Like always, discuss anything you’d like in the chapters from Jane Eyre assigned for today. Here are some topics that might be of special interest:
- After the proposal, how does Rochester treat Jane and how does Jane react? What do you think these chapters say about the pull between romance and realism in the novel?
- Discuss Bertha Mason and what she represents in the novel. How are the West Indies, in general, described?
- Do you think Jane makes the right decision to leave Thornfield?
- What do you think of Moor House and St. John (pronounced “Sinjin”), Mary, and Diana Rivers? How do they contrast/compare to the Reeds? Why these doubles?
- Talk about the importance of religion in this section of the novel.
- Discuss the recurring imagery of fire and ice in these chapters.
Bertha Mason is a very interesting character in the story who can be looked at in a few different ways. It seems that she is meant to be the mirror to Jane’s character. This becomes especially apparent when Jane looks in the mirror on the morning of her wedding and sees someone she does not recognize; “So I turned at the door: I saw a robed and veiled figure so unlike my usual self that it seemed almost the image of a stranger.” (269). This also comes after seeing the figure of Bertha Mason in the middle of the night, trying on the veil and looking in the mirror. This signifies that there is a part of Jane that can be found in Bertha as well. This could be the passion that occasionally finds its way out of Jane that she has to keep the reins on. The passion (or fire) that Jane holds on the inside are feelings that Bertha regularly expresses, hence her “madness”. There are also different ways to look at Bertha, such as in the colonialism reading where Bertha represents the oppression of other races. Mr. Rochester tossing Bertha aside can symbolize the British exploitation of different cultures and races for their own gain.
I was admittedly very surprised by the racial microagressions that was adopted when Rochester was telling the story of his time in the West Indies, and the way he described Bertha Mason. I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised considering the time period in which it was written, but the underlying tone of colonialism and British imperialism was admittedly tough to read. I was really interested in the religious intensity in the final section of the novel. While Jane has been pretty pious throughout the entirety of the novel, being around St John and having her morals tested and challenged really emphasizes to the reader how important religion is to her, but we also see a contrast between her religious piety and her newfound self respect and self confidence. Additionally, similarly to Northanger Abbey, the climax and final portion felt very abrupt and a bit surprising. Jane’s somewhat sudden decision to go find Rochester and reunite with him and their almost immediate marriage seemed a bit rushed, but I was admittedly rooting for them. Ultimately I was really interested in the way that Jane’s tendency towards submission and obedience due to the way she was raised conflicts with the self respect gained from her lived experience
The proposal between Jane and Mr. Rochester was another example of how Mr. Rochester enjoys manipulating and playing games. He started the interaction with surprising her by letting her think he did not see her in the orchard. Then, as they are talking, he asks her if she loves Thornfield, Adele and Mrs. Fairfax. He has her talk about the love she has for her safe life, with many comforts and the feeling of family. Only after to, so casually, tell her she has to leave immediately because he is getting married. She begins to cry, and he does not outright comfort her. Only when she expresses her true feelings for Thornfield, and Mr. Rochester himself, basically in hysterics from the thought of leaving, does he completely switch it up and ask her to marry him instead. He points to the fact that the union between him and Miss Ingram would be a farce as he does not love her, and she only wants him for his money.
I do love how Jane reacts, basically calling him a liar, and is ready to tell him to kick rocks and leave for Ireland. I like how Jane is characterized as our protagonist and Mr. Rochester floats between being our love interest and our antagonist through this scene.
I absolutely think that Jane makes the right decision to leave Thornfield. Jane already seemed to feel trapped and undermined by Rochester. She did not feel as if their marriage would bring happines. Additionally, regardless of the circumstance, Rochester’s treatment towards Bertha Mason was horrific and an indication of his poor character. Locking someone up for mental health problems is insane. While I am sure this treatment is partially just a reflection of the time period, I believe that it is certainly something that Bronte wanted her readers to take note of. The marriage is never annulled and he locks her away for years. Jane does not know what fate lies ahead for her within the marriage and feels uncomfortable being his mistress. It is also noteworthy that Rochester lied to Jane.
Leaving Thornfield, while very difficult for her at first, allows her to keep her sense of morality and autonomy. A huge part of Jane as a character is her independence. Marrying Rochester would just make her feel inferior to him in every way. After all she has already been through throughout her life, she is not willing to give up her sense of self or feel “lesser” as an individual in order to marry. Leaving proves her ability to overcome many obstacles.
After the proposal, Mr. Rochester seems to convey a notion of Jane becoming transformed as she becomes his wife and is provided with the luxuries of life that would equate her to a royal, or even spirit-like status. His exclamations, particularly seen in the morning immediately following the proposal, lay out the extreme life of luxury Jane is to have. It is after the proposal that we see again Mr. Rochester’s description of Jane as an otherworldly figure. Jane finally says, “I am not an angel… I will be myself. Mr. Rochester, you must expect nor exact anything celestial of me— for you will not get it, any more than I shall get of you: which I do not anticipate.” While Jane has certainly been experiencing immense emotional highs, she here again displays her realistic nature, as she must convey level headed notions about what their marriage would be like. She cannot fully be transformed to the extent Mr. Rochester appears to believe.
