Jane Eyre: Question 2

The main conflict of Jane Eyre is that Jane falls in love with Mr. Rochester, her employer, but cannot act upon her feelings because of the difference in their social ranks. The cause of this is probably the death of her parents, leaving her to live as an orphan and lose virtually everything she ever had. So really the cause was unpreventable. One of the losses of this conflict is definitely happiness. It really depresses both Jane and Mr. Rochester that they can't be married (for the time being at least...). It also leads to Jane very nearly starving to death in order to get away from Thornfield (Mr. Rochester's house) and the temptation to give into being with Mr. Rochester. The gains of this conflict are very great. For one, she ends up at the house of her cousins that she didn't even know she had. She doesn't know they're her cousins at the time but eventually learns this. This is pretty big because there's always been a void in Jane's life due to the fact she's never really had a true family to call her own. So meeting the Rivers is a pretty big deal for Jane, and it wouldn't have happened if she would have married Mr. Rocherster. Because she meets the Rivers, she also ends up getting her inheritance from her long lost uncle, too. Another gain, a pretty minor one but a gain no less, is that Jane fled Thornfield before Bertha Mason, Mr. Rochester's crazed wife that he keeps in the attic, sets it ablaze. Jane might of died if she had been in the house because Bertha did it to kill her mainly. Living is always a good thing! The final gain I'm going to mention is the fact that Jane does end up with Mr. Rochester. If she would have married him the first time around, I doubt the marriage would have survived because its basis was lies. Years later, after Bertha has committed suicide in the fire, they encounter again and they can truly be happy together and know they have no secrets.