Chapter Thirty-Two through Thirty-Eight (THE END!!!)

Hey everyone! We're in the final stretch for the blog! I really wish there had been more participation with it, but what do you do, right?

In chapter thirty-two, Jane admits to liking her job a little bit more. The students are becoming quite attached to her. There is a lady that works there named Rosamund, who Jane believes is in love with St. John. One day, Rosamund asks Jane if she will paint a portrait of her. While Jane is painting the portrait, St. John comes in. While he is observing Jane's portrait, he suddenly gets a strange look on his face, tears a small corner piece off of Jane's paper, and leaves.

• What do you think St. John saw on the paper?

Chapter thirty-three has a big twist in it. Not nearly as big as the twist during the wedding, but still very notable.
One evening, while Jane is reading a book, St. John comes in. He tells her a sad tale of a young orphan who became the governess at Thornfield Hall (0.o) and then disappeared after nearly marrying Edward Rochester. Jane knows the story is about her (well, duh), and confesses to St. John that she is Jane Eyre, the girl in the story. St. John tells her that he knew, and shows her the scrap of paper. It had her signature. St. John also reveals that John Eyre had recently passed away and left his entire fortune (which he DID find) to Jane. St. John then tells Jane that they are cousins. His Uncle John (who he was named after) was Jane's uncle, too. Jane is thrilled to have found family at last, and decides to divide her inheritance equally between herself and her three cousins.

• Wow. Did you see that coming? How coincidental is it that Jane would happen to stumble to her own cousins' home that evening when she had nowhere else to go?

In chapter thirty-four, St. John and Jane spend a bit more time together during the Christmas holidays. St. John had asked Jane to help him learn "Hindustani" with him as he prepared to go to India on a mission. Jane helps him, but is left feeling unhappy almost always. She finds St. John to be far to involved in his faith. Soon, St. John asks Jane to come with him to India and to be his wife. She vehemently declines, saying that they are not in love. St. John storms from the room, proclaiming that her denying his marriage proposal was the same as her denying the Christian faith.

• Overreact much, St. John? Why do you think he reacted so poorly?

Chapter thirty-five pretty much consists of St. John ever pressuring Jane to marry him. One evening, as he is saying the prayer over dinner, he prays for Jane. She is so overcome by his powers of speech that she briefly considers marrying him. All of a sudden, she thinks she hears Mr. Rochester's voice calling to her from a great distance. St. John's spell over her ends, and Jane readily believes that something fateful has happened.

• What fateful thing could have happened?

Where is Mr. Rochester now?
In chapter thirty-six, Jane contemplates what she experienced the night before. Truly convinced that Mr. Rochester is in trouble, she boards a coach to Thornfield, which, to her shock, she finds is a charred ruin. She goes to the Rochester Arms to find out what happened. Someone there tells her that Bertha Mason had set the house on fire a few months previously, and that Mr. Rochester had bravely saved all of the servants from death. When he tried to save Bertha, she flung herself out of the window and died. On his way out of the house, Mr. Rochester was injured, loosing a hand and his sight. Jane also learns that Mr. Rochester is living deep in the forest with two elderly people, John and Mary (VERY common names back then).

• So, I wanted Bertha gone, but not quite like that. What are your reactions to the incident?

Chapter thirty-seven finds Jane traveling to the house where Mr. Rochester lives. From a distance, she sees him stick his hand outside of the door to check for rain. When she sees the expression on his face, she is saddened, for he looks desperate and disconsolate. Jane approaches the house after Mr. Rochester leaves, and Mary answers the door. Jane carries a tray to the room where Mr. Rochester is, and sets it down before him, knowing he cannot see her. Eventually, Mr. Rochester recognizes Jane's voice, and at first, he thinks it is a spirit there to torment him. She tells him that she is real, and he takes her in his arms, overjoyed to be with her again. Jane promises Mr. Rochester that she will never leave him again. The next morning, they go for a walk in the woods, and Jane tells Mr. Rochester about what happened to her in the last year. Mr. Rochester again proposes to Jane, and she accepts, for Bertha is no longer a problem. Mr. Rochester admits to Jane that a few nights earlier, he had been so depressed, that in a moment of desperation he called out to her and thought he heard her answer. Jane deduces that it was the same night that she heard him calling for her.

• Wow. Totally unexpected reunion, right? Now that Mr. Rochester is "disfigured" should Jane love him any less? Why or why not?
• Do you think that Jane and Mr. Rochester really heard each other that night?
• Are you happy that they have reunited, or should Jane have ended up with someone else?

The moment of reunion between Mr. Rochester and Jane is so dear to me, that I wanted to share a clip with you all so you could envision it better.

So it's got a lot of artistic changes in it, but it is relatively the same. I do love it anyway. :)

Chapter thirty-eight...the end of the book. :'(
Jane and Mr. Rochester get married, the only witness being the clerk who performs the ceremony. Jane says that she is writing her story after being married to Mr. Rochester for ten years, and they are blissfully happy. She says that after two years of being married, Mr. Rochester began to regain some vision in one eye, and that when their son was born, Mr. Rochester could see him.

What a beautiful ending to a wonderful tale, don't you agree? This book continues to be one of my most favorites. :) I hope you all enjoyed following along with me!
Thanks for all your participation!
THE....END... :)

Chapters Twenty-Six through Thirty-One

Chapter twenty-six starts out with the wedding of Mr. Rochester and Jane. Everything appears to be going smoothly, until the priest asks if anyone objects to the marriage. A man steps forward and proclaims that there is an issue with the wedding, but Mr. Rochester tries to continue anyway. Eventually it is uncovered that Mr. Rochester married a woman in Jamaica 15 years previously (Mr. Mason's sister, Bertha!) Mr. Rochester says that she is indeed still alive and that he knew he would be taking a second wife by marrying Jane. The wedding party goes into the house to see Bertha, and after the excitement dies down, Jane locks herself in her room. She learns a bit later that her uncle John Eyre was acquaintances with Mr. Mason, and that he had sent Mr. Mason to Thornfield to save Jane from Mr. Rochester's falsehoods.
This chapter is depressing. The mystery unfolds, and the wedding falls apart.

• What were your initial thoughts upon reading this chapter?

