Final Blog Space for Jane Eyre
So Mr. Rochester's deep, dark secret has been revealed. What will Jane do now?
Pay attention and post about imagery, symbolism, the supernatural...think about our equality table...how does it change?
Can't wait to read your thoughts!
Remember, it's two posts by Monday the 23rd. Try to space them out - you don't need to have finished the reading to post.
posted by Ms. Clapp @ 2:29 PM
49 comments
49 Comments:
***SPOILER ALERT*** (Just in case if you haven't yet gotten this far)
Even before I found out Jane and Mr. St. John were related, it's obvious to see that they're alike. They are both self-sacrificing of their own happiness and religious, both look to God for their problems instead of man, Mr. St. John even pursuing a career as a minister. This passage especially speaking for both of them,"This spectacle of another's suffering and sacrifice rapt my thoughts from almost exclusive meditation on my own. Diana Rivers had designated her brother "inexorable as death." She had not exxagerated,"(Bronte 396). To me it seemed at times that Mr. St. John was almost a mirror to Jane and her suffering. Only that Mr. St. John was more at liberty to accept Miss Oliver's proposal since she was not married before...But either way, they both refuse to be happy because of "morals". Mr. St. John is too connected to his ministry and Jane to her ideas of right and wrong to let go and truly be free.
I felt like Bronte was giving little clues throughout, very subtle hints, I can't even call them clues as to them being connected in a way. Not only does Jane get taken in by these strangers, but comes to be very close to them. How horrible would it be if they didn't get along at all or treated Jane as a servant in the house rather than a guest? It probably would have been a horrible plot twist to find those people were her relatives. Not only that, but while Jane is so close to Mary and Diana, I feel like she's truly closest to their brother. They have a sort of secret understanding of each other and their pain which I thought best described in this passage:
"Jane is not such a weakling as youwould make her," her would say:she can bear a mountain blast, or a shower, or a few flakes of snow, as well as any of us. Her constitution is both sound and elastic; better calculated to endure variations of climate than any more robust"(431).
We've discussed many times before that the weather is often foreshadowing and symbolic of Jane's feelings, in this case it's the same and it even goes beyond that. It's subtle, but symbolic of Jane's situation with Rochester and her ability to resist "temptation". The variations of climate would be in reference to Jane's changing locations and how well she handled them. Jane bear many blows to her emotions and she can endure many sacrifices, she will still survive. John admires Jane for her strength and maybe even for the fact that she was able to resist Rochester's charms.
To say with what Tainara is saying, i really did see the resemblance between both Mr.St John and Jane a lot. What made me feel very disoriented was the fact that he purposed to her. But not even out of love, or so he claims. But to take her to India with him. At first i thought it was completely obscured that he wanted to do this, get married for the church. I also didn't really understand why he didn't just marry Ms. Oliver. It was very obvious that he was attracted to her and has strong feelings towards her being.
I also wanted to comment of Mr. Rochester's mishap. Knowing that he lost his vision and became cripple, gave me a huge sense of pity over him. I feel like he let this happen to him and that he destroyed his life for Jane, while she was fine with her new fortune and soon to be husband. However, her not getting married to him and coming back to Mr. Rochester, i felt like in many ways she only did this out of pity. Because she was so ready to just leave England and go to India. Even though she held Mr. Rochester close to her heart i feel after finding out what had happened to him, she stayed wit him more out of pity and because he needed a permanent nurse. I feel like her life took a turn that in a way she didn't want for herself. She claimed to Rochester that she was an independent women now, and she became submissive in the end.
So far, I've only read half of the assignment, (through chapter 34), so I don't know what was said in the previous posts. But anyway, I found a couple of points interesting to mention.
First, on page 381, I noticed that once again Bronte shows her disapproval of the Christian religion, or rather, its conformity. She writes, "When he had done, instead of feeling better, calmer, more enlightened by his discourse, I experienced an inexpressible sadness: for it seemed to me- I know not whether equally so to others- that the eloquence to which I had been listening had sprung from a depth where lay turbid dregs of disappointment; where moved troubling impulses of insatiate yearnings and disquieting aspirations." Jane herself admits that she may not fully understand the peace that "normal" people feel in listening to a sermon. Since she portrays her passionate personality as good, this reasonable sermon seems unfamiliar and "sad" to her.
On a general note: In the name Marsh End, could it mean the end to her sadness, or a new, happier beginning?
I wanted to comment on St. John’s proposal to Jane. I understand why he wants to do it, but isn’t kind of contradicting?
"It is – that he asks me to be his wife, and has no more of a husband’s heart for me than that frowning giant of a rock, down which the stream is foaming in yonder gorge. He prizes me as a soldier would a good weapon, and that is all. Unmarried to him, this would never grieve me; but can I let him complete his calculations-coolly put into practice his plans-go through the wedding ceremony? Can I receive from him the bridal ring, endure all the forms of love (which I doubt not h would scrupulously observe) and know that the spirit was quite absent? Can I bear the consciousness that every endearment he bestows is a sacrifice made on principle? No: such a martyrdom would be monstrous. I will never undergo it. As his sister, I mihght accompany him-not as his wife: I will tell him so." (pg 439-440)
I completely agree with Jane. I mean it is great that St. John has such a loyal faithful relationship with his religion, but he is doing it for the wrong reasons. The Bible even talks about marriage and how a man and woman should marry of course that they love each other and serve the Lord and a bunch of other stuff. Also I find it odd that he asked his cousin to marry him. Regardless of anything isn’t incest a sin? Jane would make a suitable wife to someone else, but not him. Jane wants to marry for love and there is nothing wrong for that. St. John makes it sounds like it’s a privilege for her to do this task for God. Marriage is not a task! It makes it sound horrible.
I also wanted to comment on the foreshadowing that Bronte shows to the reader when St. John says to Jane not to give into “temptation” while she is away to visit Mr. Rochester. This right away gives the reader the idea that something good will happen to Jane while she is visiting him. Not only does Bronte give away to the reader that Jane and Mr. Rochester will be re-united again when she is talking to St. John before he leaves and she hears Mr. Rochester’s voice screaming her name and responds by saying “I am coming… Wait for me! Oh I will come.”
She describes Mr. Rochester’s voice as “pain and woe, wildly, eerily, urgent. It is still visible that Jane and Mr. Rochester still share some deep connection together. Also makes you wonder since the time he has been apart from Jane how is he like now?
****SPOILER ALERT****
I read the whole book already and it makes sense how Bronte made this scene. Later in the novel Mr. Rochester describes the same thing that happened to him and during this whole ordeal he has been suffering and realizing how he was a person and it is almost like karma. He wasn’t that great of guy before the burning and after the burning it made him sad, but almost a better person. Could the burning symbolize not only death, but re-birth in Mr. Rochester case?
