Faith and religion

Another important theme in the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë is that of faith and religion. Throughout her journey, Jane is exposed to different ways people embody Christian values, and she either learns from these values or is critical of them. 

At Lowood, Brocklehurst represents a model of hypocritical and zealous faith. Though he is the manager of a Christian institution, Brocklehurst abuses his power by imposing harsh conditions on the students at Lowood to promote humility. At the same time, his family lives in luxury without regard to the values Brocklehurst enforces on others. He also instils fear in others by warning them of the dangers of hell and humiliates them as punishment for their supposed sins, instead of adjusting his own beh...