Chapter twenty-seven...
After locking herself in her room earlier, Jane had fallen asleep for a short time. When she awoke, she found that Mr. Rochester was waiting on the threshold of her room for her. He assures her that he never meant to hurt her, and while Jane remains silent, she admits to herself that she has forgiven him. Mr. Rochester proposes that they elope to France where they would live as husband and wife, but Jane refuses, saying that she would only be a mistress to him so long as Bertha was alive (and divorce wasn't allowed back then). Mr. Rochester, seemingly desperate, then launches into the story of his past in an attempt to explain why he doesn't consider himself married....

• This should be good. What do you expect the story will be?

...When Mr. Rochester was younger, his father was dying and unwilling to split his fortunes. Leaving everything to Mr. Rochester's elder brother, Mr. Rochester was sent to Jamaica to marry Bertha, solely for money. Foolish in his youth, Mr. Rochester thought he was in love and agreed to the marriage. After the wedding, he learned that Bertha's mother wasn't dead, as he had been told, but that she was insane and locked up in an asylum. Not only that, but Bertha's brother (not THE Mr. Mason) was mute. The wedding had been a sham. Soon after, Bertha went absolutely insane as well. After setting Bertha up in a comfortable place with someone to look after her, Mr. Rochester left town. He contemplated suicide, but instead turned to debauchery. He had many mistresses, but all were disappointments to him till he found Jane. He said that she enchanted him from the start.
Jane is torn. She wants to be with Mr. Rochester, but knows that it is wrong to do so in this manner. She tells Mr. Rochester that she is going to leave, and grabs her purse, fleeing the house.

• This chapter is perhaps even more depressing than the one previous. What do you think is going to happen now? Happily Ever After ending or Wuthering Heights ending?

In chapter twenty-eight, we find that Jane has very little money, and winds up stranded. She sleeps on the ground and begs for food. The second night that Jane is away from Thornfield, she stops on a doorstep of a small family. She asks them for food, and they deny her shelter. She cries out in anguish, and the brother of the two women in the home hears her as he approaches the house. He lets her in, and they provide Jane with food and shelter. She tells them her name is Jane Elliot.

• Why would Jane give these kind people a false name?

In chapter twenty-nine, Jane continues to stay with St. John, Mary, and Diane, and Hannah. She learns about how Diane and Mary's father had lost most of their family fortune, forcing them to become governesses to survive. St. John promises to find Jane a job so that she can live comfortably.

That's pretty much the gist of this chapter. Nothing too exciting happens, as Jane is still recuperating from the wedding fiasco.

Chapter thirty spices things back up a bit. Jane befriends Diane and Mary, but St. John still seems a bit distant. St. John finds Jane a job running a charity at a school nearby, and Jane accepts it. After a month, Diane and Mary return to their jobs as governesses, and Jane is left at the house with St. John, who might wind up taking a job overseas.
That part is boring to me... nothing too important, but then....
St. John tells his sisters as they are about to leave for their jobs that their Uncle John died and left them nothing, as he had left it to another unknown relative. (ominous music returns)

• Who is Uncle John?
• Who is the unknown relative he left his money to?
• What did Jane get herself into this time?!

Chapter thirty-one is more boring than chapter twenty-nine. Basically, Jane leaves to go to where her job is. And she hates her new job. That's all. Kinda lame. :)

That's all for this segment! Tune in for the last one!

Chapters Nineteen through Twenty-Five

In chapter nineteen (in a bit of a follow up from chapter eighteen), there is a gypsy at the party that Mr. Rochester is hosting for his guests. Ms. Ingram had previously gone in to see the gypsy to get her fortune told, and when she came out, she was in a crappy mood. Jane soon goes in to see the gypsy after that, and is entranced by what she hears. She learns that the gypsy told Ms. Ingram that Mr. Rochester wasn't nearly as wealthy as he appeared, and that was why she was in such a bad mood.
Soon after this, the gypsy's voice gets deeper and deeper, until Jane realizes that it is Mr. Rochester in disguise. (0.o)

• Why would Mr. Rochester want to disguise himself as a gypsy in order to fool Ms. Ingram?

Jane chastises Mr. Rochester for fooling everyone, and Mr. Mason arrives at Thornfield.

In chapter twenty, after all of the guests have gone home, a loud cry for help wakes everyone in the house. Jane rushes into the hall, where Mr. Rochester is reassuring everyone that it was merely a servant having a bad dream. Everyone goes back to bed, but Mr. Rochester comes into Jane's room shortly afterward to ask for her help. It is then revealed that Mr. Mason had been stabbed in the arm. Mr. Rochester, Jane, and a doctor help to get Mr. Mason cleaned up and his wound cared for.
After Mr. Mason is asleep again, Jane and Mr. Rochester go for a walk in the orchard. Mr Rochester asks Jane if ("hypothetically") had a man had lived a life of impurity in his younger years, it would be possible to gain redemption by marrying a woman of higher worth than he. Jane replies that it would be up to the man to seek redemption from God and not another person (most likely realizing that Mr. Rochester is referring to himself). Mr. Rochester runs off quickly after asking if he married Ms. Ingram, would his sins be forgiven.

• As readers, we know the real Ms. Ingram. If Mr. Rochester knew her the same way, would he believe that marrying her would absolve him of his mistakes in younger years?

In chapter twenty-one, Jane reunites with her previous family, the Reeds. She learned that John had committed suicide, so she returned to Gateshead, where she tried to patch things up with Mrs. Reed (who had suffered from a stroke and was very near death). Mrs. Reed, being as stubborn as ever, refused to reconcile. A little bit later, she gives Jane a letter that she had received three years previous. It was from Jane's uncle, John Eyre. In the letter, he expressed a desire to adopt Jane and bequeath to her his fortune (the one that he had found in his travels. Bessie told Jane about John Eyre just before she left for Thornfield). Jane learns that Mrs. Reed hadn't forwarded the letter out of spite for Jane. Jane has grown a lot since leaving Gateshead, and forgives Mrs. Reed once more, still trying to patch things up with her. Mrs. Reed is as stubborn as ever, and she dies at midnight.

• Even after all this time, why would Mrs. Reed STILL hate Jane so much?
• Why did John commit suicide?
• What do you think Jane will do with the information she received in the letter from John Eyre?