I have to disagree with the comment you made Ana, “I feel like [Mr. Rochester] let this happen to him and that he destroyed his life for Jane, while she was fine with her new fortune and soon to be husband.” I don’t believe he allowed this misfortune to come to him. I saw the loss of his eye sight and left hand as another means of Bronte to keep up with the Gothic element but also move along the story thus furthering the romantic theme, I.e. Jane and Rochester marry. Also Rochester’s loss of power was a means of making him an apparent vulnerable character. Previous to the discovery of his secret wife, Rochester was an overbearing and I think overwhelming character that I could not “figure out,” intentions and all. And referring to the chart we created in class of the pair (Jane and Rochester), there were no apparent vulnerabilities with Rochester‘s character. It was definitely implied Rochester had secrets that could destroy worlds but it was not apparent (said out loud in the book). Now, his loss of eye sight and left hand, make him completely vulnerable; Jane refers to him as a cripple. In British society at the time, a cripple was a cripple, high society or not, they were shunned, thus creating his vulnerability. Also, another apparent vulnerability would be the loss of his wealth. Rochester, had his money backing him before the accident, and acted as he wanted, often rash. With Thornfield was burned down, “a valuable property destroyed”(463) Rochester could not return to England, a city that had been has sanctuary for many years (because he was wealthy), instead, he chose to live in an isolated place, an appearance of how low he‘d fallen. Jane’s host at the Inn says, “He can’t get out of England, I fancy---he’s a fixture now”(466). In other words, he’s a permanent being in England because he’s lost his wealth. Apart from pity, I feel admiration towards Rochester because he attempted to save his servants and Bertha before himself. The Host says, “He went up to the attic when all was burning above and below, and got the servants out of the beds and helped down them down himself…And went back to get his mad wife”(Bronte 466). His selfless act contradicts his selfishness because Bronte writes, that he escorted his servants out himself AND went back for his mad wife. For all the pain Bertha caused him, like getting in the way of his happiness, he still cared for her (I think).
In part, I agree with you Ana that Jane stayed with Rochester “out of pity” but I believe Jane wanted this for herself. He loved Rochester dearly, and could not go any further with her mission in India until she knew what became of him. Also Jane knew she wouldn’t last long in India. Diana agrees exclaiming, “Madness! You would not live three months there, I am certain,” and going with St. John would be throwing her life away, something she did not want, even if it meant servitude, in entirety she sought after Love, that which St. John could not provide. Also, Jane claiming her independence, balances the “Jane/Rochester” scale created in class. Rather than becoming “submissive” in the end, Jane and Rochester become intellectual equals. Jane says, “I am my husband's life as fully is he is mine. No woman was ever nearer to her mate than I am: ever more absolutely bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. I know no weariness of my Edward's society: he knows none of mine, any more than we each do of the pulsation of the heart that beats in our separate bosoms; consequently, we are ever together. To be together is for us to be at once as free as in solitude, as gay as in company. We talk, I believe, all day long: to talk to each other is but a more animated and an audible thinking. All my confidence is bestowed on him, all his confidence is devoted to me; we are precisely suited in character--perfect concord is the result”(Bronte 491). Dare I go any further? Just the line, “We talk, I believe, all day long: to talk to each other is but a more animated and an audible thinking.”
On the subject of Mr. Rochester, I have my own opinions but I’m interested in what everyone else thinks.
The Host of the Inn says to Jane, “Some say it was just judgment on him for keeping his first marriage secret, and wanting to take another wife while he had one living…But many think he had better be dead,”(Bronte 466) in order to atone for his sin.
Did Rochester deserve this Fate?
Is his Fate equal compensation?
(He can never see and can never be physically whole…)
And is Jane at fault?
I would like to agree with Tainara and Analu regarding the similarities on Jane and Mr. St. John. They have similar personalities and both seem to push aside or run from their feelings (whether it be Jane running from Rochester or St. John running from his feelings towards Rosamond and instead running toward religion). Jane even recalls a moment when Rosamond, "said [Jane] was like Mr. Rivers, only, certainly, she allowed, 'not one=tenth so handsome, though [she] was a nice, neat little soul enough, but he was an angel.' [She] was,however, good, clever, composed, and firm, like him" (399).
As for how Analu, "didn't really understand why [St. John] didn't just marry Ms. Oliver. It was very obvious that he was attracted to her and has strong feelings towards her being", I beleive he mentions earlier on why he wouldn't marry her. In chapter 32 on page 405 St. John says that, It is strange that while I love Rosamond Oliver so wildly - with all the intensity, indeed, of a first passion, the object of which is exquisitely beautiful, graceful, and fascinating - I experience at the same time a calm, unwarped consciousness that she would not make me a good wife; that she is not the partner suited to me: that I should discover this within a year after marriage; and that to twelve months' rapture would succeed a lifetime of regret. This I know". St. John can not see himself happy in a marriage with Rosamond, despite his current love for her. It is curious, however, that Jane had said the same thing about herself to Rochester earlier on when he proposed to her, that he would grow bored of her after a year.
Hmmm....curious.....any thoughts?
(I'm almost done, but in case I mention anything that was already previously stated, it's because I avoided the other postings since it seems clear that they're all done.)
...so considering nothing is ever really a coincidence when it comes to metaphors in Jane Eyre, did anyone else find it odd how Jane was sick, and got better after three days? I could be wrong about this, but didn't Jesus die, and then rise again later on the third day? After all, religion takes a rather large stance now in the book, being prominently mentioned at rather than alluded to in symbols.
I just finished chapter 36 at the moment, and I found myself at awe of the amount of control that St. John (which when I googled, said that his name is apparently pronounced Sinjin?) had over Jane; I thought it was supposed to be a representation of those who followed faith blindly, and rather intensely, and that this was a spoken idea against them. However, considering this is a touchy topic in today's time, I figured that the chances of this were slim when back when Bronte wrote this, the fact that Jane had a mind of her own was revolutionary enough as it is. I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts about what St. John specifically might represent?
In relation to Victor's comment, I also tended to take notice to the power element of any relationship Jane seems to take on with men.
First, for Rochester, I beleive there is something significant with it being his right hand and eyes that are lost. I would say in general, the right hand tends to be more powerful and important to individuals (hence the saying right hand man) and so I feel as though by losing his right hand, a symbol for loss of power is there. Also, according to our handy dandy How To Read Literature Like A Professor book, whenever someone is blind, is for a reason. Personally I beleive Bronte chose blindness for Rochester because first of all, it is the ultimate loss of power... if you can't see, yu have to rely on toher things (for the most part). I also feel as though blindness was chosen here as an ironic twist of fate for Rochester. He left Jane blind to many of his secrets and past life for a long time, and then after she discovers all of this, he is the one who is blinded. In the final chapter of the story, when "he recovered the sight of that one eye" (492) I feel as though Bronte is perhaps showing a sort of forgiveness to Rochester for his secret keeping.
