Passage (p. 239):
"'Come, Jane- come hither.'
'Your bride stands between us.'
He rose, and with a stride reached me.
'My bride is here,' he said, again drawing me to him, 'because my equal is here, and my likeness. Jane, will you marry me?'
Still I did not answer, and still I writhed myself from his grasp: for I was still incredulous.
'Do you doubt me, Jane?'
'Entirely.'
'You have no faith in me?'
'Not a whit.'
'Am I a liar in your eyes?' he asked passionately. 'Little sceptic, you shall be convinced. What love have I for Miss Ingram? None: as I have taken pains to prove: I caused a rumour to reach her that my fortune was not a third of what was supposed, and after that I presented myself to see the result; it was coldness both from her and her mother. I would not- I could not- marry Miss Ingram. You- you strange, you almost unearthly thing!- I love as my own flesh. You- poor and obscure, and small and plain as you are- I entreat to accept me as a husband.'"
This passage speaks to the characters of both Jane and Mr. Rochester, with a little of Miss Ingram as well. Jane always speaks her mind, and calls out falsehoods when she catches them. Rochester plays the people around him, testing them and gauging their reactions. Miss Ingram is, of course, has incredibly high standards and shuns those she perceives as below her. These three characters make for an interesting love triangle, as each is vastly different morally from the other two. While there are some similarities between all three characters, they prove to be of different worlds.
Rochester feels as if he and Jane are intellectual and emotional equals, and so does Jane. The two can talk about both deep and frivolous matters and feel at ease in doing so. Jane, who always speaks plainly and clearly, answers his questions as straightforwardly as possible. When asked if she distrusts Rochester after his declaration of love, she responds that she has "'not a whit'" (line 10) of faith in him. Even though this statement may come as shocking to Rochester, its phrasing is completely in line with Jane's character. She always speaks her truth, a trait that is completely consistent in her adult life.
Rochester is true to himself, rather than toying with Jane as he has been for pretty much the entire time she's been at Thornfield. He soon learns that she can see through some of his farces; Jane is far too quick-witted to fall completely for all his fronts. This is evidenced when Rochester assumes the role of a gypsy to see if Jane likes him and Jane eventually figures out that it is him beneath the veil.
Jane uneasy because she has been so convinced that Mr. Rochester intends to marry Miss Ingram, who Jane feels inferior to. While Rochester rebuts such a theory, asserting that "'I would not- I could not- marry Miss Ingram'" (line 14), Jane still feels that he and Miss Ingram are supposed to marry. Although she is the intellectual superior, Jane values Miss Ingram's wealth and beauty more highly when it comes to a suitor for Mr. Rochester.
Jane never becomes fully convinced that she is destined to marry Rochester. She does not allow herself to change her name to Jane Rochester, telling herself that the title will belong to her only when she is married. Up until the big Bertha reveal, she
This post is extremely thoughtful and insightful. Before I comment further, the end of the post is cut off at "up until the big Bertha reveal, she". This is a bummer because I would have loved to read more! You make deep observations and connections that I had not originally thought. I like how you comment on specific personality traits and how they interacted with others. My only suggestion, aside from concluding the post, is to use more textual evidence from the passage to support assertions such as "they prove to be of different worlds". I would agree more with specific words that prove it. Overall, a nice post!
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