I recalled the voice I had heard; again I questioned whence it came, as vainly as before: it seemed in me – not in the external world. I asked, was it a mere nervous impression – a delusion? I could not conceive or believe: it was more like an inspiration. The wondrous shock of feeling had come like the earthquake which shook the foundations of Paul and Silas’s prison: it had opened the doors of the soul’s cell, and loosed its bands – it had wakened it out of its sleep, whence it sprang trembling, listening, aghast; then vibrated thrice a cry on my startled ear, an din my quaking heart, and through my spirit; which neither feared nor shook, but exulted as if in joy over the success of one effort it had been privileged to make, independent of the cumbrous body.

– Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, Chapter 36. Jane believes that hearing Rochester’s voice calling her is no delusion, but an inspiration. Using a Biblical simile, she compares the moment to the earthquake which shook the apostle Paul and Silas’s prison, freeing them. It has opened the doors of her soul’s cell and freed it from St. John’s restraints. She describes how the joy she feels is like a spiritual experience – “independent of the cumbrous body.”