Jane Eyre Blog #5

So much has happened in these last chapters of Jane Eyre, so I will be as brief as possible. At the beginning of these chapters Jane finds out that her cousin John Reed has died, and that her Aunt Reed has been asking for Jane to come and see her. Being the kind person that Jane is, did go to see her aunt even after the trouble that she put Jane through. Jane when back to Gateshead and found her aunt, who was very weak and ill from a stroke, with the same resentment for Jane that she had in the past. She told Jane that she witheld letters from her Uncle John Eyre saying how he wanted to adopt Jane, but her aunt did not want to give Jane the satisfaction of having a rich and happy life. Jane stayed until her aunt died, and then returned back to Thornfield. Shortly after her return Mr. Rochester told Jane that he found her another job in Ireland because she couldn't stay in the house with him and his bride-to-be Miss Ingram. Jane was distraught by this news because she would be so far away from her love, Mr. Rochester. When he told her this she accidentally told him her true feelings, and to her surprise admitted his love for her as well, and that he was only marrying Miss Ingram because he didn't think that Jane loved him and to make Jane jealous and draw her into him. It was also at this moment when Mr. Rochester asked Jane to be his wife, and of course she accepted. Mr. Rochester wanted to spoil Jane with dresses and jewels, but Jane wanted to be treated as she normally was until the wedding, which was to be in a month. The night before the wedding Jane awoke from her sleep and saw a horrifying figure in her room with long black hair and an awfully monstrous face. The figure had taken Jane's wedding veil and tore in half then stomped on it. Jane told Mr. Rochester about it the next morning and he said it was probably just the strange Grace Poole. Jane questioned him as to why such a person was living in the house, and said he would tell her once they were married for a long time. The wedding day finally came and just when Mr. Rochester and Jane were about to recite their vows, they were interrupted by a man named Mr. Briggs who claimed that Mr. Rochester already had a wife who was still alive. His claim was supported by Mr. Mason, who said that Mr. Rochester was married to his sister Bertha Mason. The wedding was called off that day and Jane made Mr. Rochester explain what was going on. He said that he was forced into marrying Bertha, by his older brother and father because she was rich and they were poor. Bertha seemed to be a very pretty young woman and would make a fair wife. What Mr. Rochester did not know before he married her was that her mother was insane, and soon Mr. Rochester learned that Bertha was also insane and that there was nothing else to do but lock her up. He no longer wanted to her to be called by the name Bertha Rochester, and locked her in a confined room in that attic where Grace Poole watches her. It turns out that Bertha is the one who attempted to kill both Mr. Rochester and Mr. Mason, and was also the one who tore Jane's veil in two. Overwhelmed, and appauled by this news Jane left Thornfield to find a new place to live far away. She ended up in a small town and went begging around houses for a place to stay and food to eat. Finally, one home let her in once the residents saw what an ill state she was in. These kind people were a missionary named Mr. St. John, and his sisters, Diana and Mary. They got Jane back on her feet and found her a job as a school teacher. Jane became very good friends with Diana and Mary, but unfortunately they had to be sent away because they couldn't afford to stay in England anymore. Jane was enjoying life in that small town and the tiny cottage she was living. One day Mr. St. John came to talk to Jane about a girl who had the same story as her, and was now missing. Since, Jane said her name was Jane Elliot Mr. St. John found out much later that this girl was actually Jane. The reason why she was being searched for was because her uncle John had died and was giving her all his money which was 20,000 pounds. How they found her was that Mr. St. John Diana, and Mary are Jane's cousins, that Jane never knew she had. Jane was able to split this money evenly between them, which allowed Diana and Mary to come back home. Mr. St. John, Diana, Mary, and Jane all lived in the same house and very much enjoyed it. Being the devoted missionary that Mr. St. John is, he was going to India and felt that Jane had the perfect qualities to be a missionary and go to India with him too; however, he wanted her to be bound to him as his wife. Jane refused to be his wife, but would go to India as his sister. Mr. St. John would not hear of this, so Jane said she would think about it but she must say goodbye to her friends from where she was from. Jane went back to Thornfield to find Mr. Rochester. When she went to the mansion she saw that it was in shambles, and found out that Mr. Rochester's insane wife Bertha had burned it down one night, then jumped off the roof and killed herself. Mr. Rochester, however, was still alive, but was blind and lost his hand from the fire. Jane got his whereabouts and went to see him immediately. Mr. Rochester was so glad to see that she was back and asked her to marry him again, which Jane of course accepted. This time, they really did get married and have been very happily married for 10 years, as well as having a baby of their own. Jane still visited Diana and Mary, and found out from them that Mr. St. John has died, which is not necessarily sad because he is with God with whom he was so devoted to, and he is happy that Jane is living the life that she wanted and deserved.

