The Rejections of Loneliness

"Not a tie holds me to human society at this moment--Not a charm or hope calls me where my fellow-creature are--none that saw me would have a kind thought or good wish for me. I have no relative but the universal mother, Nature: I will seek her breast and ask repose"(328)

There comes a moment in everyone's life where they feel that everyone is against them. Jane feels this after leaving Mr. Rochester's estates because of the marriage incident. Jane believes that leaving is the only way that she can escape her problems and be free, but even after leaving, it seems that everyone she encounters on her journey as a vagabond, knows her problems and are rejecting to give her aid. Jane is forced to starve for 2 days and live in the living room of nature. Jane becomes a beggar, which you can almost compare to a homeless person, by the way she is rejected by the people she asks for aid. Now she didn't leave her house because of financial problems, but she is forced to live on the streets and beg for food. Even though she was still well dressed and didn't look like a homeless, she was still rejected, such as how many homeless are when they ask for money or food. This is when the feelings of loneliness and rejection from the people of the world are felt. If you are homeless, you feel the only thing you have to cling on to is mother nature, which is exactly how Jane feels.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrosimoes7/ / CC BY 2.0

Eduardo' opinion about Jane Eyre and Mr.Rochester

What do you think about Eduardo's opinion about Jane Eyre and Mr.Rochester. He says that there's no reason for her to leave Mr.Rochester. He wants them to stay together, but he doesnt understand that even if they love each other inmensly thay can't be together simply because of her reputation. Please comment.

Don't Run

Some time in the afternoon I raised my head, and looking round and seeing the western sun gilding the sign of its decline on the wall, I asked, "What am I to do?" But the answer my mind gave--"Leave Thornfield at once"-- was so prompt, so dread, that I stopped my ears: I said, I could not bear such words now. (302)

Jane has now found out about Mr. Rochester's first marriage. Jane is filled with confusion and sadness; she has no idea what to do. We all know that Jane decided to run away, but was this really the best option for Jane? I believe that Jane should not have run away from Thornfield. Yes, Mr. Rochester did Jane wrong, but I don't believe that she should have run away. Jane should have faced her fears and consequences another way.

By leaving, Jane only inflicted more pain on herself. She left with absolutely nothing; no money, no place to go, and it seems to me with no state of mind. I believe that Jane should have looked over the situation once more. Mr. Rochester was married, but does Jane realize the circumstances. It seems to me that Jane did not think of the consequences of her future before she left Thornfield. Her main goal was only too run away from the challenges that were brought forth to her, and that is where I think she made the wrong choice. Like Adolf said, " You should, when leaving, make sure that you have all the resources necessary to leave that way you do not end up like a vagabond or bum like Jane." Jane did not do this. Jane made a rather bizare choice by leaving without anything, which could have killed her, but thankfully it didn't. Jane really needs to take a moment and think before she chooses what road to take; If not she could really be in for some trouble.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vincepal/ / CC BY 2.0

Falling.

It is hard to believe that Jane went from almost being Mrs. Rochester to a beggar on the streets. This is the lowest point in Jane's life. Her heart has just been broken, she ran away from her home, and now she is forced to live on the streets. An excerpt from the book will demonstrate what Jane has had to do in order to just survive.

A little before dark I passed a farm-house, at the open door of which the farmer was sitting, eating his supper of bread and cheese. I stopped and said -
"Will you give me a piece of bread? for I am very hungry." He cast on me a glance of surprise; but without answering, he cut a thick slice from his loaf, and gave it to me. I imagine he did not think I was a beggar, but only an eccentric sort of lady, who had taken a fancy to his brown loaf. As soon as I was out of sight of his house, I sat down and ate it.
I could not hope to get a lodging under a roof, and sought it in the wood I have before alluded to. But my night was wretched, my rest broken: the ground was damp, the air cold: besides, intruders passed near me more than once, and I had again and again to change my quarters; no sense of safety or tranquillity befriended me. Towards morning it rained; the whole of the following day was wet. Do not ask me, reader, to give a minute account of that day; as before, I sought work; as before, I was repulsed; as before, I starved; but once did food pass my lips. At the door of a cottage I saw a little girl about to throw a mess of cold porridge into a pig trough. "Will you give me that?" I asked.

Living outside? Begging for food? This is not the Jane we have come to know and love. Where has her pride gone? Maybe running away was not the right decision. Though it would not have looked proper, perhaps she should have gone to see her uncle. His stopping the wedding is a sign that he cares about her. Jane is young, but she is very mature. This whole situation with Mr. Rochester confused her; Jane is no longer clear-headed. How could Jane have fallen so low?