In chapter twenty-two, Jane is still at Gateshead (where she remains for one month) because her two cousins, Georgiana and Eliza don't get along, and Georgiana is afraid to be alone with Eliza. Georgiana eventually moves in with an uncle in London, and Eliza (who has become quite plain) joins a convent in France. This frees Jane up to leave for Thornfield once more. As Jane heads toward home, she contemplates the news Mrs. Fairfax gave her (that all of the guests have left and that Mr. Rochester is buying a new carriage -- a sure sign that he is going to marry Ms. Ingram) and worries about what she will do when she sees Mr. Rochester again. When Jane arrives at the carriage station in Millcote (close to Thornfield) she happens to see Mr. Rochester there. He inquires as to why Jane has been away for so long, and she tells him of her aunt's death. Jane sees the new carriage Mr. Rochester has bought, for Mr. Rochester demands that she tell him whether it wills suit the new Mrs. Rochester perfectly (????). Jane then expresses to Mr. Rochester that she is glad to be back at Thornfield, and with Mr. Rochester, for she feels that it is her home....Back at the manor everyone greets Jane warmly.

• Who do you think Mr. Rochester refers to when he says "Mrs. Rochester"?

In chapter twenty-three, things get really juicy. :3
Jane has just spent the last two weeks in utter bliss. Everything is perfect in her life. One evening, Mr. Rochester invites her to walk around the gardens with him, and she accepts. He tells her about a governess position he knows of that is in Ireland, but Jane is extremely reluctant to take a job so far away from Thornfield. She finally decides she can't hold it in any longer, and confesses to Mr. Rochester that she loves him. (D'awww!!!) He then surprises her by proposing. <3!
She accepts, and the rush into the house (because it has started raining). As Mr. Rochester helps Jane off with her coat, he takes the opportunity to kiss her. Mrs. Fairfax sees this, and is clearly surprised.
BEST CHAPTER OF THE BOOK, EVER!
Here is a song to express my delight. Sorry it is always Kelly Clarkson. :)

In chapter twenty-four, Jane and Mr. Rochester are preparing for their wedding, and it's not going well at all. While Jane is incredibly happy, she is also unsure of whether the wedding will even happen, mostly because of their difference in class. Jane becomes very unsettled when she hears Mr. Rochester call her "Jane Rochester", and she has an even harder time getting past their differences. In an effort to even things out a bit, Jane writes to her Uncle John, trying to determine that if he made her his heir, perhaps she'd be more worthy of Mr. Rochester.
I am thoroughly bummed at this point in the book that things aren't going well at all. :(

• Why do you think things are going poorly?
• Why is Jane so bothered by the differences between her and Mr. Rochester?

In chapter twenty-five, it is the night before Jane and Mr. Rochester are to get married. Mr. Rochester had been gone from Thornfield for a little while, and when he returns Jane recounts a very strange event that happened while he was away: The previous night, Jane's wedding dress and expensive veil arrived. While Jane was asleep, she had a terrifying dream (for full details, read the book). When she awoke, she heard a rustling in her closet, so she went to find out what it was. She saw a savage-looking woman in there, and watched the woman tear her veil in two.
Mr. Rochester says it was just Grace Poole, and that Jane may have imagined some of it on account of the dream she had. Jane is not persuaded fully, so Mr. Rochester promises that he will explain everything after they have been married for one year and one day. Jane then goes to bed in the same room as Adele, for she is sad that she will soon leave the young girl.

• Do you think Mr. Rochester is telling the truth?
• What do you think he will tell Jane in one year and one day?

That's all for this segment! Keep up for the last two!

Chapters Fourteen through Eighteen

Hey everyone. Sorry it has been over 2 months since my last post. I learned shortly after my last posting that the due date for this project moved up to the end of April, so I procrastinated quite a bit. XD
Anyway, back to the show. ;)

In chapter fourteen, we learn a bit about Mr. Rochester (hooray!) It is noted that at first, Jane sees very little of Mr. Rochester, and that when she does see him, he is most often grumpy and rude. One evening he summons Jane and Adele to the parlor after dinner time. He seems to Jane to be much friendlier than usual, and Jane accounts it to the wine that he had been drinking at dinner. When Mr. Rochester confesses that he hasn't led the most pure and sinless life, Jane and he begin a philosophical discussion about sin, remorse, and reformation. They talk for quite a while, and near the end of the discussion, Mr. Rochester admits that he is raising Adele in order to try to make up for his sinful youth.
This is a relatively short and straightforward chapter. For me, it brought to mind a kind of confessional; the things Mr. Rochester admitted to would normally be confessed to a priest at this time.

• Do you think Mr. Rochester had confessed these things to a priest before now, or is this the first time he has spoken of it?
• Why did he feel comfortable telling these things to Jane?

In chapter fifteen, Mr. Rochester tells Jane about Celine Varens, the woman he fell madly in love a few years previously. He admits that it was stupid of him to think that Celine loved him, too, because one night Celine brought home another man, and together they made fun of Mr. Rochester. He says he ended the "affair" and went on his way, but not long afterward, Celine gives birth to a daughter (Adele) and claims that the baby is his. Mr. Rochester refuses to believe it, because Adele doesn't look like him, but when Celine runs off with a musician and leaves Adele, Mr. Rochester takes pity on her and brings her to England.

• How plausible is it that Adele is Mr. Rochester's daughter?
• If you were Jane, would that deter you from liking Mr. Rochester?

(still in ch. 15)
A few days later, around 2 a.m., Jane hears a creepy cackle outside her bedroom door, and scraping along the wall. She tries to tell herself that it is just the dog wandering the hallways, but when she hears a door open, she goes out into the hall to investigate. She sees smoke coming from Mr. Rochester's room. She goes in, and upon finding Mr. Rochester's bed ablaze, douses the fire with water. Mr. Rochester then wakes, and won't let Jane call for help. He tells her that it was most likely the crazy maid (mentioned in the last post) and that it was no big deal. Mr. Rochester then begs Jane to keep the incident a secret.
This scene was so rich in detail, that I really wanted to find a clip to show to see if it was as good as I imagined it.

So, obviously, this isn't an exact rendition of what happened in the book. But it was the only clip I could find that I liked.

• Why would Mr. Rochester ask Jane to keep this quiet?

Things are beginning to pile up at Thornfield...there is something going on that we don't yet know about, and it is extremely unsettling.

• If you haven't yet read the book, what do you think is going on?