Clearly, so much has happened and there is so much to reflect on. There was not one part in this novel that was boring. All the events that were constantly occurring, and Jane's insight on everything was so interesting and kept drawing me in to keep reading. There were a lot of new characters introduced in this part of the novel including, Mr. St. John, Mary, and Diana. I felt that Mr. St. John was the most prominent out of the three siblings however, he was my least favorite. His personality was very cold and he was always hiding his emotions. The only thing that he showed passion about was his missionary work and his religion. He followed religion so strictly and was expecting everyone else around him to do the same. I did respect him for having such a passion for this and always putting other people's needs first, but there were times that I felt that he took it too far. A perfect example of this was when he wanted to marry Jane just because she would make a good missionary's wife, and that she had the qualities to be a good missionary. This was all that he would be using her for so that she could be strong and stand by him, and he wouldn't be marrying her because he loved, since he did not. I also thought it was ridiculous on his part for not understanding why Jane couldn't marry him for solely that reason, and he kept saying that if she didn't marry him she would not be putting God first like she should be. Jane was very upset about this and he was completely cold towards her, not showing a care for how she felt. "He experieneced no suffering from estrangement--no yearning after reconciliation; and though, more than once, my fast-falling tears blister the page over which we both bent, they produced no more effect on him than if his heart had been really a matter of stone or metal." He was so concerned with selflessness and helping other people, and yet he was being selfish and only wanted Jane to be a missionary with him, without taking her feelings into consideration and quite frankly, not caring. I feel that Jane just continued to get stronger and stonger as the novel progressed. I could not believe that she left Mr. Rochester after being so in love with him and him being so in love with her. Yet, she knew that is what she had to do and she did it, as painful as it was. She had nothing, she was beggin, and yet she managed to have a successful life. Jane is definitely the most sensible character in this book and makes very reasonable and right decisions and I admired her throughout the entire book for this quality. The theme that I found to continue through this entire novel was that beauty and looks do not matter. Jane is not described as being beautiful, actually she is described as being ugly, as well as Mr. Rochester, but they both love each other for their personality. I found myself favoring Mr. Rochester over the handsome Mr. St. John as well. I also found one of the themes, which I enjoyed, was that fortune does not have to come from jewels and riches, but the fortune that really makes you happy comes from love. It was very apparent that Jane felt this way, from when she was more overjoyed to find out that she had a family over the 20,000 pounds that she felt was too much and didn't really want. "Glorious discovery to a lonely wretch! This was wealth indeed!--wealth for the heart!--a mine of pure genial affections. This was a blessing, bright, vivid, and exhilerating!--not like the ponderous gift of gold: rich and welcome enough in its way, but sobering from its weight." I thought this quote summed this theme up perfectly. It made me so happy to see that Jane finally had someone, all those years of being lonely and having no one, she actually has a family that she loves and loves her back. This novel suggests that there are actually some people out there who do care more about quality rather than quality. While there may not be many, Jane is one of these few people. As much as people think that happiness comes from beauty and riches, they are not right. The true root of happiness and the less superficial things like someone's personality and the love of a family. I wish that everyone could read this novel so that they can get a sense of the genuine happiness that most people are missing out on. I can't say that this novel reminded me of any other novel or film because it is so unique. I have never read a story like this before, usually love stories are predictable and you have an idea where the story would be going. I had an idea where it could go but all my assumptions were wrong everytime. This novel never ceased to surprise me. I have learned a lot through the themes of the novel and I think they are great messages to get across to people. I learned that you should love someone for who they are and not what they look like or what they are good at. I also learned that happiness cannot be bought and that you cannot put a price on true happiness. If you couldn't tell already, I loved this novel. I never would have picked out to read an old novel like this, but I am so glad that I had the opportunity to read it. Everything fit together so perfectly with the themes, characters, and plot. It also had the perfect ending, i would even say that they lived happily ever after.

