9. Jane Eyre: (pg. 210)

9. Jane Eyre: (pg. 210)
Three times a day she studied a little book, which I found, on inspection, was a Common Prayer Book. I asked her once what was the great attraction of that volume, and she said, "the Rubric."

The Common Prayer Book is “the foundational prayer book of the Church of England which was one of the instruments of the Protestant Reformation in England.” Bronte is depicting Eliza to be a woman who is very faithful to her religion and beliefs but who also questions it. The rubric was part of the Book of Common Prayer that was put in to make sure that people understood the representation of the bread during communion and the symbolism of kneeling to receive it. The bread was just a representation and the action of kneeling was not about worshiping the bread (the host) or the action of receiving communion but about the symbolism of the bread. The bread symbolizes the broken body of Christ who sacrificed his life to save people from their own sins. Jane, like Eliza, often finds herself questioning religion. Even though religion does not play a constant role in her life she is religious. Bronte finds ways to develop her religious theme by showing her characters in common relious practices and then having Jane assess the interactions with the characters.


Book of Common Prayer - History, Prayer books in other Anglican churches, Religious influence, Secular influence, Copyright status, Footnotes and references
http://encyclopedia.stateuniversity.com/pages/3062/Book-Common-Prayer.html#ixzz0YT3ULuTd.

Castelli, Jorge. “Book of Common Prayer.” Tudor Place.com. 27 November 2009. http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/Documents/book_of_common_prayer.htm.