In chapter sixteen, we learn that no one is shocked by what occurred the night before in Mr. Rochester's room. Jane is thoroughly shocked, especially when she learns that the servants all believe Mr. Rochester left a candle burning when he fell asleep. 0.o No one really suspects anything is amiss except for Jane. And the plot thickens...(eerie music)
Next, Jane discovers that she has romantic feelings for Mr. Rochester when she hears that he will be leaving town for a few days in the company of a very beautiful woman (that is not Jane).
AH HA! I knew it was coming! (Of course I did. I've read the book before, lol) Next we just have to find out if Mr. Rochester feels the same way and what will happen if he does.

• What do you think will happen now that Jane knows she loves Mr. Rochester?

In chapter seventeen, things get even more mysterious. Jane continues to be dismayed that Mr. Rochester remains gone, and is even more distressed when she learns that he may travel the continent of Europe without returning to Thornfield first, which means he may be gone for up to a year.
Just when things seem bleakest for Jane, she learns that Mr. Rochester WILL indeed be returning to Thornfield, accompanied by a large group of guests.
While the servants wildly prepare for Mr. Rochester's coming, Jane overhears them talking about Grace Poole (the insane servant mentioned a while back), and realizes that she doesn't yet know everything about what role Grace plays in the household of Thornfield. It gets even weirder when she learns how much higher pay Grace receives compared to everyone else.
Well, Mr. Rochester finally returns to Thornfield with his guests, and that evening hosts a bit of a gathering in the drawing room, which he insists that Jane attend. So she does at first, but when the guest begin treating her with disdain, Jane tries to leave. Mr. Rochester tries to stop her, but grudgingly allows her to go when he sees that she is crying. Before letting her leave, Mr. Rochester begs for Jane to come to the drawing room every night while the guests are there, then allows her to leave. As she walks away, Mr. Rochester begins to say something (that may or may not be magical) "Good night, my--"...

• What do you think he was going to say before he stopped himself?! <3

In chapter eighteen, nothing too consequential happens, but we do learn that the group of guests stays for about a week. During a game of charades, Jane sees Mr. Rochester and Ms. Ingram (the beautiful woman Mr. Rochester traveled with) competing, and it appears as though they will be getting married soon, even though they are not in love. Jane correctly assumes that Ms. Ingram only wants to marry Mr. Rochester for his money.

And that's the end of that section. Keep up for the last three sections that will finish up my project! Thanks for your support, everyone!

Chapters Eleven through Thirteen

Chapter Eleven:
In this chapter, Jane travels to Thornfield Manor, and upon arriving, meets Mrs. Fairfax. She is shown about the house, and learns a bit about her employer, Mr. Rochester, and the young girl she will tutor, Adele.
After Mrs. Fairfax shows her around, she tells Jane about Mr. Rochester's family, and how sometimes they have been known to be eccentric and sometimes violent. Jane then hears an eerie and suspicious cackle echo through the house. When she asks what it is, Mrs. Fairfax summons a girl named Grace, tells her to be quiet and remember her duties, and then excuses her. Mrs. Fairfax explains to Jane that she is a sometimes unstable seamstress who lives in the house.
My first thought upon reading that is: "What the--?!"

• Why on earth would you hire someone known to be unstable? And if you didn't know she was unstable when you hired her, why not fire her once you found out? I just don't get it. 0.o

That's the end of chapter eleven.
In chapter twelve, we learn that Jane finds life at Thornfield pleasant, but is often restless and will wander the topmost floor of the house to relieve her pent-up energy. (We will come back to this later).
One evening, a few months after she arrives at Thornfield, she is outside watching the moon rise when she spots a horse galloping toward her. (For some reason, this calls to mind a scary story Bessie used to tell her of a spirit that would scare off travelers...) Jane then realizes that there is a man riding the horse, and he is accompanied by a dog.
After the horse passes her, it slips on a patch of ice, and the rider is thrown to the ground. Jane helps him up, and introduces herself to him. She notes his handsome features, and he limps off toward the house. When Jane sees Mrs. Fairfax a bit later, she asks about the dog sitting in the room with her, and then learns that the man thrown from his horse was Mr. Rochester.
That's the end of chapter twelve...I honestly didn't have many questions or thoughts about this chapter, except the fact that it is worth mentioning how devilishly handsome Mr. Rochester is. :3
Chapter Thirteen
This chapter starts out the on the morning after Mr. Rochester (<3 *swoon*) returns home. He invites Jane and Adele to tea, and Jane finds him to be rather staunch (boo hoo). Even though he is rigid and cold towards Jane and Adele, he finds that he rather enjoys Jane's paintings, and asks to see more of them. Jane later mentions this to Mrs. Fairfax, who, in turn, explains to Jane that he has had a rough life. He was the black sheep of the family for a long time, and when his father died, his older brother inherited Thornfield. However, nine years previously, Mr. Rochester's older brother died, so the manor was handed down to him instead.
At first, upon reading this chapter, I find that I am put out by Mr. Rochester's manners, until I read what Mrs. Fairfax says. I know a lot about what it's like to be a black sheep in the family, so I pity Mr. Rochester.

• Why would Mr. Rochester be an outcast in his own family?
• Was he given Thornfield as a last resort, because no one else could keep it?
• If so, is Mr. Rochester bitter about his lot in life?

That's all for this post! Tune in for the next one, and PLEASE comment! Thanks everyone!

Chapters Eight through Ten

Hey again,
Here are chapters 8-10.
In the beginning of chapter eight, Jane is released from her punishment of standing in the middle of the classroom for being declared a liar by Mr. Brocklehurst. At first, Jane is sure that she will never live this moment down and that no one will ever be her friend, until sweet Helen assures her that the girls felt nothing but pity for the way Mr. Brocklehurst treated her, and that they didn't believe him one bit. Miss Temple then comes to the rescue and asks Jane for her account of events, and Jane tells her sad tale of being raised by Mrs. Reed. After hearing this, Miss Temple writes a letter to Mr. Lloyd (the doctor that recommended that Jane be sent to school). When Mr. Lloyd affirmed Jane's account of events, Miss Temple immediately publicly announces that Mr. Brocklehurst was misinformed.

• How must Jane have felt to finally have an adult on her side, one that would stick up for her this way?
• At this time period, do you think it was more or less common for a woman in Miss Temple's place to treat children with such kindness?