Jane Eyre Blog #4

The boring days at Thornfield hall have turned around to be merry and busy for Jane, due to the visiting of Mr. Rochester's guests that must be entertained at the mansion. Jane obeys Mr. Rochester's wish to be present every night with him and his guests, but Jane usually just sits in a corner and watches the charades games that they play. There have been many charades where Mr. Rochester and Blanche Ingram act out the word "bride" and "bridewell" which Jane sees as an inference, as well as the way that they interact, that they will most likely be getting married. Some time later, Mr. Rochester had to go out of town and while waiting for his return, a new guest, Mr. Mason, came to Thornfield, and said that Mr. Rochester told him to stay there until he returned. The same day that Mr. Mason arrived, the guests planned on taking a walk to see a gipsy camp, but they did not because of the weather. Coincidentally, that night a gipsy came to Thornfield and said that she would not leave until she read every person's fortune there. The guests reluctantly agreed and the young ladies had their fortune taken including Jane. When Jane went to see this gipsy, she found out that it was Mr. Rochester in disguise wanting to find out particular information about particular people, such as how Jane felt about him and Miss Ingram getting married. Jane told him about Mr. Mason, and Mr. Rochester reacted with extreme uneasiness and displeasure. That night, Jane woke up to screams coming from Mr. Mason upstairs, she found out later that Grace Poole had attempted to kill him too, just like she did with Mr. Rochester. After Mr. Mason left with the surgeon early that morning, this attempted murder by Grace Poole was yet again kept a secret between Mr. Rochester and Jane, and Jane still did not know why.

I think that this story is starting to get even more interesting than it was, even strange in a way. I thought that it was very strange how Mr. Rochester was disguised, and to be honest, I am not exactly sure what his motive was for this. Mr. Rochester was described from the beginning as peculiar and now I am beginning to see the extent of his peculiarity. Another thing that adds to his eccentricity is how he wants to keep his attempted murder as well as Mr. Mason's a secret, and he still continues to live in the same house as the person who tried to kill them. Any normal person would fire that servant and have her arrested. At the same time, this is what makes the story interesting and what makes me want to continue reading to try and figure out what is going on in Mr. Rochester's head and find the method to his madness, so to speak. Jane continue's to show how intelligent she is through the way she speaks. I also like how she does not crack under pressure. For example, when she was instructed to clean the blood off of Mr. Mason and show little fear when the muderer was only a room away. I dislike Miss Ingram even more for multiple reasons. First, I feel that she is extremely conceited and feels that she is better than everyone else in everything she does when in fact that is not true. She belittles almost everyone especially Jane, when Jane clearly has much more intellect than her. I also do not like how she treats Adela so condescendingly as if she is not even there. Lastly, I don't think that she likes Mr. Rochester for who he is, but more for what he has. Jane appreciates who he is and even claimed that she no longer sees any flaws in him. "Now I saw no bad. The sarcasm that had repelled, the harshness that had startled me once, were only like keen condiments in a choice dish." Once again I think that the themes in this story are that beauty is only skin deep and that you should love a person and appreciate them for what is inside. I am not sure where this novel could be heading because I am kind of confused why certain elements are being kept secret such as the attempted muders of both Mr. Mason and Mr. Rochester. This novel suggests that people in this time period care a lot about marriage more than they do friendship. There is a deep friendship going on between Mr. Rochester and Jane but obviously Jane wants more an Mr. Rochester just wants to marry Miss Ingram because it is what is expected of him, when he cleary has a better relationship with Jane. I am very excited to see where this novel is heading next and hopefully some questions and secrects will be uncovered.