An interesting aspect to consider when analyzing the dichotomy of romance and realism as seen in Mr. Rochester and Jane is to think about the different power dynamics in allowing romantic outlooks on the world. Indeed I’d argue that the ability for Mr. Rochester to be so unrealistic and romantic in his emotions and actions comes from his status as a wealthy man. As a wealthy man he holds all the power in this dynamic; he even has the ability to a certain extent to transform those around him (as seen in turning Jane Eyre into Jane Rochester). Unrestrained by societal needs and worries, Mr. Rochester is free to dream and envision the world as he sees fit, no matter how unrealistic his notions. Jane on the other hand, being lower on the societal ladder, is stuck in the rational state of living. She must be focused on the real world outcomes and implications of the things around her.
I think that Jane’s decision to leave Thornfield was the right one. I understand Mr. Rochester’s anxieties in telling Jane about his past, specifically his marriage to Bertha (even though, if I can recall, he said he was going to tell her about everything a year and a day from their marriage date); I still do not think that he had a right to withhold that information from the woman he claimed to love truly. I believe that Jane had a right to be upset and leave in order to get her thoughts together. Primarily because, as shown by the tearing of her veil, it can be argued that Bertha is a threat to Jane’s safety, and Rochester simply played it off. Jane leaving Thornfield amplifies her character and shows that she still holds a certain amount of self-agency. Her declaration that she will not just be Rochester’s mistress shows her strong moral compass, and her leaving Thornfield further solidifies that idea. Had she not left Thornfield also, she most likely would have never learned that she had more family, even if St. John is not the most ideal cousin figure to her. Overall, I have a sort of “good for her” attitude toward Jane’s decision to leave Thornfield, as her leaving also ultimately shows her what she truly wants in the end.
Jane absolutely made the right decision to leave Thornfield. Rochester was a weird and interesting character, but far too flawed and an emblematic example of the excess abuse common of the time to just accept. Quite frankly, he’s a bit of a monster. The treatment and reveal of Bertha Mason was an otherworldly sickening event in the novel that left me shocked. Though, in retrospect, I don’t think it comes out of nowhere. His bouts of controlling and unsavory behavior are indicative of this behavior, and if someone of this state has the power to do something like this then why wouldn’t he? Especially if something of the like would’ve been normalized. Regardless, Jane was justified in leaving. Her departure represents another divide in the realism/romantic divide by getting out of the situation entirely and abandoning the yearning dream itself and accepting him for who he is, and that she could very well end up in the same situation. He spoke so controlling of Bertha, as if he owned her after the ordeal.
I find Bertha to be an extremely interesting character, especially in her representation of the West Indies and Creole women in general, in part due to my past reading of Wide Sargasso Sea for another class; the novel is from Bertha’s perspective, but renames her Antoinette and examines her experiences as Rochester’s wife. Her marriage to him displays the colonial force and oppression that he represents, as he describes her as wild and untamed after he has kept her imprisoned under deplorable conditions for years. Rochester, a wealthy Englishman, took advantage of her in their unequal marriage and treated her as inferior due to her Caribbean/Creole heritage. The West Indies are seen as exotic, mysterious, and savage in comparison to European society, making them easy to exploit and abuse in the eyes of people like Rochester, who insists that her madness is because of her West Indies origins. Bertha’s wild and destructive nature as witnessed by Jane reflects this idea, but in reality it is largely due to the abuse she has faced. Rochester’s insistence on bringing everyone to ‘view’ Bertha in particular reminds me of the tours colonialist Europeans would take to view the countries they saw as savage and worthy of exploitation. Bertha, like the West Indies in general, is seen as almost animalistic by the people who condone her imprisonment by Rochester.
I feel like Jane absolutely made the right decision in leaving Thornfield. I do not have any love in my heart for Rochester as he is just a creep. I know that this is a gothic novel but Rochester is just a bit too mysterious and abusive. The way he treated Bertha and the fact that he kept her locked in his attic reminds me of the Bluebeard folktale. Yet at the end of the story Jane decides to marry him? In my opinion he deserved to go blind after surviving the fire of Thornfield as now he can no longer see women for only their beauty. This would be a good punishment and very fairy-tale like, however Jane goes back to him when she can obviously take care of herself. It’s not as much a relationship as it is a checklist. She spent the most time with him so after he’s lost everything because of his own actions in keeping his wife locked in the attic, she comes to rescue him, WHY? Bertha was locked in his attic and you don’t think that just because he goes blind he’s still not gonna act the same? This along with the fact that Jane just all of a sudden comes into a large amount of wealth without having to do anything just says to me that this story while very progressive for the time really falls behind in modern readings.