I learned that Miss Temple, on returning to her own room at dawn, had found me laid in the little crib; my face against Helen Burns’s shoulder, my arms round her neck. I was asleep, and Helen was – dead. Her grave is in Brocklebridge church-yard; for fifteen years after her death it was only covered by a grassy mound; but now a gray marble tablet marks the spot, inscribed with her name and the word “Resurgam.”
– Charlotte Bronte
Jane Eyre, Chapter 9. Helen Burns does not die alone, we learn. Miss Temple discovers her in her bed in the morning with Jane asleep beside her and Jane’s arms around her dead friend’s neck. This shows the strong bond of friendship between the two girls who supported and clung to each other in life and death. Helen’s grave stone is inscribed with the Latin word “Resurgam,” meaning “I will rise again.” This has a double meaning. Helen was a committed Christian who believed that after death she would rise to be with God in Heaven. Also Helen’s spirit lives on in her friend Jane.