Something else I noticed that had to deal with power is St. John's conversations with Jane about marriage. I feel as though in this book, marriage is like a loss of power, which is why Jane refuses to marry many times throughout the book, because she loves her freedom. Even when Jane is going to marry Rochester for the first time, she feels remorse and seems to not want to go through with it. Going off of what Malisa says however, I think that Jane's three days of poverty and starvation are almost a rebirth, and when she returns to Rochester, she marries him after he has lost his power. But just to add to the whole marriage equals man has power theme, I would like to take a look at some conversation John has with Jane. John says he wants a wife that he "can influence" in life (441) and also when he says that her not marrying him is "divided allegiance" (441). This word choice has a very controlling nature to it, showing that John will be in complete control if they are married and that this is what he wants. In the end however, I find it intersting to see that Jane is able to end up marrying and keep her power also. It is quite conveneient for her, plus its with the man she loves so that's a bonus.
I wanted to comment on Rorschach about how you said that Mr. Rochester let this horrible incident happen. I have to disagree with you about that. Bronte intended for this fire to happen for a reason. Throughout the book you see that Mr. Rochester is this arrogant and cocky guy. Not to mention a liar. During that time people who wrote with their left hand (I don’t know if Mr. Rochester wrote with his left hand) were seen as evil because in the Bible it mentions something about the left hand leads to none righteous path. As for the right hand it leads to a righteous path which is with God. So for him to lose his left hand is actually a good thing. For him to lose his sight it makes him completely vulnerable and having to depend on people which he never did before. He has to completely give himself up and like I mentioned before I really do think this fire also symbolized re-birth for Mr. Rochester.
Somebody also mentioned how Jane marries him because she feels pity for him. I don’t think she marries him because of that. She truly loves him and really sees how much he has changed and for once she doesn’t feel that he is below a man and will have to completely give herself up to him. She actually feels that she will be equal with him.
The ending of Jane Eyre was a bit more cliche than I had hoped; I think we were all expecting Jane to go back to meet with Rochester again.
However, what is very un-cliche for the time period the novel was written in is the role reversal that seems to take place in Jane and Rochester's marriage. Jane returns to find a physically weak and physically impotent man (not sexually). During her governess days at Thornfield, Rochester had financial, physical and knowledgeable power over Jane, but now that he has lost his sight and hand, Jane has gained the upper hand in a sense and now she is financially well off, physically his superior and knows the secrets of his past. When Jane returns she brings the power in the form of her inheritance and experiences over the past year that Rochester does not know of until she tells him. It is clear that Jane does not want to be Rochester's superior, but instead his equal.
It is also interesting that Bronte decided to blind Rochester after his accident. Blindness, as Danny pointed out from How To Read..., is never just blindness. When one is blinded, he or she can lose power like Danny said. Rochester certainly does lose power through his blindness. In addition he loses his autonomy, as he is now dependent on others more than ever. Ironically, Jane was terrified of losing her autonomy before her return to Thornfield and thus was reluctant to marry Rochester. However, in losing these things, as How To Read... suggests, a loss of sight usually is balanced by a gain of inner-sight. The fact that Rochester and Jane treat each other as equals can be the inner-sight that Rochester gains.
Hi Everyone.
First off, I agree with Dario’s comment on how Jane is now superior to Mr. Rochester…I feel that Bronte had Mr. Rochester loose his vision as well as his arm to reveal a few points…
-Jane is now on the same level as Rochester…a give and take took place…Rochester was a wealthy powerful man, and now he has lost some of his ability, while Jane has gained some wealth…
-Jane TRULY does love Mr. Rochester, because she decides to marry him when he is at his lowest point in life, not when he is at his peak.
-There is a role reversal for Mr. Rochester…he used to be the one looking after his spouse, Bertha, but now he has his spouse looking after him.
-Mr. Rochester “eventually recovered the sight of that one eye….[w]hen his firstborn was put into his arms, he could see that the boy had inherited his own eyes, as they once were…”(492). There must be something that Bronte would like to reveal with this taking place, and I think Danny explained that really well with the idea of “forgiveness.”
I am not sure if I agree with Analu’s comment about Jane marrying Mr. Rochester out of pity…I like to think that her love for him is genuine…on page 483, she says, “could you but see how much I do love you, you would be proud and content. All my heart is yours, sir: it belongs to you; and with you it would remain…”
I would also like to point out page 490…Adele “was not happy” and Jane attempts to “become her governess once more” but doesn’t, since her “time and cares were now required by another,” Mr. Rochester, her husband. Jane is being just like Miss Temple, but a bit better…Adele is an unhappy child, Jane is there for her, but realizes that she can’t be with her forever, because she now has to be a wife (just like when Miss Temple left)…only Jane helps Adele more when she finds a better school for her, and keeps in touch.
The book left me upset because of Mr. Rochester’s loss of sight/arm…but in general happy with the life that Jane and Rochester had created together…everything sounds good.
Wow! I really didn't think this was a "flight" book at all, but I missed watching the landing and I was the last one off the plane just so I could finish the whole book.
So now that I've finished the book, I'm more interested in what Bronte was trying to say as a whole. There's no doubt that the contrast between fire and ice, hot and cold is a big part of the book. In chapter 33, Mr. Rivers and Jane are talking about some secrets and Mr. Rivers takes the "cold" side and Jane the "hot."
Mr. Rivers starts saying, "I am cold: no fervour infects me."
Jane replies, "Whereas I am hot, and fire dissolves ice. The blaze there has thawed all the snow from your cloak; by the same token, it has streamed on to my floor, and made it like a trampled street. As you hope ever to be forgiven, Mr. Rivers, the high crime and misdemeanour of spoiling a sanded kitchen, tell me what I wish to know." He gives in saying, "Well, then," he said, "I yield; if not to your earnestness, to your perseverance: as stone is worn by continual dropping. Besides, you must know some day,--as well now as later. Your name is Jane Eyre?" (416). Jane "wins." Bronte made an interesting comparison, as the heat melts the ice. So when two hot and cold people are put together, the hot one affects the cold one, "warming" him/her up, as I believe happened with Jane and Rochester. In the end, they balanced each other out.
