In the novel, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, Jane met Helen Burns at Lowood School where they became friends. Jane learns Helen is sick with consumption, now known as tuberculosis. In her death, Helen teaches Jane an important lesson about death and the afterlife. There were several prominent illnesses at the time Charlotte Brontë wrote this novel. This prompted further research as to why she chose consumption for Helen’s death. Consumption was thought to be a “sign of poverty or an inevitable outcome of the process of industrial civilization” (Tuberculosis in Europe and North America, 1800-1922). Which correlates to them living in a low-income school for girls. The conditions were not high quality due to the low cost of tuition. Another reason Brontë may have chosen consumption is outlined in the article “The Disease of the Self: Representing Consumption, 1700-1830.” Clark Lawlor and Akihito Suzuki say that “the classical culture of consumption put strong emphasis on the tragic and heroic bravery of the patient” (Lawlor 464). Helen was at peace with her approaching fate and can be considered to have died a heroic death in Jane’s story. The night of Helen’s death, Jane and Helen had a conversation about Heaven. This conversation gives them both comfort and hope for what Helen will experience after her death. Additionally, this is a new perspective for Jane to consider. Scholar Claire Dunnington says “their conversation contrasts greatly with what many adults in Jane's life have informed her, and contrasts with Jane's previous fears regarding ghosts, death, and the supernatural” (Dunnington). This experience foreshadows Jane’s experiences later in the novel. By choosing consumption, Brontë allowed Helen to have a heroic death that taught Jane an invaluable lesson. One of the most impactful reasons for implementing consumption may have come from Brontë’s personal experience. She lost family members as noted “seven of whom died from the disease” (Brownell). This may be the most significant reason for selecting consumption for Helen’s death.  

Works Cited

Brownell, Robert. “‛The Dark Shadow’: Consumption (tuberculosis) in the families of nineteenth-century writers.” Victorian Web. https://victorianweb.org/science/health/tb.html

Dunnington, Claire. “Helen Burns and Death in Brontë's Jane Eyre.” Helen Burns and Death in Brontë's Jane Eyre, 2 Feb. 2004, https://victorianweb.org/authors/bronte/cbronte/dunnington1.html.

Lawlor, Clark, and Akihito Suzuki. “The Disease of the Self: Representing Consumption, 1700-1830.” Bulletin of the History of Medicine, vol. 74, no. 3, 2000, pp. 458–94. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44445500.

“Tuberculosis in Europe and North America, 1800-1922.” Contagion - CURIOSity Digital Collections, 26 Mar. 2020, https://curiosity.lib.harvard.edu/contagion/feature/tuberculosis-in-euro....