Plain

"Do you know Jane Eyre?"
"Yes, I read the book when I was a kid."
"That's you... honest, passionate, and poetic!"

I re-read Jane Eyre the past weekend.
To the sixth-grader's mind, Jane Eyre is a breathtaking romance.
Plain and poor, she is rescued into marital bliss by a wealthy gentleman.

Plain.
My friend had tactfully forgotten to mention that Jane was plain.
And almost drowned in her love for Edward Rochester.

Who wouldn't want to sink in a sea of the other's intense ardor?
As she acknowledges, Edward "was becoming to me my whole world; and more than the world: almost my hope of heaven. He stood between me and every thought of religion, as an eclipse intervenes between man and the broad sun. I could not, in those days, see God for His creature: of whom I had made an idol." (Chapter 24)

Truth mars her happiness when she discovers he is still legally married, although to an insane woman. Nevertheless, he is willing to live with public ridicule and wants to marry her. Jane refuses on moral grounds and runs away to escape the tempest of her desires.

In the end, they are re-united even though Edward is now blind and maimed.

This March of 2011, another movie version of Jane Eyre is coming out.
14 has already been made.
It is an intense love story.

Am I a Jane?
Plain, yes.
Are you a Jane?
Perhaps no.

Am I strong enough to refuse vice intertwined with joy?
I'm not a Jane.

I need not be.
"I will espouse you to me forever: I will espouse you in right and in justice, in love and in mercy; I will espouse you in fidelity, and you shall know the LORD." (Hosea 2:21-22)
These are God's words to the adulterous nation of Israel as they forget the awesome miracles He wrought in their midst during their Egyptian slavery and offered sacrifice to other gods.

These are God's words to us as we sense deeply as Jane, "______ stood between me and every thought of religion, as an eclipse intervenes between man and the broad sun. I could not, in those days, see God for His creature: of whom I had made an idol."

I'm looking forward to watching Jane Eyre this March.
So when desire tugs at my heart, I can run.

Photo credit: http://enchantedserenityperiodfilms.blogspot.com/2009/12/jane-eyre-2011.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Life with Ashes

Image
It was time to move. Goodbye to Allen Parkway and hello to Florin Wood. Our family was moving from Houston to Sacramento. This was over 20 years ago and the day comes back with ashes. And a smell. My dad had piled all our old clothes, furniture, and knick knacks into a huge heap in front of our yard. He poured gasoline generously and lighted it with a smile. My mom looked on regretfully. All seven of us kids were delighted with the dancing flames. The neighbors didn't care. We lived in what they called the ghetto part of the world and since we were not shooting at anyone, we were okay. "We're starting a new life," my dad reassured mom as our van entered the highway. "No need to hang on the old stuff." "It was pretty dinky, wasn't it?" my mom replied hesitantly. Our years in Houston were our first years living in the United States, far away from the land of our origin, Vietnam. What dad burnt was the few possessions we accumulated fro
Read more

Teddy Bear

Image
"Dear God, I love you so much, I want to give you everything. You can have my Mom, my Dad, my sister, my teddy bear. No, I take it back. You can have everyone, but I want to keep my teddy bear." Love, Little Boy. Fr. Roch hardly lost a beat in his lecture of sin as he told his joke. Sin is putting ourselves above God. Not willing to let go. In actuality, God never wants everything. He just wants the teddy bear. What we think is necessary. Photo source: www.funkyfriendsfactory.com
Read more

Bingo!

Image
Sisters at Salerno's Artichoke Lucia.  Baked with Italian cheeses and breadcrumbs. Grilled fillet salmon on a bed of blanched spinach and mushrooms, topped with pine nuts. 8oz. marinated and charbroiled steak topped with sauteed mushrooms; served over linguine. Saturday night at Salerno's. It was time to "open community." Every year we choose a venue to celebrate the beginning of our time together as a religious community.  This year the venue chose us. "Bingo!" An almost audible gasp escaped from the surrounding tables. Sr. Leslie Thu at our table had won another bingo game. A Knight of Columbus member handed her a sealed envelope. Her eyebrows arched in delight. It was a $50 Walmart gift card. We cleared our cards and another round started. It was the Knights of Columbus Sisters Appreciation Luncheon. It was on a early Sunday afternoon. They had sent the invitation two months ago. Sr. Jacinta Ngân had "highly encouraged"
Read more