Background:
· Published in 1847 during the Industrial Revolution
· During the early 19thcentury, it became fashionable to educate females
· However, free education was not yetavailable for either sex.
Significance of the book:
· The heroine is small, plain, & poor
· The heroine is the first femalecharacter to claim the right to feel strongly about her emotions and act on herconvictions
· This romantic ground had previously been reserved for males
· Such a psychologically complex heroine had never been created before
· Jane Eyre is a feminist! She is surrounded by foils:
o Mrs. Reed =archetypal mean mother
o Helen Burns= gave up
o Blanche =rich trophy girl
o Bertha =succumbed to craziness
Chapter 1:
· Jane is an orphan, she lives with her horrible aunt and cousins
· Jane Eyre is reading Bewick’s History of British Birds in the drawing room
· Jane’s aunt, Mrs. Reed, told Jane she couldn’t play with her cousins (Eliza, Georgiana, and John)
· Jane reveals John doesn’t like anyone but specifically her
· Jane is terrified of John
· John abuses Jane and is horribly mean to her
· John bullies her for being an orphan and said that the only reason she is there is because Mrs. Reed is so nice
· John hates her because she gets to have books and clothes like he does
· John throws a book at her and she hits her head on the door
· Jane loses it and Jane and John start arguing
· Mrs. Reed, of course, is upset with Jane and not John. She punishes her by sending her to “the red room”
o Uncle Reed died there so Jane thinks it’s haunted
o Seems like a little strict of a punishment…
Chapter 2
· Two servants, Miss Abbott and Bessie Lee, bring Jane to the red-room
· Jane resists but can’t
· Jane sees herself in the mirror and is surprised how ghastly she is
· She remembers her Uncle Reed (who I think she likes) bringing her there after her parents died
· His dying wish was that Mrs. Reed raise Jane
· Jane thinks Uncle Reed’s ghost is there and imagines he’s come to teach Mrs. Reed a lesson
· Jane yells out but Mrs. Reed just thinks she’s complaining so she ignores her
· Jane faints
Chapter 3
· Jane wakes up in her own room with Mr. Llyod, the doctor/apothecary and Bessie
· Bessie speaks up and says Mrs. Reed doesn’t treat Jane well
· Bessie sings to her and cares for her
· Mr. Lloyd asks Jane about her home life and then, after listening, suggests to Mrs. Reed that she be sent off to school
· Jane is excited that she might be able to get out
· Jane overhears Bessie and Miss Abbott saying Jane’s mom was wealthy and her dad was poor (clergyman). Shealso heard that the Reed family didn’t like her dad and that because they hated him, Jane’s mom’s father wrote Jane’s mom out of his well
· When Jane was really young, her parents got typhus and died
Chapter 4
· 2 months have gone by and she’s still waiting on word about going to the boarding school
· Jane has been treated even worse
· Jane is finally introduced to Mr. Brocklehurst, who runs the girl’s school Lowood
· Mr. Brocklehurst asks her questions about religion to which she says she isn’t interested
· Mrs. Reed tells Mr. Brocklehurst that Jane likes to lie and Mr. B says he’ll tell all her teachers
· Jane is sad and hurt so she explodes and is upset with her aunt
· Her aunt basically gives up
· Bessie says she likes Jane more than the spoiled brats and even sings her songs
Chapter 5
· Jane travels to Lowoodalone
· She’s showed the school and where she will stay, as well as the routine (aka cleaning and whatnot from sunrise to sunset)
· Mr. Brocklehurst is awful but Miss Temple (the superintendent) is very nice, like a school savior
· Miss Scatcherd, a teacher, is very rude and was rude to Helen, Jane’s new friend
· Helen tells Jane Lowood is a charity school for female orphans,
o This means it was free for the Reeds to send her there
· Jane also finds out that Mr. B is in charge of literally everything
Chapter 6
· Day 2
· The water is frozen so they can’t wash themselves
· Hour and a half of prayer and bible reading
· Jane is hungry, tried, and bored of sermons
o “I felt ready to perish”
· Miss Scratchard hit Helen and Helen barely cried
· Helen and Jane get closer and Jane realizes how smart and patient Helen is
· Helen also reveals her love of Christianity
o Helen says she practices “a doctrine of Christian endurance”
o She says: “Love your enemies; bless them that curse you; do good to them that hate you and despitefully use you.”
