In these Chapters, we begin to see some life-defining moments and fairly monumental changes in Jane Eyre's life. Chapter 9 begins with Jane depicting her current life at Lowood in the Spring of her first year there, where everyone began to get sick with Typhus. She described how the rules became more relaxed and that she was able to go about more freely and was able to play more. However, there is no longer any mention of her discussions with her friend, Helen Burns. Jane does finally address her lack of presence, and just as surely as I predicted, Helen Burns was terribly sick, more severely than even I had expected, as it turns out. Helen had developed Tuberculosis, and her condition continued to decline. Jane, for the longest time, had been unaware. However, Jane is worried deeply about her friend, and in her usual manner, begins questioning a teacher as to Helen's well-being. The teacher replies that Helen is not well and does not have much longer to stay. Jane, in her naivete', assumes the teacher means that Helen is leaving to go to her home, to live far away from the school. Because she is so worried about her friend, Jane sneaks out to see Helen that night, because she fears it may be her last time to see her before she has to leave. Well, Jane was right, but not in the right sense. Jane finds Helen and lies down next to her, in her "crib" as it was described. They talk, and as they do, Jane begins to realize how sick Helen really has become. Jane knows now that Helen is not simply going away to live somewhere else; rather, she is dying and will soon pass beyond the veil. Jane becomes very nervous and asks Helen where she is going and if she knows for certain there is a Heaven. The two girls discuss Heaven, and Helen replies to Jane that she has very strong faith that there is indeed a Heaven and that she, Helen, is in fact going there. Jane is still nervous and fearful, but Helen is calm and at peace. They both then fall asleep together. I found it interesting that Helen, the one who is dying and in pain, is calm and serene, while Jane remains nervous and frightful. I think this is often true of many relationships in reality, between the dying and the living. It has often been said that "funerals are for the living and not the dead." This means that it is the living who are not at peace and who need comforting, while those who have passed have often done so while at peace, feeling no fear, and having a sense of comfort with the knowledge of where they are going. The living are left to mourn and to grieve. This is not true in all cases, but it certainly was in the case of Helen Burns and Jane Eyre. I also found it a bit odd, yet quite fortunate, that Jane did not acquire tuberculosis from lying beside Helen throughout the night. However, I recognize that such a scenario would not have fit well at all with Charlotte Bronte's story.
After Helen dies, Jane moves quickly to summarize the next several years at Lowood, telling the reader that she studies, learns and finally becomes a teacher for two years, after she has been a student for approximately 6 years. She then tells of a fervent desires to experience a change of scenery, people, life and also the need for servitude. She wishes to find a new line of work, which is not an unreasonable request on Jane's part. I, too, would become tired of a monotonous daily routine, living in the same environment she had been for those many years. Jane decides to put an advertisement in the paper, seeking work outside of Lowood. Only one job offer comes in. It was from a Mrs. Fairfax in a town closer to London, England. The job offer was for employment as a governess. Jane decides to take the job, and once she has been accepted formally to begin employment, she leaves Lowood very soon thereafter. She sees Bessie the morning before she leaves, and Bessie tells Jane that she is very proud of her and, further, that Jane is graced with higher intelligence and is far more stable, and living with a healthier state of mind and sense of well-being than any of the other Reed children. I believe that this is the point when Jane finally has overcome her upset about her cousins and the Reed family at large, because Jane does not chide the family or display disdain, nor is she overjoyed by this declaration. On the contrary, Jane simply sends her regards and smiles, because she is happy to be once again talking with Bessie. This is a testament to the fact that Jane has reached a true pinnacle and turning point in her life. She has now become an adult and a very independent and accomplished woman.
