When we are struck at without a reason, we should strike back again very hard; I am sure we should—so hard as to teach the person who struck us never to do it again.
Chapter 6 · Jane Eyre
Context
Jane insists to Helen that if someone hits you without reason, you should retaliate forcefully enough to prevent it from happening again.
Analysis
Jane's repetition—'strike back,' 'very hard,' 'so hard'—builds in intensity with each phrase, her syntax enacting the escalating force she advocates. The dash before 'so hard' works as a verbal wind-up, a pause before the blow, making the reader feel Jane's desire not just to resist but to overpower. Where Helen speaks in abstractions (duty, fate), Jane uses the blunt verb 'struck' and makes violence literal and physical, grounding her morality in the body rather than the soul.
Essay Tip
Use this to argue that Jane's moral philosophy centers on reciprocity and consequences, not forgiveness—she believes justice requires that wrongdoers 'feel' the impact of their actions, a pragmatic ethic that contrasts with Christian passivity and anticipates her later refusal to be anyone's victim.