o Jane is like, why tolerate this if it’s not fair? And are you saying I should love Mrs. Reed? I can’t!
o Jane despises injustice but Helen says “Injustice never crushes me” because she’s looking towards the afterlife
· Helen is very critical of herself and forces herself to study, not daydream
Chapter 7
· Mr. Brocklehurst was away for a while but he comes back and it makes Jane nervous
o Jane is worried because she remembers Mr. B promises Mrs. Reed to tell all the teachers Jane is a liar
· Mr. Brocklehurst yells at Miss Temple for giving hem bread and cheese and having curled hair
· Jane drops her slate when he walks in and he yells at her
· Mr. B forces Jane to stand on a stool while he tells everyone she is a liar and basically outcasts her
· Helen smiles at Jane, hoping to help
o So sweet!
Chapter 8
· Jane is upset that everyone at the school hates her
o Helen tells her there are so many other people out there and that most people feel pity for her, not hatred
· Miss Temple brings the two girls into her office
o She gives them tea and cake
o Jane tells Miss Temple the truth
o Jane listens to Miss Temple and Helen talk intelligently
o Miss Temple promises to back up Jane and say she isn’t a liar; she writes to Mr. Lloyd
o Mr. Lloyd confirms and Miss Temple tells the whole school that Mr. Brocklehurst was lying
· Jane focuses on school and is really good at French and art!!
Chapter 9
· Spring brings moistness and half the school gets typhus
o Students are sent home, die, or stay unsafely
· Jane stays outside in order to stay away from the illness and likes being outdoors
o The healthy kids aren’t really paid attention to
· Jane thinks about death
· Jane learns Helen is sick and doomed to die of consumption/tuberculosis
· Jane sneaks into Helen’s quarantine room and Helen assures Jane she’s okay with dying because she’ll go to heaven. She says it’s okay, it doesn’t hurt, and no one will miss her.
o It’s a foil
· Jane is bothered that Helen is just giving in
· They fall asleep together and in the morning, Jane wakes up to find Helen dead
o “I was asleep and Helen was—dead.”
Chapter 10
· All the kids dying shows the horrible conditions at the school
· New people replace Mr. Brocklehurst
· 8 years go by and Jane does well in school, graduating first in the class
· Jane starts teaching at the school
· Miss Temple marries some guy and moves away
· Jane wants a life change so she puts out an ad for tutoring/to be a governess
· Mrs. Fairfax offers her the job of tutoring a young girl at the Thornfield manor
· Bessie updates Jane about what happened to her family
o Georgiana tried to runoff with a guy but Eliza told on her
o John is failing school and spending way too much money (kicked out of college and drunk)
o Jane is doing the best by far
Chapter 11
· Jane makes it to Thornfield Hall and is worried they will be snotty to her
· It’s a dark and gloomy mansion since it’s at night
· Jane meets Mrs. Fairfax, who she assumed is the owner, and is shown to her small but cozy bedroom
· Mrs. Fairfax is not in fact the owner but rather, the housekeeper. Mr. Rochester is actually the ownerbut he’s only there sometimes since he travels.
· Jane meets Adele Varens, the girl she has to teach
o She’s a little spoiled but bright/peppy
o Adele’s mother seems to be a prostitute
· Mrs. Fairfax gives Jane a tour
· Jane asks about who Mr. Rochester is
o “You cannot be always sure if he is in jest or earnest.”
o Apparently, he is a peculiar guy
· The third floor is filled with random stuff
o It’s apparently there incase Mr. Rochester comes back
o Jane says it’s so weird that a ghost might live there
o When they leave, they hear a strange laughter above them. Mrs. Fairfax says it was Grace Poole, a servant
Chapter 12
· Jane starts to get used to her new life and Adele
· After a little while, she starts to feel confined to the house and her role.
o “It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility.”
· She starts questioning the patriarchy and the restraints of being a women.
o “It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex.”