When Jane arrives at her new employer's home, Jane first meets Mrs. Fairfax. Jane believes this woman to be a harsh person, who is very strict. Yet, shortly after getting to know her, she sees that Mrs. Fairfax is actually a kind, gentle, and rather ordinary, in the best sense, type of woman. I believe Jane initially felt weary of Mrs. Fairfax, because she has had this similar kind of run-in with many women and others such as she believed Mrs. Fairfax to be. For example, she has had to deal with Mrs. Reed in her very early childhood, and then with Mr. Brocklehurst, who certainly did not help her perception of human beings. She did, however, learn differently about Mrs Fairfax and was glad to have been mistaken. Jane soon then meets Adรจle (aka Adela), who is an orphan child, (just as Jane was), and who is now Jane's pupil whom she was hired to govern and teach. Adela is a sweet child, but also a somewhat spoiled one. Jane figures this is due to Mr. Rochester's influence. Jane later learns that Mr. Rochester is actually the owner of the town she now resides in, which must mean he is indeed a very wealthy man. A few days later, Jane begins to hear laughing in the house - - a deep, very strange, ghost-like laughing. It unnerves her, but she decides not to let it get the best of her, until very soon after she hears it again! She then addresses the issue with Mrs. Fairfax, who tells Jane that the laughter is coming from one of the servants, a woman named, Grace. Mrs. Fairfax calls Grace out of the room she was working in, admonishes her for laughing too loudly, and sends her back to continue her work. I found this situation to be very odd and, frankly, unbelievable. It left me feeling terribly uneasy and wondering where the disturbing laughter truly was originating. Jane later describes encounters she has with Grace, during which times, Grace says little to nothing, barely making an audible sound, never mind laughing boisterously. As I continue to read this intriguing novel, I will remain curious about this mysterious laughter and the person to whom it is connected. It is simply not plausible that Grace is our culprit. I hope the person's true identity is eventually divulged. I expect it will be, else why would our author inject this bizarre circumstance at this particular time? I am fascinated to discover more as the story unfolds.
Toward the latter part of Chapter 12, and after a good bit of time at Jane's new residence, she finally meets her employer, Mr. Rochester. She meets him, rather accidentally, while out on a walk one day; yet, she does not realize initially that it is him. He slips on a patch of ice, after falling from his horse, and sprains his ankle. He is in a great deal of pain, and Jane attempts to assist him. He tries to stand by himself and does not wish to accept Jane's help, until, regrettably, he realizes he cannot. Jane then helps him to get on his way again, and, after a while longer, decides to return home. When she arrives, a servant girl informs Jane that Mr. Rochester is here and, through her telling of how he arrived, Jane realizes that the man she helped just a short while before was indeed Mr. Rochester, her employer. Jane and Adele are asked to meet with him later for tea. This seemed at first to be a nice gesture; however, when they arrive, Rochester is nothing short of rude and insolent to Jane. First, he asserts Jane bewitched his horse and caused that he should fall off of it, thereafter spraining his ankle on the ice. He proceeds then to belittle her piano playing, unfairly judges her art, and is critical of her demeanor, as well! He is not only unkind to Jane, but also brushes off and summarily dismisses the sweet little girl and Mrs. Fairfax. I pondered on what could make this man so bitter toward everyone and also, why everyone else had simply become accustomed to his shameful behavior. Was it his childhood or his general lack of having a family nearby that loved him?
As for his treatment of Jane, perhaps he did like Jane in an odd way, but did not understand how to confront her or how to deal with his feelings. Regardless of whether he actually was developing feelings for Jane, Mr. Rochester was absolutely impressed by her and found her presence a bit unsettling. Of this, I am quite certain. Perhaps he did not view her as a particularly beautiful or even striking physically, but he as most definitely taken with her personality, her intelligence and her accomplishments. He was, however, not ready to give her credit as being anyone of particular importance or even publicly acknowledge her achievements. I think it took him by surprise, in both a good way and in an unsettling way, that she was someone who would endeavor to persist in speaking with him and sometimes even assert herself to contest with him. She created a great change in the environment and brought a fresh, new perspective, to which Mr. Rochester was not accustomed. This threw him off kilter, which is why I believe he heavily questioned, ridiculed, demeaned and tired to confuse and fluster Jane Eyre. I foresee that, eventually, something very special will materialize in the relationship between Jane and Rochester. It may begin as loathing, but I anticipate a sincere fondness and appreciation will develop between them. I wonder, if my predictions hold true, how the dynamics in their relationship will manifest and how they will affect the young girl, Adele.
No comments:
Post a Comment