Jane is so relieved that Miss Temple and her classmates believe her, and she begins to excel at her studies, especially art and French.
That is the end of chapter eight.
Chapter nine brings with it the start of spring, and with the warm weather comes an outbreak of typhus. Nearly half the girls become ill, but Jane stayed healthy. At first, Jane assumes that Helen is sick with typhus as well, and figures she will get better in time. Soon, Jane discovers that Helen really isn't sick with typhus, and is dying swiftly from consumption (an phrase used back then, meaning tuberculosis). Jane, terrified that she won't see Helen again, sneaks into her bedroom one night to see her. Helen assures Jane that she feels no pain and is glad to leave the world of sorrow behind. Jane is not comforted much, and holds Helen in her arms while they slept. Helen died that night, and was soon buried in an unmarked grave.

• After waiting so long for a friend, Jane loses her rather quickly. How must she feel at this point towards whichever higher power she believes in? Do you think she still has any religious faith at this point, if she ever had any to begin with?
• While Helen was sick, Jane made friends with another girl, Mary Ann. How do you think things will work out between Jane and Mary Ann? Will Jane ever be able to think of Mary Ann as being as much of a friend as Helen was?

Chapter ten tells about how (after the typhus epidemic at Lowood was over) there were officials that investigated the cause of the outbreak. They discovered that Mr. Brocklehurst's negligent treatment toward the girls was a large contributor to the issue, and he was fired. New officials were brought in to oversee the care of the girls, and conditions improved dramatically.

• Would the change have been as dramatic for Jane as it was for girls that had lived there much longer than Jane had?

The next six years skip by in the next part of this chapter, and Jane graduates from being a student at Lowood. She then becomes a teacher at Lowood and is there for two more years.  During these eight years, Jane becomes wonderful friends with Miss Temple, and when Miss Temple leaves Lowood to get married, Jane also decides that she needs a change. After all, she had been there for nearly half of her life.
So, Jane advertises as a governess, and quickly receives a job offer to go to a place called Thornfield. She accepts, and just as she is about to leave, BESSIE shows up! They catch up on what has been going on at Gateshead (the place where the Reed family lives). Georgiana tried to elope, but Eliza foiled the attempt. John has sunk very low, he indulges in all sorts of nasty things we won't go into here, and he has also found himself married and then just as quickly divorced. He is a disgrace to his mother. Bessie then tells a fantastic tale about a man named John Eyre who showed up at Gateshead seven years previously, claiming to be her uncle. When he was told where Jane was, he decided that he didn't have the time to travel to Lowood, and instead went off to Madiera (near Morocco), in search of wealth.

• How must that have made Jane feel, finding out that she did have relatives, but that he chose to search for money instead of coming to see her? Do you think it even mattered to her?

 Bessie also reveals that she has gotten married and has children. After they spend some more time catching up, Jane departs for Thornfield and Bessie returns home.
That is the end of chapter ten.

• Is it normal that Jane would want a change in scenery only after her dearest friend departs first?
• What do you think will become of Jane now?

Personally, I know that this is another huge and life changing event for Jane. She doesn't know it yet, but her life hasn't even begun to get good.
Stay tuned for the next post!

Chapters Six and Seven

Hello all,
The main point of these next two chapters was relatively the same, so they will both be covered in this post.
On the second day that Jane is at her new school, she learns that life here isn't going to be all peaches and cream like she thought it would. All of the girls are underfed, overworked, treated horribly, and Jane is no exception. And yet, Jane isn't frightened by the fact that she will be living in such harsh conditions. The girl she met in chapter five, Helen, has become good friends with Jane, and patiently explains a lot of the goings on at Lowood.
Better yet, Helen is a wonderful example of patience and endurance through the hardest times. Jane mentions time and again how amazed she was that Helen could withstand being made the fool of the class over and over again without fighting back, when she knows that, had it been her being made a fool, she would have thrown a tantrum to show her disapproval of the situation.
At one point in chapter six, Helen tells Jane about the religion she practices, and about how it teaches you to love your enemies and take your punishments in silence. When Jane vehemently tries to persuade Helen that these viewpoints are incorrect, Helen won't take notice, and continues to tell Jane about her beliefs. However, while being taught her religion, Helen became very self-critical, and can only see her faults. Ironically, she can see Jane's virtues very well and praises her often for them. Jane finds herself wishing that Helen could see her own virtues as clearly as she saw others.
That's pretty much the sum of chapter six.
I find it very interesting and enlightening that this subject was touched upon in this chapter. Isn't it so true that we clearly see our own faults and not our virtues when we self-examine? And aren't we sometimes better at seeing other people's virtues and not our own?

• Why is it that we do this?
• Why would this subject have been brought up in this book?

Chapter seven provides some details about a few of Jane's experiences at Lowood in her first month there.
Most of the time that Jane is there is uninterrupted by Mr. Brocklehurst, but when he returns, it frightens Jane, for she remembers that Mr. Brocklehurst promised Mrs. Reed that he would make sure everyone knew about Jane's personality according to Mrs. Reed. Upon Mr. Brocklehurst's return to Lowood, it scares Jane so much that she accidentally dropped her slate (personal chalkboard-type thing) while he was in the room. Mr. Brocklehurst gets very angry and calls Jane careless, then forces her to stand on a stool in the middle of the room while he tells everyone that she is a liar. He then forbids the other girls to speak to her for the remainder of that day.
Jane is obviously humiliated, and when she thinks she cannot stand it any longer, Helen walks past and gives her a sly smile. This perks Jane right up, and for the rest of the day, Helen would periodically walk by the place where Jane stood to give her some more silent encouragement.
Jane finds that this experience helps her to understand a bit more what Helen means when she says she should take her punishment quietly.
That's the end of chapter seven.
The thing I noticed the most in this chapter was Jane's fear of Mr. Brocklehurst. It's almost like he is the male version of the Mrs. Reed Jane used to be afraid of. And Jane was right to fear Mr. Brocklehurst, or at least at first, for he fulfilled his promise to Mrs. Reed and tried to get Jane shunned by all at Lowood. He couldn't keep Helen away though, and this was very encouraging to Jane.
I love that Jane has finally found a friend closer to her own age. It is revolutionary for her.

• What joy would a man like Mr. Brocklehurst find in making young girls feel inferior and stupid in his presence?
• Why would anyone want to bring a child's spirit down like that?

Sorry that the posts are less in depth now than they were before; I just don't have the time to go through it sentence by sentence anymore. :)
Keep up with the blog, though! Stay tuned for the next few chapters!