So in the end, Jane is happy, being married. And although it may seem cliche now, back then this was apparently a new idea. Throughout the book, we've seen Jane struggle with her passionate outburts and her conflicts with religion etc. We also saw her run away from a marriage proposal she wanted in her heart and reject one she did. I think Bronte was trying to say that eventually, you can be happy by not compromising your values, and changing who you are to please someone (which she would have had to do in marrying Mr. St. John). It's almost like Jane had satisfied her inner needs before she could satisfy someone else with her love. As soon as she was comfortable and happy with her own standing in the world, she could learn to give some and take some in a marriage, something that no doubt isn't ruled just by hot or cold feelings, but a compromise in between.
Anyone have any other ideas on big meanings in the book?
Also, what's with the superstitiousness? I could easily identify the places, but less so connect it to some kind of meaning...
I just wanted to respond to some others’ blogs. First to comment on Victor’s post: I agree with your analysis of Rochester’s motives and personality along with Bronte’s motives for making Rochester a “cripple.” Also, you brought up the passage in the novel at the end that stood out for me too: “I am my husband's life as fully is he is mine... we are precisely suited in character--perfect concord is the result”(491).The open and overt way this was written by Bronte I think is a sign of the changing times. This surely was controversial when it was originally published and the fact that Jane is equal to her husband (in every way, as the passage suggests) was unprecedented. This made the novel a bit more cliché or forced for me too; I think Bronte could have reached this conclusion without so overtly saying it. Also, I don’t think Rochester’s “fate” was that dim for him, it wasn’t a punishment for his sins or anything. I think it was just a plot device to make him physically inferior in a way to Jane. Also, I’d definitely say Jane is not at fault for his “fate.” I think Thronfield burning down represents Rochester’s layer of secrecy and all of his demons from his past burning down; after it burns down Jane and he are free to marry and live their lives happily.
Also, to Marrisa’s post, I do not think that Adele ends up an unhappy child. She is unhappy for a while after Thronfield burns down because of her current school (page 490) but Jane then helps her through that.
To Katie’s comment about the contrast between fire and ice, on page 447, the last couple of lines in the first big chunk (“mere coldness…”) help to distinguish what you are saying. Also, you’re right that these ideas of gender equality were very not-cliché at the time… it just seems very Cinderella-story like with its happy endings.
Hoorah! I'm glad that Jane picked Rochester over St. John... though I'm not that surprised. They seem more fit for each other anyways. It seems that St. John acts as a foil to Rochester. Both offer Jane a different type of freedom; Rochester allows Jane the expression of her passion in exchange for her morals, while St. John allows her to fulfill her duties as a women while sacrificing her passion in the process. I found it kinda weird that while Jane said that she would only marry Rochester if she and him are considered equals, it seems that the marriage has tipped to her favor as Rochester was severely disabled and lost his house while Jane has only grown stronger.
To respond to Victor's question, I don't think that Rochester really deserved his fate, I don't really think anyone does. But, since it happened, I would have to say that it was for the better (for Jane at least). I agree with you that it exposes and reveals him to be vulnerable which allows Jane to finally consider him an equal (due to the loss of power?).
Overall, I think Bronte has put Jane on a “quest”. To Katie’s first comment about the name of the place, I think Marsh End means an end to her sadness. Also, the “mort” in name of the Morton gives a sense of death. I feel like it relates to like the death of this unhappiness? Here Jane lives the simple lifestyle she wanted at Thornfield, where she wanted to continue her job as Adele’s governess and did not want any lavish, extravagant objects from Mr. Rochester. Also, she is independent. However, she questions her choice.
“Whether it is better, I ask, to be a slave in a fool’s paradise at Marseilles-fevered with delusive bliss one hour-suffocating with the bitterest tears of remorse and shame the next-or to be a village schoolmistress, free and honest, in a breezy mountain nook in the healthy heart of England?” (389)
Despite living that simple lifestyle that she wanted, Jane misses Rochester terribly, making her miserable. Living this pure lifestyle, which is completely opposite of the temptations she faced at Thornfield with Rochester, serves as like an enlightenment period. She has time to really consider which choice is best for her, and to end her sadness and doubt.
I just wanted to get everyone else's input. I read somewhere that Jane's personality could be due to a mental disorder which fits into the disability motif in the novel pretty well with the rest of the people with a disability. Do you believe that she could have a mental condition, and if so, how could this condition make her personality, habits, and thoughts differ from that of a regular women of that time?
To respond to Paul's last comment, I don't think that Jane actually has a mental dosorder, I think she is more of a representation of a type of mentality. While at times throughout the book she does appear a bit odd, Jane never really expresses any true signs of mental illness (in my opinion). However, I think she does represent the mentality of the confined women an a male oriented society. While she is more composed and shows her dislike of this in a "poroper" way (using her words), I believe that Berthe Mason represent the part that conveys her upset, quite violently. I believe it was talked about in class how Bertha may have been employed as a symbol for outrage of women at that time period.
I'm not really sure I understand what you are saying Paul. I don't think that Jane had a mental disorder; unless you can consider impulsive behavior a mental disorder. Which I think it is, but I don't think that Jane's behavior was impulsive enough for it to be considered a mental disorder. Jane did what came to her and spoke her mind. By Victorian standards, she would have been considered almost mentally ill; too passionate and too outspoken.
If Jane did have a mental disorder, that of an impulsive one, obviously she would not have fit in with the women at that time period. She would not be able to control herself in any way, or she would not be able to control her urges. In the era which Jane lived in, women were expected to be disciplined and in control of themselves. If they were not, and if Jane really did have an impulsive disorder, she would have no control of herself and thus be a complete outcast at that time. Although that's an interesting idea and could possibly fit, I really don't think that she did.
Also, I do agree with what a lot of people have pointed out already, that Jane is physically superior to Rochester now and if he really did lose all his fortune with the burning of Thornfield house, she is now financially superior to him as well. I think Bronte chose to have Thornfield Hall burn not only for Bertha to be out of the way, but for the incident to humble Mr. Rochester. Mr. Rochester was a very proud and arrogant man and he really expected Jane just to fall into his lap and become his mistress with his sob story. But, Jane is a woman completely different than what he is accustomed to and did not expect her answer of no.
It's interesting to see that the first time that Rochester was almost set on fire by Bertha, Jane was there to save him, to put the fire out. I think that during that time, the rebirth of Rochester and the burning of his demons were also discussed or at least mentioned. Now, the second time that Bertha set fire to the Hall, it truly symbolizes the burning of all his demons. The mansion was burned and Bertha plunged to her death, all his old problems that plagued him is gone yet new ones arise with the burning of his hand and loss of his sight. Once again, Jane comes to the rescue and helps Rochester recover his happiness.
