Connection: Linkin Park and Jane Eyre

I chose this song called Somewhere I Belong, by Linkin Park, not only because they are a great band, but because they choose to put so much raw emotion into their music. I like the fact that they do this because it makes their music personal, at least for me. This is just one of their many songs, but as I listened to the lyrics, I thought it had so much direct connection with Jane Eyre. Any reader could clearly see how Jane's life would fit perfectly with this song. I think Jane's emotions are described well in the chorus of the song:

"I want to feel what I thought was never real.
I want to let go of the pain I felt so long.
I want to heal, I want to feel
Like I'm close to something real.
I want to find something I've wanted all along."

I personally interpreted these lyrics to mean (in terms of Jane Eyre) that Jane struggles to find a place where she belongs; a "home," as Bronte writes. She also yearns to be loved, and yet is terrified of love at the same time, since she never had a parental figure or a family that cared for her. Her whole life, she knew nothing of what it meant or felt like to be wanted, but after spending many months at Thornfield Hall with Mr. Rochester, she finally found "something I've wanted all along;" to be loved. But the song is not just about finding something you've always longed for, it's also about letting go of the pain and being able to heal yourself from the pain. In the following stanza, it is easy to feel the emotional baggage that the lyrics carry:

"I will never know myself until I do this on my own,
and I will never feel anything else until my wounds are healed.
I will never be anything until I break away from me.
I will break away, I will find myself today."

Jane shifts her character from a girl who is forced to take orders from everyone she encounters, to a woman who is original in her thought , authoritative in her words, and confident in herself (which, during the time period, were all characteristics seen as unusual for a woman). But in order to make that major shift, Jane had to come to terms with her past, release her pent-up emotions, and deal with the pain. It wasn't easy for her, but in the end, it made her a stronger person. She was never able to "know myself until I do this on my own," "until my wounds are healed." She slowly healed herself, first by forgiving Mrs. Reed, then by finding love with Mr. Rochester, and finally, by proving herself wrong to everyone that thought so little of her. She gained confidence and independence, purity of heart and peace of mind, love and a home.

Jane is quite a complex character. It would be an understatement to say that her character is fully described in this song; in fact, it is quite the opposite. Only a fraction of Jane is portrayed in these lyrics, but a very important part of Jane nonetheless. This song helps get at the deeper emotion we see in Jane; the part of her that we might skip over when merely reading the dense text. That's why it is important to delve deeper into Bronte's character, so we can actually get inside of Jane's head and experience the emotions right along side her.