· Sometimes, she walks around the house and just daydreams
· Jane frequently hears that same strange laughter she heard on the third floor the first day
· When she meets Grace, her personality doesn’t match the laughter…suspicious
· In the winter, Jane is going to deliver a letter and she hears a noise and thinks it’s “Gytrash”, a spirit from Bessie’s ghost stories
o It’s actually just a big dog, horse, and rider
· The horse slips and falls so Jane helps the rider because he didn’t seem very masculine
o “I felt no fear of him, and but a little shyness. Had he been a handsome, heroic-looking young gentleman, I should not have daredto stand thus questioning him against his will.”
o “The frown, the roughness, of the traveler set meat my ease.”
· The rider questions Jane before leaving.
o “Where do you come from?”
· The rider was Mr. Edward Rochester!!!
Chapter13
· Jane, Adele, and Mr. Rochester have tea
· Mr. Rochester comes across as rude and removed
o “No wonder you have rather the look of another world.” – Mr. R
o He sees something in her, saying she belongs to the witching/fairy world
o He asks about her family and she says she has none
o He asks about Lowood/Brocklehurst and she says she didn’t like it
o He asks her to play piano and she does but he says to stop because she’s not very good
§ “Excuse my tone of command. I used to say ‘Do this’ and it is done; I cannot alter my customary habits for one new inmate.”
· Jane shares that she can draw so Mr. Rochester asks to see what she’s drawn
· Jane shows 3 pieces of her art
· Later, Jane tells Mrs. Fairfax that Mr. Rochester seemed rude
· Jane asked about Mr. Fairfax
· Mrs. Fairfax explains that he’s difficult because he’s had a rough life
o He inherited Thornfield from his older brother,who was given it by their father instead of Mr. Rochester
o Apparently Mr. Rochester’s father tried to make him wealthy through some sort of failed scheme…not sure what that is and no one will say
Chapter14
· Mr.Rochester is elusive and absent
· Mr.Rochester calls Jane and Adele to join him. He gives Adele a gift from Parisand then talks with Jane.
· Mr.Rochester asks her to move closer
· Mr.Rochester asks Jane if she finds him handsome and Jane says no
o She secretly does, though
· Mr.Rochester ROASTS HER
· Mr.Rochester asks her why she doesn’t find him attractive
o “Go on, what fault do you find with me, pray?”
· They have a somewhat flirty conversation about each others’ personalities
· Jane feels like Mr. Rochester reads her mind
· Mr.Rochester describes himself as experienced but misfortunate
o Harden from flesh into “Indian-rubber” and comments about if he has hope of returning to flesh
o He suggests that Jane could make him more human again
· Mr.Rochester is pretty rude to her
o “You are not pretty any more than I am handsome.”
· Mr.Rochester keeps trying to force her to talk
o She thinks: “If he expects me to talk for the mere sake of talking and showing off, he will find he has addressed himself to thewrong person.”
· Mr.Rochester continues being vague about his past and Jane gets confused so she stops talking
· Adele comes back and dances around
o Mr. R says she reminds him of Adele’s mother, Celine
· Mr. Rtells Jane he’d someday explain why and how Adele came under his care
Chapter15
· New day
· Mr. Rochester meets Jane in the garden and tells her the story of how Adele came into his care/how he knew her mother
o He had an affair with Celine Varens (Adele’s mother)
o Celine found him attractive so Mr. Rochester spoiled her but then found her cheating on him and making fun of how he looked to the other man.
o They broke up
o Celine says Adele is Mr. Rochester’s daughter and while there is a chance, Mr. Rochester doubts it but wanted to spare her fromliving a life of neglect and poverty
· Jane thinks about her conversation with Mr. R
o She is honored he trusted her with the story
o She realizes she enjoys his company
· Jane is startled awake in the middle of the night by laughing and moaning
· She goes to find Mrs. Fairfax but realizes the hallways is full of soke
· Mr. Rochester’s bed is on fire and he’s still in it
· Jane throws water on it and wakes up Mr. R
· Mr. R tells Jane to wait there and he goes to visit the third floor
· He comes back and confirms that it was Grace Poole.