But, one thing I was never sure of was the fire. Jane represents passion and often refers to herself as hot and fire. Yet, what is the symbolic meaning in Jane's putting out of the fire the first time in Rochester's room, and the fire consuming Thornfield Hall?
Anyone have any ideas...
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I'm somewhat torn with what has happened to Jane. I agree with others that Jane made a better choice in marrying Rochester over St. John, only really because of as Danny says his "loss of power" through losing his right hand and eyes. I mean after reading Wide Sargasso Sea, I would say Mr. Rochester is a jerk that doesn't really deserve to live the rest of his life married to Jane, but I see karma has got him back when Bertha burned the manor down.
I'm glad that Jane picked Rochester over St. John because he proved to be even more forceful and I guess almost power-hungry than Mr. Rochester. He was trying to force Jane into a marriage basically because it would the "right thing to do". It's ironic that St. John and Mr. Rochester both wanted this sense of power over Jane, when they are pretty different, just as Jane and Mr. Rochester are. Mr. Rochester is about doing what you want, while St. John is about doing what is right.
I think Jane choosing Mr. Rochester over St. John is Bronte's message to women at that time to stand for themselves, by using the power of choice instead of being submissive and following what other people tell them to do. With Mr. Rochester's injuries, rendering him powerless, is Bronte also saying that everything works out by doing what you want? Jane both got to be with Mr. Rochester as well as not feel overpowered by him.
I dont agree with Paul that Jane had a mental disorder. I agree with what Tainara talked about, with the passion and womens role in that era. I agree that Jane was very outspoken and that this time her life, she was outspoken however she knew how to control her tounge. Jane knows when to say things and when to keep quiet therefore this inables her to have this disorder, because it would cause her to not be able to control such aspects in her life.
I also wanted to comment on what Paul said about Rochester deserving what he got. I don't think that him being crippled so the extent I wanted for him. I think that losing maybe his fortune and becoming less rich than Jane might have been appropriate but I was very shocked to have read that he became impaired in aspects of life. I think that now that he's inferior to Jane like not being able to take care of himself, made Jane really get what she wanted. All her life she was always taking care of something and now that Rochester is handicapped she can take care of him without feeling that he is always better than her. Because in all ways she has always been the better person out of the both of them.
To respond to a few blogs first,
To Danny, marriage is a loss of power but only to women, more specifically Jane at the time. If for instance Jane were to marry Rochester before the accident at thornfield I do not think he would suffer from a loss of power. Also, I remember ms. clapp telling us about how the men would take ownership of the female's fortunes when married and play a more of a subordinate role in the marriage. So in all, men gain power while women lose power in marriage.
To Ash, describing the loss of Rochester's hand as "good" is highly interesting. At first I thought it was kind of funny seeing someone losing a hand as "good" but I definitely see what you see in it. I would also say the burning of Thornfield would add to that. Losing the left hand could symbolize the leaving behind the evils of the past, same with burning down the mansion and the suicide of Rochester's former wife.
Now to move on to other symbols. Lately Jane has been having a lot of dreams. There is one dream that sticks out to me and it is the one where JAne's mother says, "My daughter, flee temptation"(345) later on this same message is repeated by St. john "watch and pray that you enter not into temptation: the spirit, i trust, is willing, but the flesh, i see, is weak." (457). This then makes me look back at the chestnut tree which was agreed upon a symbol of temptation, however was split in two. My question is why and what temptation is there to flee? I see possible reasons but I want to see others ideas before making a more concise response.
Okay…
To Dario, I was referring to the quote on page 490…the moment where Jane recognizes Adele’s unhappiness and then does something about it…I did not mean that she had a permanent aura of unhappiness…there is just a moment when she is unhappy.
Paul, I don’t feel as though Jane has a mental disorder…I feel as though her spur of the moment type behavior is just an example of the passion and energy that fills any youth …you know, they are growing and maturing and are having changes in thoughts, etc., and there is just so much that they want to let out…just a thought…
Nivele, that was a good question you brought up…I’m thinking that Jane putting out the fire in the beginning of the book, could symbolize her *maybe* trying to suppress her previous, I guess you could call, unladylike behavior…or her behavior before she attended the school and met people like Miss Temple and Helen…however, as she arrives at Thornfield and leaves, she has grown up a bit, and has embraced more of her old self, instead of that ladylike behavior, which could help with the idea that she is not there to put out the fire, the “passion,” and passion can lead to destruction or fighting (Thornfield burning...Jane and Rochester's bumpy relationship at the start...etc.).
I have a question...since we have been talking about whether or not Jane married Rochester because of pity...I can't pull the actual meaning from the following line, "he felt I loved him"(491). What does "felt" mean?...does she really or doesn't she? Am I looking too much into this? Not sure.
About St. John not marrying Ms. Oliver even though he obviously loved her, that showed great sacrifice. When I first read it, I thought that giving up the one thing you ever wanted for God, at that time, was very respectable and admirable. Later on, however, when he insists that Jane marry him, completely killed it, even though it was for a good cause, I didn’t like St. John anymore. It seemed like right when he found out that Ms. Oliver was engaged to be married to someone else, he became really cold towards everyone. The marriage seems to be for all the wrong reasons, and its wrong to marry a cousin…even if at that time, it was common. I was also happy that Jane chose Rochester instead of St. John.
To what Victor said about Rochester still caring for Bertha. Well, I think Rochester felt obligated to save her, more than cared, since he felt obligated to keep her in the house. He said that he thought he was in love with her, but then it was not really love. He came to get her last, so I don’t think he cared about her that much.
By the way, I looked to Jane’s Uncle John as a hero figure, saving Jane from marrying Rochester, who already had a wife, and now leaving her with money, but, I don’t quite fully understand why he was such a bad person to the Rivers’ family, who were also his relatives. Anyone want to clarify?
In response to Marissa’s comment on Adele’s moment of being unhappy, I always saw Adele as a version of Jane: she was forced to live with a relative she wasn’t entirely knowledgeable of, as well as having said relative not particularly dote and love the child with every fiber of their being. I thought Adele was essentially what Jane could have become or gone through if she had someone supporting her.
As for Marissa’s question, I saw the line of ”he felt I loved him so fondly, that to yield that attendance was to indulge my sweetest wishes” (491) as being a rather romantic line, although I can see why some might take it as being understood as she didn’t really love him as much as he thought she did. I saw it as those sweet couples who love each other so much, that they know what makes each other tick; in a sense, it’s like having one part of the couple hurt, and they know that they don’t want them to work, but they work anyways because they love seeing the person they love worry over them so much, and they tease them for it. I saw it as Rochester knowing that Jane loved him and loved to care for him, so he let her. While I can’t help but doubt this as well, with the way the storyline has played out, I think that this is the route that the reader is supposed to dwell upon, not the “maybe she doesn’t love him that much” part.
