Because I know, or believe, Mr. Rochester is living: and then, to die of want and cold is a fate to which nature cannot submit passively.
Chapter 28 · Jane Eyre
Context
Still alone on the rainy path, Jane asks herself why she struggles to stay alive. She answers that it's because she believes Rochester is still living, and because dying of cold and hunger feels unbearable.
Analysis
The pause created by "I know, or believe" is crucial—Jane catches herself making a knowledge claim she can't verify, then downgrades it to belief. This tiny moment of epistemological honesty (she doesn't actually know Rochester is alive) shows her mind still working with precision even in extremity. The second clause, about "nature" refusing passive death, uses "nature" to mean both human instinct and Jane's particular spirit, suggesting survival is both biological and personal.
Essay Tip
Use this to argue that Jane's love for Rochester isn't sentimentalized—it's one factor among others (including sheer animal survival instinct) in a rational calculation about whether to keep living, showing Brontë's unsentimental treatment of emotion.