A Brief Note

I have honestly done my best to blog about each individual chapter, but time is swiftly running out for me to do this project, so from here on out, each blog entry will be about either 3 or 5 chapters, depending on whether there is a specific theme that takes place in the section and how many chapters are covered in that theme. I apologize if that is frustrating to any of you. Thanks for your cooperation!!!

Chapter Five

Here's chapter five!
The beginning of this chapter starts out with Jane preparing to leave for school. She is so excited that she is awake long before the coach is to arrive. She finishes packing and heads out to the front gates with Bessie to meet the coach. When it arrives, we find out that she is to travel 50 miles to her new school, completely alone.

• Why is it that there wasn't anyone besides Bessie that was bothered by the fact that Jane was going to travel so far alone at her age?

However, Bessie charges the driver of the coach with keeping Jane safe on the journey. He happily complies. At one point, when the coach stops in a small town, the driver tries to get Jane to eat, but she is too nervous, so the driver takes her to a large, comfy room to spend some time in while the rest of the passengers ate. The coach driver treated Jane with respect and kindness.

• I find it interesting that nobody close to Jane treated her kindly, but a complete stranger did. Obviously, Jane isn't as awful as Mrs. Reed claims she is, but why does everyone she knows refuse to believe in Jane's good nature?

Well, Jane finally arrives at her new school. It is late evening, and the girls living at the school are about to participate in their evening scriptures and snack. Jane is far too tired to do much of anything except sleep, so she waits patiently until all of the girls are excused for bed.
The next day, all of the girls are awakened before it is light out, and they hurriedly prepare for the day's lessons and activities. Upon arriving in the dining hall, they discover that the porridge has been burnt, and hardly any of them are able to ingest it. Nearly all of the girls go hungry.

• What kind of budget must the school have to burn the food and still serve it, without trying to make it taste any better, and not care that it would make the girls sick to their stomachs?

The lessons commence, and the headmistress of the school, Miss Temple, provides the girls with bread and cheese to make up for the awful breakfast they were served. Miss Temple is a wonderful lady. However, she will most likely get in serious trouble with Mr. Brocklehurst for this kind deed. Mr. Brocklehurst is a penny pincher, and doesn't care if the girls go hungry.

• How fair is it that a man who could care less about how young girls are treated gets to be the owner of a school designed to help those very girls?
• Why was that the norm back then?

Once the girls have been properly fed, they spend a few minutes outside in the gardens. Jane is left to wander around by herself, and does so, until she sees a young girl reading a book. Jane, intrigued, wanders over to the girl and engages her in conversation. The girl tells Jane all about what the school is like and all about the teachers there, effectively praising Miss Temple some more. Jane finds that she really likes the company of this girl, and can't help but notice when the girl gets in trouble during evening lessons.

• After spending so long being ignored and learning to cope on her own, why does Jane suddenly feel so close to somebody now?

And that is the end of chapter five. In this chapter, I thought that the most important thing that happened was that Jane, a little girl who was previously "lost" per se, became found when she was finally able to leave the shadow she was in when she lived with Mrs. Reed.
I found a song that clearly illustrates this point, at least to me, and I'd love your feedback on whether you think this song is appropriate, and if not, what song would be a better one. :)

That's all for this chapter! Stay tuned for chapter six.

Chapter Four

Hello all,
Sorry it took me so long to get to chapter four. This week has been crazy busy, and I've been distracted. Okay, here goes nothing:
At the end of chapter three, we learn that there is a strong potential for Jane to get sent away to school. Some children may find this to be a frightening prospect, but Jane is thrilled. It is because of this hope for change that Jane has that she is able to fully recover from her awful experience in the red-room. Jane states that she can sense a change coming.
Perhaps because of the change she knows is coming, Jane becomes more and more flippant with Mrs. Reed. And Mrs. Reed treats Jane worse than ever. She forces Jane to eat alone, sleep alone, and stay away from everyone in the house except for Bessie. Mrs. Reed even goes so far as to instruct her children to stay away from Jane.
At one point, John goes to try and tease Jane some more, but Jane makes as if to punch him in the nose, and John runs away, frightened.
For just about any other child, being treated this way by supposed family would crush them. HOwever, Jane is positively fine with being ignored in this manner, for it is preferable to how she was treated before.

• The fact that Jane prefers to be ignored by her family is quite sad. How must it feel to prefer such a thing over human interaction?

Jane and Mrs. Reed fight more than ever now. Jane continually reminds Mrs. Reed of her promise to Mr. Reed on his deathbed to treat Jane with kindness and love, and Mrs. Reed is ever more disturbed by Jane's comments. After one particularly flippant remark, Mrs. Reed slapped Jane across the face.

• Any other child would burst into tears at this point, yet Jane does not do so, at least in front of Mrs. Reed. Just how much abuse would a child have to suffer, whether physically, mentally, or both, to not cry when they were hit?
• What would happen in this day and age if someone were to treat a child this poorly?

We soon learn that Mrs. Reed keeps Jane from participating in the holiday festivities. I know that, for me, had I ever been kept out of something like this, I would be extremely disappointed, and very angry. Yet Jane is not. She says that she doesn't like to go into company, for she is persistently ignored by everyone around her.

• What kind of influence must Mrs. Reed have on her friends and associates to convince every single one of them to ignore Jane all of the time?

Something I found very interesting was the attachment Jane had to her doll. While it is perfectly normal for every young child to have such an attachment to something, Jane found it ridiculous. But she still couldn't help loving her doll.

• Does every young child find their attachment to their toy or doll as ridiculous as Jane did?

We soon learn (well, the knowledge is reaffirmed, anyway) that Jane prefers Bessie to everyone else in the household, simply because she was rude to Jane fewer times than everyone else. Soon after Jane's experience in the red-room, Bessie adopts Jane as a helper in the nursery. Jane finds some measure of enjoyment in the help she gives to Bessie.

• Most children hate cleaning things up. Yet Jane enjoyed it. It is presumable that she enjoyed it because it was the only activity she was allowed to do, and because it gave her more excuses not to be around Mrs. Reed and her cousins. How deprived must a child be to prefer cleaning over playing?

Soon, Jane is called into the drawing room to meet a man. Mr. Brocklehurst is the head of Lowood School for Girls. He came to the estate to "interview" Jane, and to decide whether she should come to school there. When Mrs. Reed claims that Jane is deceitful, Mr. Brocklehurst begins to question Jane about some rather peculiar things. First he asks her where the wicked go after they die, then he asks her what hell is like, and finally he asks her if she wants to go there. Of course Jane replies that she does not, and when Mr. Brocklehurst asks Jane what she can do to avoid it from now on, she has no reply.

