Jane Eyre Journal 4

Three monents of “Mr. Rochester to Jane Eyre”

(J=Jane, R=Rochester, B=Blanche)

     One of the most interesting and challenging things (at least to me) to do with a romance is to catch the moment that hero and heroine fell in love with each other and who is the first one to recognize the feelings. The boundary of “when exactly” is always blurry because of different understandings, but I think all readers would agree—there're some moments before the hero and heroine made clear confessions, and it's those moments and the later process made them pile up their feels which confuse themselves but also help clear their minds. After reading those moments again and again, the readers will suddenly really, “wow, he/she has fallen in love with her/him at that time”.

 

       In Jane Eyre, what I firmly believe is Mr. Rochester got initiative at the beginning of the relationship, because--

• He is the master and experienced one,
• He is interested in Jane in the first place and started all conversations with Jane (because of curiosity and instinct)
• He exposed his past and stories to Jane first-- on account of his words and deeds, Jane was aware of her strong feelings for him.

       I concluded briefly with three moments and also dialogue between Jane and Rochester which symbolized R's confession to J. In all of these conversations, Rochester wished to express more but paused. I call them “the unfinished”.

Moment 1 (end of Chap.15):

the night that fire incident happened, in Mr. Rochester’s bedroom. R held J’s hand and with warm words and special looks.

Key sentence: “What! You will go?”

→ The blaster of love (direct cause of J's feeling). 

Moment 2 (end of Chap. 17):

Jane felt uncomfortable in the party (hearing the rich’s comments on governess) and quickly quitted with depressed look. R comforted her and gave her excuse to leave. 

Key sentence: “Good night, my—”

→ What is it after “my—”?

1) My Jane? Did he think Jane was or would be hers (possess of love)?

2) My love/ darling something like that? Is it appropriate?

→ Why did he pause?

1) He was afraid to confess this love despite age differences

2) He realized that she was not hers (yet).

→ At this moment, R realized there’re still distance between Jane and him. 

Moment 3: (The interesting part I chose to analyze,from Chapter 21, Page 223-226): the dialog between Mr. Rochester and Jane before Jane's leaving for Gateshead to see her dying aunt. 

Here is my summary of this dialog's lead and Mr. Rochester's response

1. J inquired of R, calling Blanche “that person”:

R's face was curious, strange and equivocal → both of J & R recognized B’s special existence

2. J asked for absence:

R showed concern and asked for detailed reasons

→ R was surprised J didn’t tell him about her family 

3. R's compromises and nervous tone inch by inch :

stay “as short as possible” → only “a week”

→“at all events will come back”

4. R mediated and ask for departure information(time and safety)

5. Money /salary issue:

R gave J money more than her asking → J bargained

→ R used salary unpaid wage as a “bait” to “ensure” her coming back

6. J’s new job and R’s “potential marriage” issue:

“Go straight to ‘Devil’” → “shouted” → J didn’t want his help → R got angry, spoke bitterly: “walk up the pyramids of Egypt” → R played childish: “Little niggard” Wanted his money back → R claimed to make arrangement for J

7. R asked J to teach him the ceremony of parting:

“Farewell” → “must I say?” → “is that all?”

→ it’s “stingy”, “dry”, “unfriendly”

→wanted more, even handshake was not enough

→ “blank and cook—‘farewell’ ”

I am especially interested in the 7^th point. 

R apparently knew how to act as a gentleman in a parting situation, but he still asked Jane, what was his intention?

 

My understandings are:

• It's polite to say some formal good-bye. It seemed make sense to say something about parting in a situation like this.
• His abnormal behavior and upset feeling was agitated by Jane’s leaving. And his unbeknown childish side could only be evoked by Jane!
• He was nervous and couldn’t come up with other better topics, but still wanted to stall for more time with Jane before she left.
• He just couldn’t help expressing his feeling using irrelevant

Jane Eyre Journal 3

      In chapter 15&16, Mr. Rochester held Jane’s hand after she saved his life from the fire. There was a special moment between them, something feelings were growing, but Mr. Rochester paused and Jane was too inexperienced to admit it—“the first taste of love”. She wished and feared to see Mr. Rochester the next day; however he was gone and left all those confusing and complicated feelings to her.

