Mrs. Reed
is a hypocrite. She tries different strategies in coping with Jane’s outburst.
She sees Jane’s behavior as a sickness and suggests that she drink some water
or lie down (l. 49, l. 60). Her reactions go from scolding Jane as a child and
sending her to her room (l. 1). She then turns cold and tries to intimidate
Jane in that way (l. 15). Jane (narrator comments on this fact and says that
she talks to her as an adult would talk to another adult l. 19). In l. 45 we
see Mrs. Reed starting to lose control. Her body moves and she almost starts to
cry. She is falling apart. Her strategy changes and she tries to convince Jane
that she wants to be her friend (l. 52). This indirectly involves the reader -
like Jane, we have every reason to dismiss this claim as a lie. In the final
part of the text, Mrs. Reed makes an attempt at defending herself. She
desperately turns to the conventions of her time that children must be
corrected and disciplined when they divert from the expected behavior (l. 57).
Finally, as a response to Jane’s plee to send her away soon, Mrs. Reed’s
dominating voice is reduced to a murmur and she resolves to the only
possibility left - namely sending her away as soon as possible.
Jane
is torn between the resolve of leaving Rochester because staying with him would
be morally wrong. She keeps repeating “I do” 3 times - what should have been
her wedding vows (ll. 9-13). Jane knows that life is a struggle - perhaps she
realizes this better than Rochester. She says: “We were born to strive and
endure” (l. 35). She does not expect life to be easy.
When Rochester talks about “a mere human law”, she
feels that her “conscience and reason turned traitors against me” (l. 44). She
immediately moves on to thinking about Rochester and feels guilty for leaving
him because of the impact it would have on him. We see how she is torn between
emotion and reason. However, a feminist critic would underline the fact that
she immediately takes on the role of motherly wife whose natural inclination is
to take care of men (which is also what she ends up doing).
The temptation is described as a fire. Jane’s heart
beats and she says that she would be insane not to go with him.
Jane calls him “my dear master” (l. 72), while
Rochester still uses his pet name for her “little Jane” (l. 75). She is trying
to reestablish a distance between them in order to protect herself and give her
the strength to stick to her resolve.
Rochester:
There is an animalistic aggression in his grief (l. 6 + l. 17-19). In just half
a page, he says her name 6 times - it seems desperate and becomes a plea. These
examples show how difficult it is for R to deal with his emotions.
His animalistic nature is evident in ll. 7 (lion),
17-19 (physical reaction - almost violent), l. 78 (passion).
He also tries to persuade her with reason saying that
she does not have any relatives whom she has to please. He talks about “a mere
human law” (l. 41) - this appeals to Jane’s independence. She begins to lose
her sense of reason.
When Jane is leaving, Rochester’s cry: “Oh Jane! My
hope - my love - my life!” in l. 65 fades into a sob. The very language
dissolves.
Relationship:
There is a very physical aspect to their relationship.
In l. 12-13 R tries to embrace J and she pulls away. This incident parallels
the inner struggle. Jane knows that she needs to go away. Their bodies,
however, are drawn to each other. This physicality breaks with the conventions
of the time.
Morally, R and Jane also differ in what they say. Jane
states that their being together is a sin (l. 31), whereas R claims that Jane
is forcing him back to his old immoral nature (he married Bertha at a time
where he was immature and he was lured into the marriage because of money). Jane
is thus portrayed as a virgin savior - a love’s Joanne of Arch.
Jane, on the other hand knows that she needs to be
true to her moral standards. She cannot be free if she succumbs to the
temptation. She leaves Rochester because of herself (- just as she ends up
marrying him out of her own choice).