• Does Jane really believe the lies that Mrs. Reed tells her about her character? Does she really believe she will go to hell when she dies?

I find this to be an extremely odd conversation to have when interviewing a child for a school. Next, Mr. Brocklehurst asks Jane if she reads from her bible. Jane says yes, she does, and then proceeds to list nine books that she really enjoys reading in the bible. That is impressive, to me, for a ten-year-old to enjoy the bible that much. Yet it is not enough for Mr. Brocklehurst. He inquires if she enjoys Psalms, and when Jane says no, that they "are not interesting"¹  Mr. Brocklehurst says that that is a sign of a wicked child and that she has to pray for a softened heart. I find this ridiculous, and so did Jane. Still, she doesn't say anything aloud to Mr. Brocklehurst, who continues on about how wonderful his son is because he loves to read out of Psalms.
Well, Jane is accepted to Lowood School, and Mr. Brocklehurst departs. When Mrs. Reed tries to send Jane away, Jane doesn't leave, and instead confronts her about all of the wretched things she told Mr. Brocklehurst about her. Mrs. Reed becomes frightened at Jane's accusations, and attempts to make her think that everything she did was for Jane's own good. But Jane doesn't buy it. Eventually, Mrs. Reed leaves the room, and Jane is left to do whatever suits her fancy.
So Jane wanders around outside. When Bessie comes to find her for lunch, after initially trying to scold Jane, they both end up declaring that they are more fond of each other than of anyone else in the house.  In fact, Bessie says that when her mother was visiting the previous week, they agreed that they wouldn't wish for any child to be in the position Jane was in, nor to be treated the way Jane was constantly treated. This made Jane very happy to know she wasn't the only one that thought Mrs. Reed treated her poorly. The rest of the afternoon passes in "peace and harmony"². Jane states that "even for me, life had it's gleams of sunshine."³
I find that I am thrilled that Jane has found some measure of peace where she is at, even if she is leaving for school in the next day or two. And so ends chapter four. It was a long one. But it was full of wonderful information, and quite a few answers to previous questions I have posed. Stay tuned for chapter five!


Footnotes:
1. Jane Eyre, Chapter Four, page 32, middle of the page.
2. Jane Eyre, Chapter Four, page 40, final paragraph.
3. Jane Eyre, Chapter Four, page 40, last sentence of chapter.

Chapter Three

Hello,
Here is my assessment of chapter three!
In this chapter, Jane recovers from her fainting spell in the red-room. For the first time in her life, Bessie is being kind to her, and yet she can't help but still be sad. The doctor comes for a follow-up visit later in the day, and asks Jane if she wants to go to school. She says yes she does, and little does Jane know, this moment will change her life forever.
I love this chapter because it is a new beginning for Jane, or very close to one. She has lived in a wretched state with her aunt and cousins for ten miserable years, and she is finally presented with the chance to be happy.

• What would you do if you were presented with an opportunity in much the same way Jane was?

I find it very interesting that Jane is offered a delicious pastry on a plate that she has admired from afar for a long time, and yet she is so depressed she refuses it.¹

Even stranger still, Jane goes to read one of her most favorite books, Gulliver's Travels (allusion, ya'll!), and she is again too depressed to read it.
The fact that Jane is this down in the dumps is rather huge, as she hasn't reacted this poorly to much of anything in the 10 years that she has been tormented by the Reed family.

• Why is it that thinking she saw a ghost has scarred Jane this badly?
• Have you ever felt this way?

While I really do love this chapter, it is rather short and relatively redundant. So, lets sum up by saying Jane is presented with an awesome opportunity, and it will change her life for good.

Till next chapter!

1. Jane Eyre, Chapter Three, page 17, a lot of the first paragraph describes this.

Chapter Two

Okay, I've finished chapter two. After I finished blogging about chapter one, I realized that it took a really long time to write it, and that it was extremely long. Therefore, I decided that I really need to condense what I write, so that people don't lose interest too quickly.
So here is my analysis of chapter two:
Jane has just been sent to the red-room by Mrs. Reed. At first, we have no idea what the significance of this room is, but we find out soon enough. This chapter talks about the experience Jane has in the room.
At first, in this chapter, Jane puts up a huge fight on the way to the red-room. She is called all sorts of names by Bessie and Abbott, and then she is belittled. She is told that John Reed is "her master" and that she is "less than a servant"¹ . This only serves to make Jane more irate and when she won't sit still in the red-room, the maids threaten to tie her up in order to make her sit still.
What a cruel situation to place a NINE YEAR OLD in. I can scarcely believe how badly Jane is treated.
Once she finally sits still in the room, she observes her surroundings. The room is freezing, and she soon "grew...cold as a stone."²  
What a way to ensure that a small child catches cold.
While Jane is stuck in the red-room, she muses about the fact that, while she has been treated horribly for her entire life, she knew from experience as a very young child what the people in the household thought of her, and how they would most likely treat her. Yet she can't help but wonder why exactly she is treated this way. What did she do to deserve her fate?
Jane is so miserable trapped in the red-room that she contemplates running away. She even goes so far as to consider starving herself to death just to evade her misery.

• How must it be to feel so alone and miserable and mistreated that you would consider dying that way?

Jane now recognizes the fact that if she were less reserved Mrs. Reed would most likely treat her better. And yet, she also realizes that if Mr. Reed hadn't died, he most definitely would treat her well, and that would nearly force Mrs. Reed to do the same. 

• If Mrs. Reed loved her husband as much as she said she did, why did she not honor his dying wish?

Now Jane remembers something she heard someone say once: that a spirit of a deceased person may return if their dying wishes aren't fulfilled. She immediately is frightened, and thinks she sees Mr. Reed's ghost. In a panic, she pounds furiously on the door, and the maids rush in. Mrs. Reed, unsympathetic forces her to stay in the room. Jane, so overcome with anxiety, passes out.

In order to show you a bit of what this may have been like, I looked up a video clip of what happened in this scene:

Okay, that's everything for this chapter. Tune in for chapter three.

Footnotes:
1. Jane Eyre, Chapter Two, page 7, top of the page.
2. Jane Eyre, Chapter Two, page 11, bottom of last paragraph.

