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GCSE English Literature · key term
The ability to consider evidence and make judgments rather than act only on immediate feelings.
Used by AQA, Edexcel, OCR and Eduqas
Paper 1
Thinking that uses evidence and logical connections to reach a conclusion.
Revise: Reason and emotionThe detective plot demonstrates reason’s power to uncover truth, while Watson’s developing relationship with Mary Morstan explores what love can offer beyond that truth.
The ability to examine evidence, think clearly and judge the likely consequences of a choice.
Identify who is speaking: “Reason sits firm and holds the reins” is Rochester’s interpretation of Jane while he is disguised as a fortune-teller, not Jane speaking directly.
Both question types: identify who speaks. In Chapter 19, Rochester in disguise describes Jane's reason; these are not words Jane directly speaks about herself.
Use the printed extract as a starting point, then connect its presentation of passion and reason to relevant moments across the novel.
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Paper 2
The ability to consider evidence and consequences before reaching a judgment, rather than acting only on immediate feelings.
Revise: Passion and reasonReason allows Jane to weigh evidence and consequences. Conscience concerns moral rightness, rather than simply whether an action is sensible. Jane’s difficulty is that her feelings, judgment and moral principles do not always point in the same direction.
Paper 1
Revise: Passion and reasonReason allows her to weigh evidence and consequences; conscience asks whether an action is right. These forces overlap, but they do not always agree.
Component 2
The ability to think, assess evidence and judge what to do, rather than act only on immediate feeling.
Revise: Passion and reasonReason involves judging evidence and consequences; conscience involves judging right and wrong. These forces often disagree within Jane, but Brontë does not simply present feeling as bad and reason as good. Jane needs emotion to recognise what matters to her, and principle to prevent her desires—or other people’s demands—from taking control of her life.
