewriting this poem, was to acknowledge Jane’s hardships, but in the end, come out stronger, and defy the outcomes that come with being a “poor orphan child.”
Outside Sources of Inspiration
https://hellopoetry.com/poem/9959/xvii-i-do-not-love-you/
I was inspired to write a poem, because of the poetry unit we were working on in one of my other classes. I specifically had Pablo Neruda in mind, because he is famous for his love poems. I thought of my poem as a sort of Love poem written about Jane to herself. A poem of self love. However, this poem in particular, “XVII (I do not love you…)”reminded me of Jane’s love for Rochester. A love she concealed for quite some time, but never acted on until she knew the time was right.
Specifically this stanza:
I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
Jane always battled with herself internally on how she felt, especially with Rochester. Their love was exciting, yet tumultuous and dark, just like her the rest of her life. I also tried to convey her inner struggles through my poem, with the lines
“They told me God sent me on this journey
Sent me for a reason
Maybe the angels are the demons
God is a man, and his heart I do not trust
Watching o’er the steps of the divine woman”
https://www.academypublication.com/issues/past/tpls/vol03/06/08.pdf
Through this poem I also wanted to emphasise the theme of feminism throughout the story, as there is an argument whether Jane Eyre is a feminst novel. In my opinion, yes, as it was the journey of a woman in the Victorian Era, dealing with mistreatment and pressure of men. I wanted to emphasize that by including in every stanza “divine woman” to show what she became. I did some research on the theme of feminism in Jane Eyre, and came across this article by Haiyan Gao, where he talks about how Jane is different from any other women during that time. She strives for her life, and independence, in a male dominated society.
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22293-the-divine-feminine/
I also cannot lie, when writing this I did in fact have the album “Divine Feminine” by Mac Miller in mind. I have always loved the album, and especially the title. When thinking of powerful love, and powerful women, I think of this album. It sort of smashes the patriarchy, and it dedicated just how divine a woman can be. The term takes power away from the view that men are center staged, and the ones that hold the power. Which Jane has a role in this novel.
Works Cited
Gao, Haiyan. “Reflection On Feminism In Jane Eyre.” Home – Theory and Practice in Language Studies, ACADEMY PUBLISHER, 2013, https://www.academypublication.com/tpls/.
Neruda, Pablo. “XVII (I Do Not Love You…) by Pablo Neruda.” Hello Poetry, https://hellopoetry.com/poem/9959/xvii-i-do-not-love-you/.
Pearce, Sheldon. “Mac Miller: The Divine Feminine.” Pitchfork, Pitchfork, 17 Sept. 2016, https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22293-the-divine-feminine/.
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre (italics). New York: Harper Collins, 2010. Print.
Sprockets and Springes 