Providence Facts

Providence has been defined by the Merriam Webster Dictionary as "divine guidance or care" or "God conceived as the power sustaining and guiding human destiny". Man's fate has always been inextricably linked with God or a divine power that pushes and pulls us in the right directions. Providence is an important aspect in humanity creating hope and prospect of a better future. Without it, all creatures will be a helpless piece of driftwood along the angry tides of history. It gives meaning to our lives, giving us a realization that whatever obstacles we are facing has a purpose, that it will eventually benefit us or humanity in general. Providence is a central theme in both Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe.

Jane, an orphan was left to live with his aunt and three cousins who abused and neglected her. She is left to fend for herself against the many odds thrown at her. Wanting a better life for herself, she takes a job as a governess in the Thornefield manor. She develops feelings for his master, Mr. Rochester but things are made complicated by many events which stopped their wedding. Robinson Crusoe on the other hand, is the epitome of adventure. Stranded on an island which he calls "the Island of Despair", he is left to battle the elements and isolation for 28 years. He encounters storms, cannibals, and freed slaves.

The Invocation of Providence

Barbara Hardy (21) says that many novels invoke Providence "to mark the successful resolution of difficulties". Its use in Defoe's Robinson Crusoe is not only as "a convenient deux ex machine in a story of little religious interest, but as an informing principle". On the other hand, "providence is not a dead word when used by Charlotte Bronte, and it is no accident that she wrote that Providence had decreed her marriage with Arthur Nicholls and wrote a novel which is structurally very like Robinson Crusoe" (21).

Writes like Tracy (59) compares the patriarchal men in Jane Eyre's life to the male figures in the Old Testament. Women are reduced as second class figures in their society. Even after their engagement, Jane still couldn't shrug off the habit of saying "master" to Mr. Rochester. "Like the Bible in which Revelations appears, Jane Eyre can be read both symbolically and typologically--in other words, events, characters and intertextual references in the novel are not only allusive, but embedded within networks in which they both prefigure and hark back to (often multiple) typological referents, which for the Christian reveal the workings of divine Providence throughout history" (ibid). Passages from the book makes the patriarchal theme very explicit: "Do you agree with me that I have a right to be a little masterful ... on the grounds I stated: namely, that I am old enough to be your father, and that I have battled through a varied experience with many men of many nations, and roamed over half the globe?" (Bronte 129).

Robinson Crusoe meanwhile has the Bible for comfort, when being cast ashore, was able to bring with him a number of books, including the Bible. He is compared to Jonah of Nineveh who was swallowed by a whale, left to contemplate and test his faith. Manguel (61) also likens him to the long suffering Job. The Bible here is used as an "instrument of instruction" and also as a "book of divination" (ibid). Manguel says that Crusoe, in his deepest despair tries to understand his condition by asking "Why has God done this to me? What have I done to be thus used?" He opens the Bible and finds this sentence: "I will never, never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Immediately he realizes that these words are meant for him. On that faraway coast, starting over again with a few odds and ends from society's ruins--seeds, guns, and the Word of God--Crusoe constructs a new world at whose center the Holy Bible shines its fierce and ancient light" (ibid).

Hardy (24) states that in both novels, the actions of the character "relies on supernatural machinery and in each case it is not the artifice of fantasy but the fantasy of belief, which determines the movement and the motivation". Precisely the deux ex machine that she mentions before. In Robinson Crusoe, Hardy states that the line between realism and fantasy is more logical that that in Jane Eyre: "When he dreams of rescuing a savage victim, it is a likely happening. When he decides not to hail the English longboat, he gives good reasons for not doing so" (ibid). Hardy interprets this as a self-imposed isolation and repentance subscribing to the ideal of Providence and believing that this is what God means for him to be and to do. In Jane Eyre, on the other hand, Providence seems to determine more her motives and actions. She uses prayer to ask for love while Crusoe uses it for practical purposes. It is only later on that Jane sees the power of prayer to meet a practical response, that of liberation.

Also, understanding the moral issues in the novels presents us views held by the authors themselves. It gives us an understanding of the times they were in. Robinson Crusoe, upon learning of the presence of cannibals in the island who comes to eat captured prisoners, longs to kill them. Coming from a Western civilization which views cannibalism as a human abomination, he feels it is his Christian duty to rid the earth of them. However, his ingrained belief of the sanctity of human life prevails and he does not pursue this idea. Later in the story however, he kills the cannibals to set free some of the prisoners, a justified act. Jane Eyre meanwhile is confronted with the prospect of adultery when, on her wedding day, it is revealed to her that Mr. Rochester is still married and she is kept in the attic because of insanity. She doesn't continue with the marriage even with Rochester's explanation (who declares "Providence has checked me") (Bronte 295). Jane is left with a "remembrance of God". She murmurs a prayer and accedes to the His power over her life (301).

The themes of Providence in both books give us an understanding of how human beings are impelled to act and explain why they do what they do. The situation where these two characters are thrown into is not what we could consider ordinary and perhaps that is the reason why they are popular books. The trials that were given them would, in normal circumstances break any human being but the fact that they triumphed against them makes the reader asks why and how. Perhaps Providence's real purpose is to keep these characters from insanity, giving them a reason to believe. A diversion if you will. Crusoe read the Bible everyday and consulted it daily (Manguel 61). This was his spiritual sustenance in times of isolation. Jane Eyre's topsy-turvy life leaves her no other option but to turn to God, because being an orphan and despised by her only relatives, who can she turn to? She is in love with a man who whom she has mixed feelings for and finds another who pressures her to marry for posterity's sake. In today's world, girlfriends would help but in the lonely and damp walls of Thornfield manor, she has no one but God.

Conclusion

Providence is optimism personified. Although Oscar Wilde would think this a bad thing saying "the basis of optimism is sheer terror". I would have to agree that yes, Providence can be uses as an illusory tool to shield us from reality. But imagine a world where human destiny is non-existent. Providence in most ways can produce greatness in people. Hardy (27) applauds Robinson Crusoe's "self-reliance and private enterprise" with daily guidance from the Bible and Jane Eyre's demonstration of the "strength of the individual and human relationships, but the action demonstrates the need for heavenly resources".
Reading these two novels in the context of Providence gives us an understanding that faith and belief can move mountains. That sometimes internal conflict simply results from the fact that we do not accept that there is a far superior power than us. These two books, in essence give us a demonstration of the power of prayer.

Works Cited

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. London: 1922.

Defoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe. New York: 1931.

Hardy, Barbara. Bloom, Harold (editor). Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. New York.
1987: 21-28.

Manguel, Alberto. The Library of Robinson Crusoe. American Scholar. Volume: 70. Issue: 1. Winter 2001: 61.

"Providence". Retrieved from the Merriam Webster Archives April 20, 2008. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/providence

Tracy, Thomas. 'Reader, I Buried Him': Apocalypse and Empire in Jane Eyre. Critical Survey. Volume: 16. Issue: 2. 2004: 59+.