 Here is the interesting passage I chose to analyze（from Chapter 17 Page 166）--

“You have nothing to do with the master of Thornfield, further than to receive the salary he gives you for teaching his protégée, and to be grateful for such respectful and kind treatment as, if you do your duty, you have a right to expect at his hands. Be sure that is the only tie he seriously acknowledges between you and him: so don’t make him the object of your fine feelings, your raptures, agonies, and so forth. He is not of your order: keep to your caste; and be too self-respecting to lavish the love of the whole heart, soul, and strength, where such a gift is not wanted and would be despised.” 

        I think every girl who read this passage of Jane’s interior monologue would feel a blow on the heart, especially those who once bore a secret love for someone. This is Jane’s second time to say such harsh words to herself (the first time was in Chapter 16); this time was after Mr. Rochester’s leaving for ten days, she “was beginning to feel a strange chill and failing at the heart”.

 

      We can image how hurtful it is when Jane, who had no love experience and for the first in the life, felt a connection and warmness with someone, but couldn’t read and understand his feeling. She spent her restless night on thinking about those vague signs instead of seeing any actual respond, all she could do to stop this romantic despair, was ending up with a conclusion—it was an impossible and hopeless love. 

     To make this conclusion convincing, she had to be heartless to herself by using all kinds of reasons, by considering herself sentimental and foolish, by recognizing the reality and drawing a clean line between her and Mr. Rochester. These words let us see the tender part of a girl’s heart. — She didn’t degrade or blame Mr. Rochester but herself. From this, we can see her pure feeling for Mr. Rochester, and deep down inside, she did some inferiority complex when thinking about him, the man she started to fall in love.

Jane Eyre Journal 1 & 2

 

Note: comments in green and yellow colors are from Classmates & Professor

Journal 1 :How would Jane like Mrs. Mallard in The Story of An Hour ?

I don't think Jane would like Mrs. Mallard, she might even contempt her. 

Jane is what one may call a feminist. (perheps!)She is an independent and educated woman. She is brave and has a strong will to live. 

What Jane and Mrs Mallard in common is both of them long for freedom.(agree)
What differentiated them is Mrs. Mallard submitted to the reality. 

Mrs. Mallard lived a oppressive life, that's why she felt a new life when she thought her husband was dead which was not true. 

However, Jane chose the resistant life path.(I'm curious to see if you think she will keep up this resistance?) She is a unyielding character.

I urge you to think of Jane for a second, did she live an oppressed life as well？
Perhaps Jne is the version of Mr. Mallard prior to her marriage even. Both women are obviously independent and crave the satisfaction that derives from it.

Journal 2:What kind of story is Jane Eyre?

     The novel was written in the first person form, which made it sound like an autobiography of Jane Eyre(right)—she was telling people her stories, how she read life through her eyes, how she responded to those experience, and how she grew up and become what she was later. 



     As a good example of intelligent, brave and independent woman, Jane Eyre's story was also a history of her striving and development. There might be some descriptions of her unfortunate childhood and the secrets of Mr. Rochester's past, which made the mood in the story a little dark,(critics call it Gothic) but those served as a foil to her shining characteristics.



     From story between Mr. Rochester and Jane, we can also call it a romance in a way. But as the title of the novel showed, Jane Eyre was the main key to the theme of book-- she was the protagonist, and it's a life story of her pursuing liberty, dream and happiness.

1.

I like  how you emphasized Jane throughout the whole story. It's an interesting point that that the other characters are foils to augment the reader's impression of Jane.

This is a life story and therefore it contains elements of life (coming of age, romance,etc.).But ultimately  Jane is the main focus--good point.

2.
Good point on the autobiography. Bronte does throw in Jane's present thoughts as if she is analyzing and telling the story of life.