· Mr. R thanks Jane but tells her to keep it all a secret
Chapter16
· Jane wakes up and is shocked that the servants blame the fire on Mr. Rochester falling asleep with a lit candle and then waking it up to put it out
· Grace Poole confirms that that is what happened but Jane knows it is not
· Jane asks Grace about the laughter but Grace says Jane must have imagined it
· Mr.Rochester leaves to go to an aristocrat party and Jane is disappointed because a) he left and b) she never had a shot
o “a greater fool than Jane Eyre has never breathed the breath of life: that a more fantastic idiot had never surfeited herself on sweet lies”
· Jane draws two pictures to remind herself she is below Blanche Ingram, a beautiful aristocrat
o “Portrait of a Governess, disconnected, poor, and plain” vs “Blanche, an accomplished lady of rank”
o she is talking herself down from pursuing a relationship with Mr. Rochester
Chapter17
· Mr. Rochester is gone for a while and Mrs. Fairfax tells Jane he might be going to Europe; she later says he’s coming back soon and bringing guests
· Jane is still suspicious of Grace Poole and keeps an eye on her
· Jane overhears a random servant saying Grace gets paid extra
· Mr.Rochester and his group arrives; Jane just observes
· Blanche is pretty and flirty and insults Jane
· Blanche makes Rochester sing with her
· Jane realizes she is in love with him but has no shot so she sneaks away to cry
· Mr.Rochester lets her go but says she needs to attend the future nightly parties
· He says "Good-night, my—"
Chapter18
· Jane has to watch Blanche flirt with Rochester every night for a few days but senses it’s not working
· Jane expects they will get married anyway because of their social positions
· Mr. Mason comes looking for Mr. Rochester while he is away
o He is weird and unusual
o Both him and Mr. R had business in the West Indies
· An old gypsy comes to the house to read fortunes
o Blanche wants to go first but apparently it didn’t go well
o The old woman asks to read Jane
Chapter19
· The gypsy tells Jane she is lonely and represses her feelings
o Jane knows the gypsy is right
· The gypsy says Jane can be happy if she reaches out to Mr. Rochester
· The gypsy says Blanche was upset by the gypsy saying Mr. Rochester isn’t THAT rich
· The gypsy asks if Jane has any love interests
o Jane says she is alone but she’s okay with that
o Someday, she wants to build a school
o She is a feminist! She doesn’t need men!
· The gypsy is Mr. Rochester in disguise!!
o Possibly symbolic of him being a mysterious man
· Jane is annoyed that Rochester fooled her
· Jane promises to stand by him and goes to get Mr. Mason
o Jane is devoted to him
Chapter20
· Someone screams at night but Mr. Rochester blames it on a servant having a nightmare
· Mr.Rochester asks Jane to go with him to Grace Poole’s room
o Shows his confidence in her
· Mr.Rochester and Jane find Mr. Mason on the ground bleeding with bite wounds
· Mr.Rochester goes to get a doctor and tells the two not to talk while he is gone
· Jane can hear groans and snarling sounds from Grace’s room down the hall
· Mr.Rochester brings back a surgeon to fix Mr. Mason and the latter leaves beforedawn
· Mr.Rochester walks with Jane and tells her a story clearly about his background
o He got in bad trouble when he was young but wanteda luxurious life of sinning
o He says the man wants redemption and a good lifewith a wife that he can’t marry (JANE!)
o Jane says he should look to God for redemption
o He says he will marry Blanche for “regeneration”(redemption)
§ He doesn’t want to reveal his past so he wants to just change his life
Chapter21
·
Chapter22
· Jane goes to Gateshead for a month to handle Mrs. Reed’s estate
· Georgiana goes to London to marry rich
· Eliza goes into a French convent
· Mrs.Fairfax sends Jane a letter saying Rochester went to London to buy a carriage
o Jane assumes it’s to marry Blanche so she is worried she will have to leave Thornfield when she gets back
· Jane runs into Rochester while out on the road
· Rochester asks her “if you don’t think it will suit Mrs. Rochester exactly” and says to her “wherever you are is my home”
Chapter23
· Two weeks after Jane gets back to Thornfield, Rochester tells her that he is marrying Blanche but found a governess job for Jane in Ireland
o I think he’s trying to push her to admit she wants him.
· Jane is disappointed and hurt: she wants Rochester, Ireland is far away, and she has grown to love Thornfield
o “Must I move on sir? Must I leave Thornfield?”
o “Do you think I a man automaton? A machine without feelings? And can bear to have my morsel of bread snatched from my lips, and my drop of living water dashed from my cup?”
o “It is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave, and we stood at God’s feet, equal—as we are!”
o “I am no bird and no net ensnares me.”