Jane Eyre Blog # 3

Jane is beginning to feel bored with her new job and decides to go on a walk where she finds a man who had been riding his horse with his dog, but now had fallen on a patch of ice. She helped him back on his horse and offered for him to stay at Thornfield hall, but he declined the offer. When Jane returned home that night she saw the familiar looking dog and found out that the man on the horse today was Mr. Rochester. Jane's first meeting with Mr. Rochester consisted mostly of his strict orders and demanding questions. As harsh as Mr. Rochester was Jane began to enjoy his company and he enjoyed hers. One night, Jane woke up to the smell of fire. She walked to Mr. Rochesters room and saw this his curtains and bed sheets were inflamed, and Jane ran to find as much water as she could to put out the flames. When Mr. Rochester woke up he held Jane's hand rather affectionately and to her that he must repay her for saving his life; and it is from this gesture that Jane realizes she is falling in love with him. Jane had suspicions that a servant, Grace Poole, had started the fire in an attempt to murder Mr. Rochester, which she found out later was true, but for some reason this was being kept a secret. Mr. Rochester had left for a few weeks to attend an elegant party which disappointed Jane deeply. When Mr. Rochester returned he brought many ladies and gentlemen for a party at Thornfield, which Jane did her best to stay out of the way until Mr. Rochester ordered her to participate in the event. The majority of the time the ladies were talking of how they hated governesses and all they do. Needless to say, soon after this Jane felt the need to leave the party; however, Mr. Rochester expressed to Jane how much he wanted her to be there, which shows that Mr. Rochester could be falling in love with Jane.

There is such a variety of characters in this novel, which makes it so interesting. The way that the author tediously describes them both directly and indirectly is excellent because I can picture every one of these characters as I reading. I can even hear how they say things in dialogue. The characterization is one of my favorite elements of this novel. Jane is still my favorite character. She has such a strong sense of herself and is so earnest in everything she says and does. I find her to be very intelligent because she seemed to be so calm when Mr. Rochester was asking her so many questions, she was able to handle herself well and answer quite cleverly, even to a difficult question. For example, Mr. Rochester asked Jane if she thought it was fair for him to so commanding an abrupt. This was Jane's response, "I don' think, sir, you have a right to command me, merely because you are older than I, or because you have seen more of the world than I have--your claim to superiority depends on the use you have made of your time and experience." Mr. Rochester is a newly introduced character, and he is just as Mrs. Fairfax describes him, peculiar. He is so abrupt, strict, demanding, and bossy and yet at times he can actually be a decent human being. I think that his character is actually very interesting because he is not always predictable. I had a feeling that him and Jane would have a possible love connection, but because of his harshness I began to doubt that. I think that the theme is these particuliar chapters is that beauty is only skin deep. Jane is described as plain and even ugly and so is Mr. Rochester. However, Jane has feelings for Mr. Rochester despite what he looks like, but because of his character, and indefinitely so does Mr. Rochester for Jane. this theme is also shown when Mrs. Fairfax says that many ladies take a liking to Mr. Rochester even though he is not a goodlooking man. There are also many beautiful ladies in these chapters, but they have such a conceited and proud personality that they do not seem attractive. I think that the love interest between Jane and Mr. Rochester is most definitely going to complicate the story and their lives very much. They will have to keep it a secret which can create many conflicts in the story and I am hoping that the story turns out the way that Jane wants it to, with Mr. Rochester returning the same feelings towards her. This novel suggest that people in general, obviously do care about what people look like, but in some particular cases, what is inside a person can overcome their appearance on the outside. It also suggests how people can change who they are to conform to a specific group. Here is Jane thinking of how Mr. Rochester acts differently around his "friends" than he does around her. "'He is not to them as he is to me, I thought: 'he is not of their kind. I believe he is of mine;--I am sure he is,--I feel akin to him, --I understand the language of his countenace and movements: though rank and wealth sever us widely, I have something in my brain and heart in my blood and nerves, that assimilates me mentally to him." This novel suggest that this time period is based very much on social classes. From the interaction at the party I noticed that the upper class does not converse with the lower class and the servants do not speak to barely anyone unless it is about their chores. I have learned that the way that people discrimanate against other people existed even back then, and also that your so called class can override your personality and intellectual abilities. Even in these times people are judged unfairly because of their social status in life. I am looking forward to seeing how the novel progresses and how the possible relationship between Mr. Rochester and Jane unfolds.