I also agree with Lilly in the sense that Rochester was more obligated to try and save Bertha, but there was a sense of caring in there as well. After having taken care of her for so long, one would assume that Rochester must have had some sense of care for her; he could have simply locked her up somewhere with strict orders to take care of her, but instead he kept her in his house, despite knowing that she would try and harm him (i.e. the fire, stabbing, etc).
I hate that I had to wait so long to talk about this! But I was in Florida and thought I was going to have internet access, but I didn't. Anyways, that doesn't really matter.
In response to Angela, I was also relieved that Jane chose to decline St. John's marriage proposal and went back to Rochester. To me, St. John represented what Jane thought she wanted her life to be, but he proved to her that it was back with Rochester that she belonged.
I believe his function in the novel was to represent all the ideals and morals that Jane had held in high regard most of her life: plainness, constant work and duty, fulfilling God, etc. When this was handed to her on a silver platter when St. John asked her to marry him, I think that Jane had a kind of epiphany when she realized that was not the direction her life was headed. This point when Jane completed her "quest". At that moment Jane didn't find what she set out looking for, but she made a self-discovery about the direction of her life and she acted upon it.
As I read the first section of Joe's blog, "Also, I remember ms. clapp telling us about how the men would take ownership of the female's fortunes when married and play a more of a subordinate role in the marriage. So in all, men gain power while women lose power in marriage." I suddenly had a epiphany regarding the conclusion of the book.
The marriage between Rochester and Jane was very ironic, in the sense that she held most of the power. First off, this is ironic in the most obvious sense that women weren't equal to men at that point, but with Rochester's blindness and crippled hand, that made Jane the most physically capable in the relationship, a factor in dominance. Also, men usually take control of the women's financial status, as Joe pointed out. However, Jane chose herself to divide her fortune among her and her cousins, and Rochester held no objection and made no effort to take her share of the money. The change of tide represented by their unconventional marriage reflects the play on gender roles that I noticed Bronte played with throughout the course of the novel, beginning very early on with Jane's relationship with John Reed.
To start off, I dont think I really liked the ending of this novel because, like Dario said, it was very cliche. I also feel like Jane became a stronger person when she left Rochester but then became weeak again when she ran back to Rochester's arms.
To what Analu said about Jane pitying Rochester, I disagree. I think that Jane always wanted him back but did not want to act on it because she knew that he was not good for him. Once Rochester became blinded and "on the same level" as Jane, they were able to reuinite and get married.
I was thinking, if Rochester was never blinded, would Jane and Rochester never reunite? I think that Jane was changing her insight on certain things, such when she got her inheritance. After she gets all that money, she could be seen as being on the same level as Rochester, but instead she shares it with her newly found relatives. I think that Jane could have done good without Rochester, but Bronte makes it seem like a person can not be happy unless they are married which I don't agree with.
I honestly didn't think of Adele much after we found out about Rochester's past, but now I see how Adele could be like Jane with what Malisa said. I also didn't understand why St. John had some power over Jane, if she was the kind of person that wanted to be independent, instead of heeding to St. John's demand. I guess its because he represented morals, like Jane, as Taylor had said.
To Steph, I don't think anything would change if Rochester wasn't blind and crippled. Rochester would eventually call out Jane's name desperately, Jane would answer and come running back, trying to find him. There is no doubt that Jane loves Rochester, but I think that since he was blind and crippled, it only added to the feeling that she needed to stay and care for him.
And to say "Bronte makes it seem like a person can not be happy unless they are married ", its just the belief back then, I don't think feminism was that radical at that time, yeah this story was different, but in writing that a woman can be happy without a man, would be too extreme?
First of all, in response to the possibility of Jane having a mental disorder, personally I don't agree with it completely, but I don't see how everyone can strongly disagree with it. Personally I think there are signs in the story that may imply that Jane is not necessarily the most beleivable narrator. She does often leave out the names of places, and often times does that weird quoting other people, but keeping it in her own words, like we saw when we close read page one of the book. I mean personally, I think Jane is just very on and off with her passion, but I wouldn't completely throw the idea of her being mentally ill out of question.
To touch on something new, I thought the supernatural incident was very...ummm unique. When the incident first happened to Jane, I was just thinking that Jane was having thoughts about Rochester before almost giving in to St John, however when Jane realizes that Rochester actually was calling to her...well I thought it was a little to corny for my liking. Mrs Clapp did say however this time period was very sappy and ernest though, so you take what you can get. A question I have though, is why would Jane always keep that secret to herself? I kind of relate it to God telling Jesus he would need to be crucified to save mankind, or whatever it was God actually told him... I don't know for sure though. I guess it really was MEANT TO BE that Jane and Rochester be together =] (even after he shows like NO concern for his poor lost wife)
Oh and before I forget, now that the book is done, what do you guys think about the role of Helen? Could she possibly be the reason that Jane goes through her three day rebirth or something? I have no idea, but if Helen is christ-like its gotta be important.
(PS, I completely agree with Angela that after reading WSS I also though Rochester was a jerk that brought on Antoinette's mental illness herself, but that's for a different discussion)
I just noticed, the Rivers siblings seem to parallel the Reed siblings. Two sisters, one brother. Parents are dead. All cousins to Jane. However, the Rivers siblings have a closer bond, unlike the Reed siblings, as Georgiana and Eliza swore to have nothing to do with each other for the rest of their lives. Also, the Rivers treat Jane righteously as family unlike the Reeds. I think Bronte is trying to expose the faults of upper society. People don't have to live wealthy lavish lives to live a genuinely happy life.
When placing Jane's two suitors next to eachother,you learn a lot about Jane herself. It seems that these men appeal to both sides of her- the religious, righteous side, being Mr. St. John, and the passionate, poetic side, Mr. Rochester. These two are indeed foils to eachother.
In the moment that Jane nearly accepts Mr. St. John's proposal, she hears Rochester's voice. By running away from Rochester, she felt that she was running away from imprisonment. Imprisonment due to her passions and such. I think that by refusing St. John, she has proven that she can "resist temptation" as he told her to do.
I also noticed the Reed and Rivers siblings' similarities. I definitely think it's a statement about the upper class, just like she made when Mr. Brockle hurst showed up.
Hi, quick comment about something I picked up:
On page 306, Jane recalls Bertha as a vampire, that life-sucking ghoul that represents something wanting of innocence. My question is if Bertha is the vampire, draining Mr. Rochester's prospects like a weight on his life (deserving or not), or if Mr. Rochester is the vampire and he took from Bertha her innocence and transformed her into the vampire.
