Jane Eyre’s BFF

With Valentine’s Day approaching, I have been reflecting on love. Not on romantic love, but on the love between friends. I have been thinking about friendships new and old. After grappling with some serious health issues for almost half my life, I realize the importance of those who have stood by me when the chips have been down.

Not surprisingly, my favorite literary heroine, Jane Eyre, also values friendship. This is evident in the close bond Jane shares with childhood friend Helen Burns—a character reportedly modeled after Maria, one of Charlotte’s older sisters, who died when Charlotte was very young and was known for having a kind disposition.

Burns usually tries to stay under the radar at Lowood, but inadvertently draws the ire of Miss Scatcherd—a teacher who makes readers cringe at the mention of her name. Scatcherd applies her brand of vigilance full force on Helen and doles out corporal punishments for minor infractions like dirty fingernails. Often abused by Scatcherd and dealing with her own troubles, Helen still manages to listen to Jane’s woes.

Critics sometimes give Helen a bad rap for being too docile or too much of a martyr. Though Helen often consoles Jane, she also sets Jane straight in a kind yet firm way. Jane admits that she is willing to do anything to be loved, even have her arm broken or “to stand behind a kicking horse, and let it dash its hoof at my chest—.” Helen, however, tries to disabuse her friend of such distorted ideas and is adamant in her disapproval. In Brontë’s Gothic novel, Helen befriends Jane when Jane has just started school at Lowood and feels miserable and humiliated.

When Helen smiles at Jane twice, those brief acts of kindness nourish and sustain Jane during a bleak day that seems endless. I often wonder what Helen’s life would be like if her destiny takes a different course. I have attempted to resurrect Helen in my own way, if only for a brief instance, in a poem titled Jane Dreams of Rescuing Helen, which is part of my poetry collection The Jane and Bertha in Me.

The poem encapsulates my vision of Helen’s adult life, an existence rich in the different types of love described by the Greeks: Eros or romantic love, philia or affectionate regard usually among equals or friends, storge which is love of community and family, and agape or sacrificial love. In the Christian tradition, agape represents the love God has for his people and vice-versa. The older I get, the more I believe the world needs more Helens.

My husband and I recently saw Sally Cookson’s production of Jane Eyre, which was performed at the National Theatre in London. We were fortunate enough to catch a viewing broadcast at the Coral Gables Art Cinema in Florida. During the most dramatic scene between Jane and Helen, I cried like an idiot. My husband, though silent, was on the brink of tears as well. We both knew what to expect. We have read the novel. We have watched many film adaptations of Jane Eyre; yet, actress Laura Elphinstone’s portrayal of Helen hit a nerve.

Why has Helen Burns been so important to readers and to audiences since the initial publication of Jane Eyre in 1847? Perhaps we cling to Helen so fiercely because she helps anchor Jane, who in some ways is an extension of our younger selves—the childhood self whose fate often seems to reside in the hands of others. Perhaps it is because most of us consider ourselves lucky if we experience just one friendship like Helen’s in our lifetime.

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Rita Maria Martinez is a Cuban-American poet who lives in Miami, Florida. Her poetry collection, The Jane and Bertha in Me, was recently published by Aldrich Press, an imprint of Kelsay Books. All poems are based on Charlotte Brontë’s Gothic romance Jane Eyre. Martinez says she is excited about this publication—especially in light of the bicentennial of the birth of Charlotte Brontë this April.

Visit Martinez’s website at www.comeonhome.org/ritamartinez to learn more about her writing or to reserve a copy of The Jane and Bertha in Me, or follow her on Twitter @CubanBronteite.

Tags: featured, inspiration, Jane Eyre, literary friendships, women writers

Category: Contemporary Women Writers, On Writing