Jane Eyre Blog #2

These next chapters of Jane Eyre start off with Jane talking to her friend Helen at Lowood about how Jane wants so dearly to be loved by people and Helen, the insightful young lady that she is, tells her that it only matters how she feels about herself rather than striving for the acceptance of human beings. Helen and Jane have become very good friends, they always find comfort in each other through the harsh conditions at the Lowood Institution. It is slowly becoming apparent to Jane that Helen is getting sick. As the cold winter season fades away along with the usual hardships of the institution, Helen grows even more ill. One night Jane saw that the doctor was with Helen and that she was very ill. Jane slept with Helen that night to comfort her and in the morning Helen was dead. 8 years went by with Jane still at Lowood; 6 of those years as a student and 2 as a teacher. She wanted to find something new to do withher life and wrote an advertisement to be a private teacher at a family's home for young children. She got a letter back from a housekeeper Mrs. Fairfax for a position at her home for a young girl Adela. She then accepted the offer and went to the house to begin her new servitude. She met that kind and warming Mrs. Fairfax and Jane's charming new student Adela. This new position looks like it is going to start some new friendships and a new positive outlook for Jane's life.



A few new characters have been introduced at this point in the novel. One being Mrs. Fairfax, the housekeeper of the new home she will be teaching at, Mr. Rochester, the owner of the home, and Adela, Jane's new student. Mrs. Fairfax is a very kind, warm-hearted elderly woman. She makes Jane feel welcomed and right at home as if she is a visitor as you can tell from her first meeting with her, "She conducted me to her own chair, and then began to remove my shwal and untie my bonnet-strings: I begged she would not give herself so much trouble. 'Oh, it is no trouble; i dare say your own hands are almost numbed with cold. Leah, make a litte hot negus and cut a sanwich or two.'"Jane has never felt this way before at Lowood and especially not when she was living with Mrs. Reed. The novel does not show much about Mr. Rochester since the characters in the novel know little about him as well. Mrs. Fairfax only knows him on a very "business-like" level and describes him as a peculiar man. "I don't know--it is not easy to describe--nothing striking, but you fee it when he speaks to you: you cannot be always sure whether he is in jest or earnest." Adela is a young native French girl who is extremely charming and from her chatty conversations with Jane, she loves attention from other people. I really like how Jane is getting tha kind attention that she deserves from Mrs. Fairfax. I can tell already that they are going to get along very well and Jane will get the same sort of comfort from her that she did from Miss Temple at Lowood. However, I am a little bit eery about Mr. Rochester since he was described as a peculiar person and he has sort of an unknown personality. Adela seems to be the complete opposite of him with her friendly, inviting, and bubbly personality. I think that Adela is a very likeable character. Jane has grown so much as a character. She has grown up to be a very polite young woman and did her best to excel at Lowood which she suceeded in very well. I am very happy that she was able to get a new servitude, as was said in the novel, that is outside of Lowood so she could grow even more as a person instead of being so restricted at the institution. This novel could be considered as a coming of age novel in some aspects. Jane is growing up in so many ways so far and is learning many things on her own. She is learning how to be the best that she can be. The common theme that I am seeing is acceptance. Jane keeps striving to be accepted by the people that she meets and cares so much about the impression that she gives. "It was not my habit to be disregardful of appearance, or careless of the impression i made: on the contrary, I never wished to look as well as I could and to please as much as my want of beauty could permit." I think that in the next chapters Jane will be excelling as being a governess in the Thornfield house, due to her natural intelligence and all the things that she has learned at Lowood. I also think that Jane will thrive in the comforting environment that she is now in. So far, this novel suggests that many people's main purpose in life is to be accepted by other people. For example, Jane strived to do her best at Lowood, now she is striving at Thornfield, Mrs. Fairfax is striving to do her best at Thornfield as well to meet the expectations of Mr. Rochester. It shows that people sometimes care too much about what other people think of them than what they think of themselves. This novel also shows that in this time period you do what you are supposed to and expected to do. I have not seen any rebels in this novel so far. It shows that everyone has a boss under whom you abide by the rules no matter what. In these chapters the novel actually has reminded me somewhat of the book and movie Matilda. In Matilda, Matilda lives with her mom and dad who do not treat her well. Then she goes to school and is also mistreated by her gruesome principal. The equals between this novel and the Matilda are the mother and father would be like Mrs. Reed, the mean principal would be Mr. Brocklehurst, the harsh superintendent, and in both stories there is one sweet person that treats these girls with compassion which would be the sweet teacher from Matilda, and Miss Temple, a teacher at Lowood. I have learned from this novel that if you try your best at what you're doing, even if you can't stand it, you will always get a positive outcome from it.