· Rochester then tells her to stay
· Jane is upset he chose a “loveless marriage” and declares that she is on her own
· Rochester admits he only said he was marrying Blanche to make Jane jealous then asks JANE to marry him
· Jane says yes and they kiss
· Later that night, lightning slices the spot where he proposed
Chapter24
· Rochester tells Jane they will get married in a few weeks
· He calls her “his” (“my mustard seed”) then says “Soon to be Jane Rochester” after shesays “It is Jane Eyre.”
· He tries to give her expensive gifts but it is controlling
o “I will clasp the bracelets on these fine wrists and load these fairy-like fingers with rings.”
o She calls herself “Puny and insignificant”
o “I will make the world acknowledge you a beauty ”he says
o Jane says “I would be a blue jay in borrowed plumes” because wearing lavish clothes doesn’t feel like HER
o Jane doesn’t like that he’s trying to turn her into something she isn’t: “I am not an angel and I will not be one till I die.”
· Jane asks if he’s ever loved anyone like her and he says “I never met your likeness”
o “you seem to submit, and I like the sense of pliancy you impart: and while I am twining the soft, silken skein around my finger, it sends a thrill up my arm to my heart.” (He likes her because she submits to him)
· Jane asks why he pretended to marry Blanche and teased her about it
o He confesses: “I feigned courtship of Miss Ingram, because I wished to render you as madly in love with me as I was with you; andI knew jealousy would be the best ally I could call in for the furtherance of that end.”
· Mrs.Fairfax congrats Jane but warns her that marrying outside her social place might be dangerous
o This annoys Jane
· Mr.Rochester takes her shopping and wants to get her big dresses, silver and gold, etc
o Jane wants plain clothes
· Jane is super happy (expensive gifts, big compliments) at first but then starts to feel objectified.
o She decides to ask to revert to her old clothes
· Mr.Rochester really wants to kiss her but Jane is pushing back
· Jane writes to John Eyre (her uncle) hoping she is his heir and thus, a higher class
· Jane keeps resisting Rochester’s big gestures and argues with him.
Chapter 25
· Mr.Rochester is away on business while the wedding day approaches
· Jane is walking around outside near where he proposed
· Mr.Rochester comes back and Jane recaps him
o She had a dream about being alone with a child crying
o She had another dream about Thornfield being wrecked and waiting for him to come home
o When she woke up, there was a strange woman standing there in her closet
o The woman was wearing Jane’s wedding veil and tore it
· Mr.Rochester brushes it off but then goes back and says it must have been Grace Poole
· Mr.Rochester makes a weird promise: to explain everything Jane doesn’t understand a year and a day into their marriage
· Jane cradles Adele that night
· When Adele leaves the next day, Jane cries
Chapter 26
· It’s the day of the wedding
· Mr.Rochester brings her to the church
· Jane sees two random people in the churchyard and also in the ceremony.
· The clergyman pauses for any objections
o “When is the pause after that sentence ever broken by reply? Not, perhaps, once in a hundred years.” (Jane thinks)
· One of the strangers then objects to the marriage, citing an “impediment”
· The stranger man is a lawyer named Mr. Briggs and he says Mr. Rochester is already married to someone else.
o The man says: “It simply consists in the existence of a previous marriage. Mr. Rochester now has wife now living.”
· Mr.Rochester objects and is angry. He asks for the information about the supposed wife.
o “I would remind you of your lady’s existence, sir; which the law recognizes, if you do not.”
o It’s Bertha Mason, a Creole woman
· Mr.Rochester says he might have married her but there is no proof she is alive
o The other man is Mr. Mason, Bertha’s brother, and confirms this is true. He saw her at Thornfield.
o Bertha apparently lives there
· Mr.Rochester is so angry but admits it’s true. He says Bertha is crazy and is kept up in the 3rd floor.
· He invites everyone back to his house to see how crazy Bertha is
o “You shall see what sort of a being I was cheated into espousing, and judge whether or not I had a right to break the compact,and seek sympathy with something at least human.”