I am personally leaning towards the latter, since in this light Mr. Rochester's proud actions of forcing beauty on Jane are accounted for, what with the lavishness and silkiness. He tries to steal Jane's essence for his own, forcing her into this ideal marriage he dreamed of, probably engendered through living in high society all the time. At that time, I don't think he was doing justice to Jane's character at all, not respecting her for who she was and instead molding her into what he wished her to be, his little canary, little pet. He wanted the power balance to remain in his favor. I think Mr. Rochester a big vampire before he was so humbled by his conflagration. [I just really can't get over the imagery of a beam "knocking one of Rochester's eyes out." Really, my thoughts sprung back to episodes of Tom & Jerry.]
I too noticed that St. John is a foil to Rochester. St. John is more agressive and bitter while Rochester is more romantic and loving towards Jane. One thing that was similar of both of these men is that they both felt a certain power over Jane and tried to control her.
To what Rorschach said "did Rochester deserve this fate?" I think that he did because as other people have been saying that Rochester and Jane wouldn't have been happy unless they were together. And Rochester's blindness brought them together and most importantly, on the same level.
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With regards to what Angela mentioned on how the Reed and River siblings paralleled one another, I found that nearly every character in this tale had a foil or corresponding character that in a way would seem similar at first, but as time went on you saw how they were opposites, or how the character could have turned out if they were raised this way instead of that way.
You have the Reed/River sibling parallel, Jane/Adele, St. John/Rochester, and others. I was wondering if anyone else noticed any parallels between certain characters?
In response to Analu’s first comment, I’d have to disagree that she married Rochester because “she only did this out of pity”; I really felt that she truly loved him. I think these shows through the contrast between St. Johns and Rochester’s characters. In Chapter 34, St. John proposes to Jane and asks her to come to India with him to get married. However, he only wishes to marry her for his own benefits, and to aid him in his dream of becoming a missionary. Jane refuses, because she knows how unbearable and how unhappy she’d be in a loveless marriage. “If I join St. John, I abandon half myself: if I go to India, I go to premature death.”(439) She describes it as a ‘premature death’, which obviously shows she knows that marrying him would only mean his dominance over her, and her unhappiness. She can’t bring herself to enjoy the fundamentals of married life without knowing she is in love, or is loved in return when she asks herself, “Can I receive from him the bridal ring, endure all the forms of love (which I doubt not he would scrupulously observe) and know that the spirit was quite absent?”(440)
As with Jane contemplating on the marriage with St. John near the end of chapter 35, I think that supernatural and spiritual essence of the book comes into play.
“I stood motionless under my hierophant's touch. My refusals were forgotten--my fears overcome--my wrestlings paralysed. The Impossible--I.E., my marriage with St. John--was fast becoming the Possible. All was changing utterly with a sudden sweep. Religion called--Angels beckoned--God commanded--life rolled together like a scroll--death's gates opening, showed eternity beyond: it seemed, that for safety and bliss there, all here might be sacrificed in a second. The dim room was full of visions.”(455)
This whole passage seems like she’s in a trance or something of the sort, and falling for St. John isn’t really genuine. It’s full of mystical, and supernatural, and Bronte uses religious words (angels, God, scroll, death’s gates opening). This whole scene, with visions flying around, obviously isn’t realistic, which is what Bronte is saying about the improbable marriage to St. John. This then goes to show how much Jane truly loves Rochester. She was willing to marry him in the first place, but only refused in the end because she knew she’d be sacrificing her own principles, and of course, she’d feel like a mistress. St. John, on the other hand, she knew she wouldn’t be happy married to him because she knew she wasn’t in love.
I'd like to point how that i belive that Jane sort of transformed into Ms. Temple.
"I had long felt the pleasure that many of my rustic scholars liked me, and when we parted that conciousness was confirmed: they manifested their affection plainly and strongly. Deep was my gratification to find I had really a place in their unsophisticated hearts." (424)
This quote reminded me of how Jane had felt about Ms. Temple. She had looked up to her during her time at Lowood. She had been her "mother" like figure. I truly believe that in certain aspect Jane wanted to be some what like Ms. Temple. Her oppurtunity to have this school really gave Jane a chance to relate to the girls. She knows what they are going through and definelty knows the kind of needs that they feel at this time. Her closing the school was simialir in her leaving to Ms. Temple becasue she had felt as though she had done enough and now she wanted to enjoy her "own faculties" (423).
To Danny's question. I had the same question and I tried to answer that myself, my guess is that she was just worried about his health seeing him in that kind of condition. I guess telling him might keep him from resting because then he would want to talk about it or get excited about it. I really did not see why she had to keep it secrte, did not seem like such a big deal... but then again, this book makes everything a big deal.
To Gypsyloo, you say that her act of leaving St. John is resisting temptation. But I never really saw Jane as being "tempted" it was more of being overpowered. She refuses marriage with St. John for the very reason that she does not love him. If the message of "flee temptation" is repeated, then why does she return to Rochester?
Other foils…
Jane and Helen? …one is more ladylike and reserved, while another is opinionated and more out there….
Jane and Bertha?...they both got a chance to be Mr. Rochester’s wife…one was viewed as a “mad woman”…
Danny, to talk about Helen’s role…I am thinking that she shows what Jane was not…and when we finish reading the novel, we see how Jane has ended up with a happy life, and the only thought that could come up relating to Helen, would be that Jane probably would have ended up somewhere else if she was more “reserved,” letting people act however they would like towards her…she would not have this happy ending…if she didn’t voice her views.
The only thing is, I wish that the novel had more of Miss Temple, and just more of Jane going back to interact with the people of her past…not for a few pages, but longer.
Does anyone else think that it is ironic that Bertha burnt the house down ? She had been the casue of all of Mr. Rochester's problems to begin with. I want to definetly agree with Nivele about how the burning of the house was definetly a cleansing process. All of Mr. Rochester's "demons" were definetly burnt away with the fire. But i'd like to add that I think that Bertha did him a favor. Not only by burning the house down, but by killing herself as well. Bertha definetly represented all of the bad things that Mr. Rochester had done in the past and he had definelty paid his dues. By Bertha's death it was like his sentence was over and he could be relieved.
I also like to point out why is it that certain males have such power over Jane? St. John basically had full control over Jane, somewhat on the level that Mr. Rochester did. Of course Jane continually denies his marriage proposal, which is what seperates him and Mr. Rochester. Espeically since he wants "influence" (441) over his wife (which relates to the selfish manner and controling characteristics Rohcester possesed at the very beginning). However what puzzles me is that I had seen Jane grow and emerge so much stronger however she lets these men take over her.
