How Eliza Reed Contributes to Jane Eyre's Critique of Organized Religion Puja Harikumar College

When discussing Jane Eyre, the critical conversation tends to largely ignore the character of Eliza Reed, the title characters cousin. At best, she is often analyzed in terms of her role as a foil to her sister. However, while her contrast to Georgiana does indeed make for an important focal point of analysis, Eliza’s success as a woman of God in spite of her dry and passionless dedication to her faith also serves an equally important function to the story as an independent character. Eliza’s rise to the Mother Superior of her convent in spite of her failure to properly embody any true spiritual devotion contributes to Bronte’s criticism of the church as an institution.

Throughout Jane’s interactions with her cousin in adulthood, it becomes increasingly evident to the reader that Eliza’s dedication to her religion is not at all representative of any real love for God. The first example of her arid lack of any real spiritual pleasure can be observed in her response to Jane’s inquiry over why she enjoys reading from her prayer book so frequently. To Eliza, the appeal of the holy scriptures does not lie in expressing any real appreciation for God, but rather in the framework it puts forth for her to occupy her time. “I asked her...