Jane - Chapters 23-25:
Jane has started her new life with the three siblings and begins her first day working at a soup kitchen. While there, she describes how the people are destitute and in dire need and how it makes her appreciate what she has and that the St. John's took her in. She is very grateful, because she knows they did not have to, and it was a great show of kindness and philanthropy. This made me begin to think about how blessed I am and how we, as a society, should not ever judge others who do not have as much as we do, or look down upon them. Instead, we should help them, share our blessings and our goods, and always be kind. In both of these novels, Jane at times was frowned upon or dismissed as less than what she was, either because she had nothing or because someone judged her incorrectly. No one making such judgments knew her circumstances, how hard her life had been, nor how much she had just gone through to reach the state she was in at the time. In this case, no one could imagine the several ordeals Jane had faced in the past forty-eight hours. It made me consider how often I could be doing a better job of serving others, instead of making false judgments, or wondering what a person's motive is. As a society, I would like to see us all strive to do a better job of being selfless, instead of selfish or self-focused. Although we still need to be cautious and careful, being judgmental is wrong and it is an attitude we should never carry. Jane reflects on how Diana so willingly took her in and considers the people she is serving in her job at the soup kitchen, and suddenly she is thrilled to be serving them. While she works, River is watching her closely, although she does not realize it, until she is doing her last bit of service and feels him standing close behind her. It seems as though he is assessing her, but not as to whether she is doing a good job, rather whether the work she is doing is pleasing to her mind and soul instead. While Jane is cleaning some pots and pans, River asks her how she is doing and whether or not she truly finds joy in the work she is doing at the soup kitchen. Jane responds that she genuinely is enjoying the work and is very happy to be helping and assisting others in need. River seems quite pleased at this. As I read this, I thought, "and so it begins." This is already the start of the relationship which flourished Jane Eyre and St. John Rivers. He is beginning to notice her humble and missionary-like attributes. He sees her as a potential benefit to a cause he is so eagerly involved in. I find this to be a bit confounding, because he is not exactly using Jane, but at the same time, he is not exactly NOT using her, either. He sees her as a great instrument in the hands of God to assist him in his work. I suspect that River (if this storyline follows a similar course to that in "Jane Eyre") will most likely find affection for Jane, but it will manifest itself as affection which is not based on romantic love, but more on practicality, involving logic, reason, and a like minds that produce a stable friendship.
Soon after their discussion in the soup kitchen, another woman comes in and begins to talk to River. It is apparent she has a crush on River. Her name is Rosalie, and it is very obviously the beautiful woman (from the classic, "Jane Eyre"), who was the daughter of a very wealthy man. In the classic novel, this woman was Rosamond Oliver. She and her father often gave significant amounts of money to the school where Jane worked. In this modern remake, Rosalie is a preppy college girl who, when Jane asks about her later, River says is only working at the soup kitchen to get her service hours in. River obviously likes her, but he does not consider her genuine enough for the kind of life and work he wishes to pursue. I find his approach towards Rosalie to be conflicting and, frankly, hypocritical. He definitely has a crush on her, but due to his assumptions about her character, he refuses to entertain the possibility that she is more than surface deep and that they could actually work together. Also, River talks about wanting to serve and provide aid to others. He says he wishes to spend his life being a servant for God, being entrenched in humanitarian aid, not living a life of frivolity, yet he does not consider that he is openly judging another person who's life and desires he does not fully know and perhaps he may not understand fully. Rosalie invites him to a party, but he declines very quickly. Later, she asks Jane out to lunch to ask about River. Jane tells her that she does not know much about his feelings for Rosalie but promises she will ask him. At this point, a bit of foreshadowing occurs, when Rosalie asks Jane if she and River are together, as a couple. Jane denies such a notion, stating that she views River only as a brother, nothing more.
Not too long after this conversation with Rosalie, Jane begins to have feelings for River, beyond that of just a brother. One evening, while Jane is assisting River with learning French, Jane believes River is going to kiss her, but then he leaves without doing so. He came so close, she muses! After that, she begins to fantasize about such an occurrence, and Jane tells herself that if he does try, she will allow to happen. Yet, her heart and mind remain conflicted. Mr. Rathburn continues to rather persistently flood her thoughts, reminding her of a love she has never experienced anywhere else but with him. She fears she will never feel the same about another.
A little while later, Jane comes home from work to find River there. He is usually not home when she gets there in the afternoon. When she walks through the door, he says her name, her REAL name. Jane begins to panic and wonders how he found out. Then, River opens up a tabloid picture of Jane in a wedding dress with Nico Rathburn on the day of her wedding. After talking to her about it, River informs Jane that a woman from the soup kitchen found it and remembered Jane. He implies that Jane is far more materialistic and content living a frivolous and meaningless lifestyle than he thought she was. To make matters worse, when Maria arrives home, he informs her that Jane has something to tell Diana and Maria. He then hands Jane the photo, basically demanding she tell everyone the entire story of her former life and divulge all there is to know! I found River's actions to be incredibly audacious and terribly unkind in this instance, demonstrating how selfish and unfeeling he can be. He does not stop to sincerely inquire of Jane why she did not tell them or consider how she must have been feeling through all of this. Instead, he simply dismisses any regard for her feelings and puts her in a very precarious position, forcing this out into the open. It was now impossible for Jane to keep this matter just between River and herself. Jane opens up and tells Diana and Maria the truth, and they respond kindly. They are very understanding and not at all judgmental toward Jane about the entire matter. They take pity on her and understand why she changed her name and did not tell them, so that Jane might be afforded the opportunity to start her life anew. After this, River watches her even more closely than before. He does not completely trust her, and he seems very intent on discovering everything he can about Jane Moore.
As a backdrop to all of this, River has asked Jane to help him practice his French for his mission trip to Haiti. In the course of their practice and tutoring sessions, River gives Jane a book about a woman who served in Haiti and her experiences there. Jane is at first confused, but, to this reader, it is quite clear what is going on. He has already made up his mind that he wants her to come to Haiti, because he believes she could be useful. He works up the courage to tell her his hopes and his plan. Finally, he springs it on her. He meets her at her work and, on the way back, as they are walking home, he discusses the possibility of her coming with him to Haiti. Jane is taken aback at his proposition. She says she will consider it, but deep inside she feels very unsure. Every time they are together, Jane feels as though he is waiting for her answer. Although she is not ready to give an answer yet, the more she considers it, she cannot find a reason to not go with him to Haiti. Jane still considers it a good idea to discuss the matter with Diana, who adamantly implores her not to go. She reasons that Jane still has college, love, and her whole life ahead of her and that leaving to go to Haiti with River would be a terrible idea and would thwart Jane's other future outlooks. This leaves Jane feeling terribly conflicted. Through it all, Jane still rather constantly thinks of Nico Rathburn.
I am wondering what other devices River may employ to get Jane to go; if Jane will eventually decide to go with River; or if she will choose to return to Thornfield Park, after all this time. It is apparent to me that the love Nico and Jane share is deep and enduring. It may be most eloquently described, as Judy Garland once said, "For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul." This is why I believe she will ultimately decide to return to Nico Rathburn. We shall see.
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