· Back at Thornfield, they go up to the third floor. Grace Poole and a “lunatic” is there
o Jane knows it is Bertha
o Bertha looks crazy and animalistic
o “some stranger wild animal”
o “The maniac bellowed: she parted her shaggy locks from her visage, and gazed wildly at her visitors.”
· Bertha attacks Mr. Rochester and he wrestles her into a chair
o “she showed virile force in the contest”
· Mr.Rochester tells Jane that the Mason family didn’t tell her that Bertha was crazy until after they married
· Mr. Rochester says: “Remember with what judgment ye judge ye shall be judged!”
· Mr. Mason tells Jane that he knew they were getting married because John Eyre (Jane’s uncle) told him. John sent Mr. Mason to save her from the marriage. He would have gone himself but he has tuberculosis.
Chapter 27
· Jane knows she must leave Thornfield but when she tries, Mr. Rochester is there waiting for her. He asks her to forgive him. Jane doesn’t reply out loud but she does forgive him internally.
· Mr.Rochester begs her to come with him to France but Jane refuses to go and to become his mistress
o “It would not be wicked to love me.” he says “It would be to obey you.” she says back
o “Then you condemn me to live wretched, and to die accused?” he asks, as if it’s Jane’s fault
o He asks: “Is it better to drive a fellow-creature to despair than to transgress a mere human law, no man being injured by thebreach? For you have neither relatives nor acquaintances whom you need fear to offend by living with me.”
§ Translation: “You’d rather break my heart than commit adultery? Adultery doesn’t hurt anyone!”
o She says, about breaking laws: “If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth?”
· Mr.Rochester admits to being a coward and tells Jane the full story
o Mr. Rochester’s dad made his eldest son his heir
o He tried making Mr. Rochester a business partner with Mason in the West Indies. This included marrying Bertha to be attached toher inheritance.
o Mr. Rochester met Bertha briefly and thought of her as both exotic and beautiful.
o After they married, he found out that Bertha’s mom is alive and both of them are insane.
o By this time, Mr. Rochester’s father and brother were dead and he was bound to Bertha.
o Mr. Rochester brought her back to England and hid her in Thornfield.
o He hired Grace Poole to take care of her and then went back out to find a new wife.
o He instead was just with mistresses, include Adele’s mom, Celine
o He came home with Adele then met Jane
· Jane briefly considers staying so she can have a man but she also has self-respect
· She stays at Thornfield for now but she dreams of her mom telling her to go
· She sneaks away from Thornfield!!!
Chapter28:
· Jane is broke and when she drops off, she accidentally leaves her stuff
· She sleeps outdoors, comforted by nature and God
· Jane goes to a village hoping to find work or food but can’t find any
· Jane goes to a farm begging for porridge
· Jane wanders around and eventually ends up at a country home where two young women(Mary and Diana) are practicing German
· The servant, Hannah, thinks she’s a beggar (and she is) so Jane is turned away
· Jane collapses and thinks she is going to die
· The women’s brother, St. John, gets home and takes pity on Jane. She is taken in and is given food and a bed.
· Jane uses an alias of “Jane Elliott”
Chapter29
· Jane is recovering
· Jane tells Hannah she shouldn’t have judged her as a beggar. Hannah apologizes and shares that the girls’ father lost the family fortune in a bad deal and now work as governesses at Marsh End/Moor House
· Jane relates to them and shares her name and story
· St. John talks to Jane and offers to help find her a job
Chapter30
· Diana and Mary are nice to Jane and compliment her drawings
· St. John(who is apparently handsome) is cold but never mean
· St. John finds a job for Jane running a charity school but assumes she won’t like it because she will feel draft
· Diana and Mary assume that St. John will soon leave for a missionary post
· Jane learns it was their Uncle John who led their father into the business deal that cost them their fortune
Chapter31
· the kids can’t read and Jane feels like she deserves better
o “I felt degraded. I doubted I had taken a step which sank instead of raising me in the scale of social existence.”
· She is missing Rochester’s love
o “Whether is it better, I ask, to be a slave in a fool’s paradise at Marscilles, --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?”
· St. John comes in and ask why she is crying
· She says: “I have hardly had time yet to enjoy a sense of tranquility, much less to grow impatient under one of loneliness.”