I noticed a theme in this book was the contrast between religion and passion, duty and love (and principle, she says that many times). This is especially important around Mr. Rocky (sorry for the pet name, after he becomes humbled I can't help it; it's such a contrast for me) and Mr. St. Rivers, as Jane leaves one and the other for those reasons. Jane initially leaves Mr. Rochester not out of love, but out of this sense of duty towards religion: "My daughter, flee temptation" (345). And so she flees his dark secret, his dark temptations into submission. Then a hundred pages later she says a "martydom would be monstrous" (440) to be the wife of Mr. St. Rivers' loveless marriage. Thus, she flees a self-sacrifice on the level of Helen Burns back to Mr. Rocky. Only, this time Mr. Rocky is nice now with the whole balance of power shift that everyone talked about earlier.
Ultimately, I think Jane played her cards well and finally fell into a marriage that compromised nothing, not her principles that marrying arrogant Mr. Rochester would have done, and not her self into a slave-like loveless submission in Mr. St. River's proposal.
Hmm.. very interesting points in the last couple of comments.
First off, valleygirl 09's comment on how Jane transformed into Ms. Temple. I hadn't really noticed that before, but I guess I can kind of see it. Ms. Temple was of course a mother-like figure to Jane, and for Jane to be in charge of a school and have the ability to influence children just as Ms Temple did, really shows that maybe Jane had become a Ms. Temple herself.
Also, I'd like to expand on the St. John/ Rochester foil. At first they seem very much alike, distant and cold at first, but then suddenly having this passion towards Jane. However, they both bring out different sides of Jane. I liked Paul’s quote on how “Both offer Jane a different type of freedom; Rochester allows Jane the expression of her passion in exchange for her morals, while St. John allows her to fulfill her duties as a women while sacrificing her passion in the process.” St. John brings out her more religious and moral side of her, while Rochester invokes the more passionate side of her.
I really like the imagery of fire near the end of Chapter 34 when Jane is thinking about marrying St. John, and how “as his wife--at his side always, and always restrained, and always checked--forced to keep the fire of my nature continually low, to compel it to burn inwardly and never utter a cry, though the imprisoned flame consumed vital after vital--THIS would be unendurable”.(443) When I read this, I imagined a stove-top fire, kept at a measly low(, with a pot-roast kept at simmer for a good hour or two …=D.) This, of course, is fire under control. Fire in nature, however, is wild and free and burns outwardly, instead of ‘burn[s] inwardly’. This completely contrasts Rochester’s character and what he loved about Jane; which was her passion. When she emerges from her room after the whole incident in Chapter 27, Rochester exclaims, “I would rather you had come and upbraided me with vehemence. You are passionate. I expected a scene of some kind. I was prepared for the hot rain of tears; only I wanted them to be shed on my breast: now a senseless floor has received them, or your drenched handkerchief. But I err: you have not wept at all! I see a white cheek and a faded eye, but no trace of tears. I suppose, then, your heart has been weeping blood?"(321) This shows how much Rochester loves the passion in her, and encourages it because it is what makes Jane.
Hi Guys,
Well, a substantial amount of bird imagery that was present in the remaining chapters of the novel, especially in the scenes before Jane’s acquaintance with St. John, Diana, and Mary in her time at Moor House. Through this phase of the novel, There was a reoccurring sequences of bird imagery connected to her stay at Morton and going on to the return to Thornfield, which has the reader revert to the scene wherein she is forced to find repose out in the woods and depend on the “universal mother, Nature”(348) to find repose. The context displays is Jane feeling of seclusion from her “fellow creatures” and now finding comfort to a fabricated, omnipresent being such as nature. What I thought is interesting can be the combination of bird and natural allusions to illustrate the setting as well as create a link to Jane and nature. In my opinion, the connection of her regard to Mother Nature that intersects with the avian allusions can infers Jane’s connection to her environment as well as her nature as being an organic, authentic, human being who is undomesticated by man’s standards as a bird or animal is. In addition, what I like to get into is the significance of the repetitive images of birds in the latter chapters of the novel. My interpretation from this connection of allusions correlates between Jane and her fixation to the birds as to strengthen the idea of a bird possessing connotations that relate to Jane such as frailty, flight, and independence.
If I may a bring up a passage form the book to help, I think that the best use of the reference to birds as a metaphor is the scene wherein Jane returns to Mr. Rochester. Upon that time, finds him a blind and crippled man and she now pledges her service to him and is moved by his dependence: “just as if a royal eagle, chain to a perch, should I forced to entreat a sparrow to become its purveyor.”(478) Bronte’s purpose of utilizing this technique exclusively between Jane and Mr. Rochester, insists that it wants to set a dichotomy between the flight and fall of the two characters, both mental and physical wise. Moreover, Bronte creates an idyllic picture of two polar opposite loves through the use of avian allusions and baroque diction to give a message of two people that has retreated through many places in their lives only to return to each other.
St. John the Apostle
Once more apart form the references to birds I had just explained in the last blog, there has been as substantial amount of religious allusions to biblical figures and relics What is interesting is the scripture like diction that St. John took as to address Jane. By now, I already assume that all of you had already seen his character as an allusion or embodiment of John the Baptist. The clue that really did it for me was the reserved character of St. John reflecting the same as the Baptist. However, more interesting is that his prospect of going to India on missionary outing connects to The Gospel of St. John wherein the two share the same theme of the importance of sacrifice and restraint. In addition, St. John often conflicts with his person, especially when regarding to his proposition with Jane to marry him. In one reader’s opinion, St. John proposal to Jane falls into a paradox: he sermonizes the triviality of the flesh yet; he is determined to receive Jane’s hand in marriage. My personal connection from this book would fall under a text-to-text association towards John the Savage in Aldous Huxley’s A Brave New World in which John the Savage expresses conflicting emotions of hate and love towards Lenina enough to beat her at least it what I remember from the story.
for the feminist side of things, it's very interesting that Jane says that she and Rochester live as equals.
The reason being that Rochester not only lost his hand, but his vision as well. He is not whole, is that why Jane finds herself equal to him? Is it because he is fully dependent on her? After reading valleygirl's comment, is is true that Rochester once had a power over her, but after the fire, he is at her level. Who has seen more trouble, Jane or Rochester?
What is for certainis that the freedom that she was searching for has finally been found. She got married, and everything was aaaaalll better!
Jane’s decision to leave Rochester and Thornfield may appear to be selfish but her intention is to learn to respect herself, and in doing so she will be able to love Rochester the way she had always wanted to. This is crutial in order for Jane to be ready to go back to Rochester.
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