Chapter One

Hello! I've just finished reading chapter one. It's rather short, only 5 1/2 pages, but I feel like there are already a lot of questions to answer, and only a little bit revealed about the story line. Of course, I have already read the book, so I know a lot of the answers to these questions I will pose already. However, the point of this blog (I will reiterate, just in case) is to get some different perspectives on the information and story provided from chapter to chapter.
Now, in chapter one, we get a bit of a feel for the conditions in which Jane lives in. She lives with her horrid aunt and three nasty cousins: Mrs. Reed, and John, Eliza, and Georgiana Reed. They treat her the way that Cinderella was treated by her step family. Very little is revealed about Jane's history or personality, but the Reed family is described a bit more in depth.
From this point on, I will pose the questions and put down the thoughts I had from the beginning of the chapter to the end.
The very first thing mentioned is the poor weather and the fact that Jane is pleased that they do not go for a long walk that day. It is November, freezing, and very dreary. I suppose that if I were in this type of weather (persistent rain and bitter winds) I would be as unhappy as Jane seems.

• Is Jane really depressed at this point?
• Why does Jane claim she is physically inferior to her cousins?

The very next thing I noticed, and deemed important, was the way Mrs. Reed talks down to Jane.
Quote: "Me, she had dispensed from joining the group, saying, "She regretted to be under the necessity of keeping me at a distance; but that until she heard from Bessie, and could discover by her own observation that I was endeavoring in good earnest to acquire a more sociable and childlike disposition, a more attractive and sprightly manner--something lighter, franker, more natural, as it were--she really must exclude me from privileges intended only for contented, happy little children." " End quote.¹

• Why does Mrs. Reed believe Jane is not sociable, childlike, happy, etc?
• Why is the solution to this problem keeping Jane away from other people?
• Surely that cannot help to make her more sociable if she really is antisocial?

Next, I'm very sure that there is a symbol presented in the book Jane chooses to read. However, I actually am unsure what it means and why it is there. There is a passage quoted from the book that she is reading:

Where the Northern Ocean, in vast whirls,

Boils round the naked, melancholy isles

Of farthest Thule; and the Atlantic surge

Pours in among the stormy Hebrides.²

I can't help but wonder if Jane is reading a book about birds because she longs to (and this sounds cheesy) "fly" away from her troubled life with the Reed family.

• What exactly is the symbol represented here, if any, and what does it mean?
• Why does Jane choose to read about birds, of all things?

Now we see that Jane is looking out the window at "pictures", I guess...there is a graveyard near the house she lives in (I think) so I wonder if the pictures she describes are on the headstones or not.

• What are the pictures Jane is looking at, and where are they?

Jane mentions that the pictures she is looking at are almost as interesting as the stories Bessie sometimes tells when she is doing the laundry, stories she later learns are from books: Pamela and Henry, Earl of Moreland.

• What is the significance of the fact that she learns the stories she's heard from Bessie are from these books?

Next we get a taste of what John is like, and he is a horrible, nasty thing. The first words we hear from his mouth are, "Boh, Madame Mope!" A name he has come up with to call Jane. I frown upon this. Next we learn that John is so stupid (or mean) that he cannot even get Jane's name right. He calls her Joan. Then Jane describes him as "not quick either of vision or conception." I always laugh at that part. At this point, Jane describes herself as being awkward.

• Why does she describe herself as awkward?

Jane mentions the fact that John is 14 and that she is 10. I can't help but wonder why we jump into the story on this particular day, and why there is no history given (as of yet) of what happened in Jane's life up till this day.

• Why do YOU think that this particular piece of information is left out in the beginning of the book?

Next is one of my most favorite parts of this chapter. She mentions the fact that John is large and stout, and that he "gorged himself habitually at table, which made him bilious."³ (Bilious, by the way, means ill-tempered.) Whenever I read this part, it nearly always reminds me of Dudley Dursley.

• What does John remind you of?

Once Jane mentions John's largeness, she begins describing his character: that he felt little to no love for his family, and that he particularly hated and tormented Jane. Jane says that "every nerve I had feared him,"⁴ and that when he would hit her or tease her, Mrs. Reed was "blind and deaf," even if it happened right in front of her, which it often did.

• Besides Mrs. Reed's nearly obsessive "love" for John, why would she ignore the fact that Jane is constantly bullied and beat up?

Jane states that she was very accustomed to John's abuse, and that because of her fear of him, she was "habitually obedient." Jane was so afraid of John that she nearly always failed to stand up for herself.
On this particular day, when John comes in to torment Jane some more, he states that "she ought to beg" for everything that she had, and that she shouldn't be allowed to live within the means that he did. John Reed was wicked and abusive. When his words are finally too much, and after he throws a book at Jane and splits her head open, Jane finally retaliates, only to find that Eliza and Georgiana had fetched their mother. Mrs. Reed, again blind and deaf to Jane's needs, immediately punishes Jane for being in such a "fury to fly at John."⁵ Jane has now been sent to the red-room, of which we know nothing at this point.

• How is it that, seeing how extensive Jane's injuries are, and how little John has been hurt, Mrs. Reed and the servants can be so cruel to Jane, and instantly accuse her of being the one that started the fight?

Okay, that's my analysis of chapter one! Please comment, and tune in for chapter two!



Footnotes:
1. Jane Eyre, Chapter One, page one; middle of third paragraph.
2. Jane Eyre, Chapter One, page two; middle of second paragraph.
3. Jane Eyre, Chapter One, page four; middle of second paragraph.
4. Jane Eyre, Chapter One, page four; middle of third paragraph.
5. Jane Eyre, Chapter One, page six; top of last paragraph.

The Beginning of Something Great

Hey all,
I started this blog for an English class of mine at UVU, and the point of it is to examine the book Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte in depth. Each time I finish a chapter, I will post my thoughts, ideas, questions, any audio/visual material I find appropriate for the themes, etc. In return, I would greatly appreciate your thoughts and comments.
The point of the assignment was to come up with something fantastically creative to go with the novel of my choosing. Now, I have studied Jane Eyre before, but I also realize the fact that there is a lot of information in the 527 pages of this book, and that it cannot possibly all be discovered in reading it one or two times. It is most likely that I could read this book a thousand times and not find everything.
I'm not just doing this blog for the grade, though. I love this story so much. I don't even need to argue my point.
Well, now that I've summed up what this is about, I will post again once I've finished a chapter or two.
Thanks!