· St. John likes to lecture. He says: “It is hard work to control the workings of inclination, and turn the bent of nature: but that it may be done, I know from experience. God has given us, in a measure, the power to make our own fate…”
· He shares that he decided to take control of his life and be a missionary
· This beautiful rich girl named Miss Oliver comes to check on the new school teacher but she really means visit St. John
Chapter32
· The kids and community start appreciating her
o “I felt I became a favorite in the neighborhood.”
· Jane still feels lonely and sad at night—she still has weird dreams
· Miss Oliver definitely has a crush on St. John: she is VERY flirty
· Jane points out that if St. John marries Miss Rosamond Oliver, he would get her fortune
o “You ought to marry her,” she suggests
o “Her promises are hollow, her offers false.” He says
o “I experience at the same time a calm, unwarped consciousness that she would not make me a good wife.”
· St. John says to let him be “a cold hard man”
Chapter 33
· Jane is reading when St. John comes to visit
· He tells her her own story but Jane was under a false name
· St. John suspects the runaway governess Jane Eyre is Jane Eyre but Jane stays quiet
· St. John got a letter from Mr. Briggs saying he was looking for Jane
· Jane asks if the letter included anything about Rochester
· The letter was actually saying John Eyre, her uncle, died, leaving her 20,000 pounds
· Jane then reveals herself thinking he already knew
· St. John knew because she signed her drawings
· Jane asks St. John why Mr. Briggs would have written to St. John unless she knew she wasthere
· ST. JOHNIS JANE’S COUSIN
· They share the Uncle John
· St. John= St. John Eyre Rivers
· Jane is happy to have a family and splits her fortune 4 ways
Chapter34
· Jane closes the Morton School for Christmas
· The girls like her!
· St. John asks Jane if she wants to work with the poor forever
o Jane wants to enjoy herself AND help others
· Jane goes to the Moor House to wait for Diana and Marry to come home
· St. John is unimpressed of Jane’s renovations but Diana and Mary sort of appreciate what she did
· St. John tells them Rosamond Oliver is marrying Mr. Granby and seems okay with it
· St. John seems more distant to Jane than he used to be
· St. John asks her to stop German lessons and learn Hindustani since he needs it for being a missionary
· St. John becomes very controlling and Jane doesn’t like it
· Jane is sad she doesn’t know what is going on with Rochester and that she is now lacking freedom
· St. John later says he wants to go to India and wants Jane to be his wife
· Jane knows going to India will result in a premature death but she agrees she would go as his sister
· St. John insists they get married and says if she rejects him, it’s like rejecting God
Chapter35
· St. John keeps asking Jane to marry him.
· Jane feels badly and politely declines every time.
o It makes him angry and more forceful
· Diana tells Jane not to go to India
· St. John prays for Jane and she softens.
· Jane thinks of Rochester (like hearing his voice), though, and hardens back up again
Chapter36
· Jane wonders if Rochester is actually looking for her and if he is okay
· She goes to Thornfield (even though St. John says not to)
· She goes to the house and finds Thornfield burned to the ground
o Bertha Mason set the house on fire and then jumped off the roof
o Rochester saved his servants but lost a hand and went blind
· Rochester moved to a house called Ferndean and has two servants named John and Mary
Chapter37
· Jane decides to go to Ferndean.
· When shearrives, she sees Rochester reaching outside to test for rain
· Rochesterlooks the same but sad
· When Janewalks up to the house, Mary answers and lets her in
· WhenRochester realizes Jane is there, he thinks she’s a ghost or that he isimagining it
· He hugsher and she promises never to leave him
· They goon a walk the next day and catch up
· Rochesterwas worried that Jane was in love with St. John but she says she isn’t
· Rochester asks her to marry him and she says yes since Bertha is dead
· Rochester tells Jane that he called out for her a few nights ago
o Which is what she heard somehow….
Chapter 38
· Jane and Rochester get married in private
· Jane tells her cousins and Mary and Diana send best wishes. St. John ghosts her.
· Jane goes to visit Adele and discovers she is very sad.
· Jane moves her to a better school and Adele grows up to be happier
· Jane is writing this after a decade of happy marriage and equal statuses.
· After two years together, Rochester gets vision back in one eye and they have a baby boy that he can see!!
· Diana and Mary are both married, St. John went to die in India
· She closes the book