Relinquish! What! my vocation? My great work? My foundation laid on earth for a mansion in heaven? My hopes of being numbered in the band who have merged all ambitions in the glorious one of bettering their race—of carrying knowledge into the realms of ignorance—of substituting peace for war—freedom for bondage—religion for superstition—the hope of heaven for the fear of hell? Must I relinquish that? It is dearer than the blood in my veins.
Chapter 32 · St John Rivers
Context
Jane has just suggested that St. John could abandon his plan to become a missionary and marry Rosamond instead. He reacts with vehement rhetorical questions, rejecting the possibility outright.
Analysis
The repeated structure 'of [verb]ing... of [verb]ing' builds a mounting rhythm of grand purpose, each infinitive adding weight until the mission feels cosmically large. St. John lists binaries he will reverse—ignorance/knowledge, war/peace, bondage/freedom—casting himself as a world-historical figure, not merely a village clergyman. The hyperbolic final claim ('dearer than the blood in my veins') biologizes his vocation, as if missionary work is not chosen but organic, making any alternative feel like self-mutilation.
Essay Tip
Use this to argue that St. John's rhetoric of mission reveals messianic grandiosity—he frames personal choice as cosmic destiny, using parallelism and hyperbole to make marriage seem not just wrong but apocalyptically impossible.