Jane Eyre Blog #1

The book that i am reading is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. So far, this story is about a young girl named Jane whose parents died before she could remember. She was living with her aunt Reed and her cousins, Eliza, John, and Georgiana. She was not treated well in this home, and suffered cruelty from her aunt and cousins, especially John who constantly abused her for no reason. Her aunt Reed always unjustly punished her for defending herself against John and treated him like he was an angel. Aunt Reed thought that Jane was a deceitful, naughty child and excluded her from all activities with the family. Her aunt Reed decided to send her to school so she would not have to be home with her and to correct her "deceitfulness." She sent Jane to Lowood Institution, which is a very strict school for girls whose one or both parents have died. It is described as a cold, miserable place; however, Jane does not miss her so called home from which she left. She meets a girl named Helen Burns, who gives Jane insight on how to treat other people whether they are kind or cruel to you. This new friendship has the potential of turning Jane's personality around.


I have just started this book and I am already falling in love with it. The plot, characters, and imagery are so intricately written, that every detail matters, there is absolutely nothing that is gone waste in this story so far. I have to say that Jane is by far my favorite character. This could be slightly biased since she is obviously the main character, but I find myself agreeing with many of the things that she says. I cannot help but take pity on her because of how cruely she is treated by her aunt Reed and her awful cousin John. She has this quiet persona, but then she bursts when she can't take anymore of her family's unjust punishments. "I was a discord in Geateshead Hall: Iwas like nobody there: I had nothing in harmony with Mrs. Reed or her children , or her chosen vassalage. If they did not love me, in fact, as little did I love them (16)."I like how this is completely realistic, anyone being treated this way is bound to crack. This is what makes the story so interesting, it shows how Jane can be two dimensional. She can be quiet and innocent, but if anyone decides to mess around with her then she will let you know how she feels. My favorite part in the story so far was when she told her aunt Reed how much she disliked her and that she would never call her aunt again. "I am not deceitful: if I were, I would say I loved you ; but I declare, I do not love you: I dislike you worst than anybody in the world except John Reed...I am glad you are no realtion of mine: I will never call you aunt again as long as I live...(38)." This part was phenomenal and quite honestly it blew me away, with the choice of words I could picture this perfectly in my mind. The theme that is starting to generate in this story is to treat people with kindness no matter what. When Jane meets her friend Helen Burns she notices how Helen does barely anything wrong, nothing worth the punishment that she receives and yet Helen doesn't do anything about it. She does not stand up to her teachers, she just takes it and continues on with her studies, trying her best to be as kind as she can. This boggles Jane's mind because of her experiences that she has had with her aunt and cousins. This theme was brought up again by Helen when she was talking about Charles the First and how he was murdered for no good reason. I think that in the next chapters Jane will try to be like Helen in the way that she deals with people even if they are cruel to her. I can tell already that Jane admires Helen and looks up to her through her curious questions and observations of her, which is why I think Jane will try to develop a similar personality. I think that Jane will defintely be learning new lessons from Helen. This story suggests that in this time period, children cannot stand up for themselves, they mus obey, obey, obey. Children do not have a say in what they do; if they are treated unfairly there is nothing they could do about it. In this time period, adults are extremely superior to children. So far, this novel does not remind me of any other book or novel I have seen or read. I have learned that in this time, the Bible and Christianity are very important in the lives of everyone. If you do not follow the Bible you are considered to be a terrible person and need to be corrected. I also learned how superior adults are to children, and that you cannot stand up to them without paying a high price for it. This novel has impressed me very much so far and I am eager to read more.

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