St John from Jane Eyre

'And yet St John is a good man,' said Diana.

'He is a good and great man; but he forgets, pitilessly, the feelings and claims of little people, in pursuing his own large views. It is better, therefore, for the insignificant fo keep out of his way lest, in his progress, he should trample them down...'

from Jane Eyre.



Jane probably said this when she was indignant; yet she is without folly as she muses this declaration aloud. Should we really stay out of St John's way? Or should we, all the more, seek to enslave ourselves to such people, to continue to be their tools of success? Perhaps I am mistakenly behaving like a St John: not great, but prone to trampling.


- whichever the scenario, Charlotte Bronte has carved this brilliantly of the brilliant folks in our lives. I regret having met these St Johns, or having ever behaved like one. But if there are such, please, refuse to be ensnared, for traps are of the devil, and not meant for you.


I have this vision, had it more than once, more than of my own conception, of myself as a ruby. A ruby, like many precious stones, sits in crowns of kings. I am meant to crown kings. My success lays in the success I establish in others, but will the kings forget their priests in the aftermath? This is my ultimate pride-wrestler: to be thrown into ditches again and again while the others climb their stairways to castles, and yet, to be destined to make their success as a silent warrior. I cover up my shame by becoming a St John.