Proper Way to Leave

The proper way to leave is neither out of spite nor out of the blue because then, as you can see with Jane, you leave unprepared and you put yourself in a worse situation. The best thing to do is talk the situation over with your partner and decide if anyone should leave. And if so, who and with what they should leave with. Leaving out of the blue like Jane did will leave you like Jane: with nothing. You should, when leaving, make sure that you have all the resources necessary to leave that way you do not end up like a vagrant or bum like Jane. And as this photograph shows, leaving is never easy whether you are the one leaving or not.

Einmal ist keinmal
by Felinux- Cogito ergo boom!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/felinux/2267718966/

Broken heart

"The marriage cannot go on: I declare he existence of an impediment."(293)
-Mr. Mason

Jane I know that you are hurt from the events that has happened recently. I also know that Mr. Rochester's secret of already being married was a big shocker, and I can only imagine how you feel. Don't put yourself down; its not your fault, because Mr. Rochester should have been honest from the beginning. Even though you have forgiven him, will you be able to forget the way your first love lied to you, betrayed you, and almost made you commit bigamy? Most of all that would have ruined your reputation as a woman in the 1800 hundreds. As far as your feelings, I know that your going to have a hard time opening up to people and expressing your feeling for them in the future. You are a strong women, and you can make it through any hardship, but you just have to apply you past experiences to make up for new ones. Your outer shell may be broken, but soon you will find the right person to give your inner heart too.

This picture describes Jane as a person and her feeling, because she is a strong woman and she will eventually find the right person to give her heart too.

Homeless

“A weakness, beginning inwardly , extending to the limbs seized me, and I fell: I lay on the ground some minutes, pressing my face to the wet turf. I had some fear-or hope-that here I should die: but I was soon up; crawling forwards on my hands and knees, and then again raised to my feet-as eager and as determined as ever to reach the road.” (327)

In my opinion homeless people must struggle with this all the time. They must constantly fight with themselves; one half urges to shrivel up and die, and the other to get back up and fight for life. Like my classmate Ana said "Jane has now degraded herself ;she use to have a job and earn money now she has hit rock bottom. She has sunk into some kind of depression." Jane has hit rock bottom. But she still struggles to climb out and get back to the top. How strong their will must be to get up everyday and beg for anything knowing that they will most likely get nothing. The shame they must experience everyday when they beg; it must be unbearable. Willing to do any work that comes their way, but no work comes their way because of their appearance. They can't even hope to improve their appearance because they lack the proper resources to do it. They do anything they can to try and make a living, but poverty is a nearly unbreakable bond. People judge you from what they see, and if you come from poverty thats what they see. They don't see your willingness to do anything to leave it or or drive or determination. Here is a link to one of Pablo Picasso's paintings. It shows a poor man doing the only thing he can to make a living; he is playing a guitar. He finds enough strength to get up and try to live. Despite how shriveled and starved he is, despite how the weather has beaten and tortured him. Regardless of how hopeless his situation is, he somehow finds the strength to get back up and fight for every last breath, every last bite of food and drink of water. That is true strength, and Jane shows her true strength in the quote above. Despite how much easier it would be for her to just give up and die, she fights on. But just like so many homeless people today Jane can't hope her situation will get better, because she knows that it most likely won't. Yet, even though she knows this she continues her efforts, never giving up.

Why Mr. Rochester? Why?

“It simply consists in the existence of a previous marriage. Mr. Rochester has a wife now living.” (p.294)

These are two simple sentences that ruin Jane's wedding. Mr. Briggs has was the the person who said this remark about Mr. Rochester. This is the moment of truth when Mr. Rochester's skeletons come out of the closet. Mr. Rochester is married to another women and he thinks he can still marry Jane. What kind of person is he. Is he trying to merry the most women he can? Just using Jane and the others for his personal needs. At first, I supported Mr. Rochester when others thought he was an untrustworthy and suspicious person. I wanted Jane to marry Mr. Rochester because he seemed like a great person for her. Now with the new information Mr. Briggs is sharing with us, my thoughts towards Mr. Rochester has changed. He changed from this nice respectable man to a lying fake idiot. A man should never play a women's heart. It's very hurtful and especially to a women like Jane. She will be in great pain because she hasn't had any relation with a man. She has no experience with relationships and will not know how to handle her pain. Erika explains the first few stages Jane will go through after she has found out this terrible truth and Erika also explains Jane's reaction afterwards. Jane will feel like her heart has broken into many pieces like the picture on this blogg. She will feel her heart in great pain and agony. My thoughts towards Mr. Rochester has changed after this and he has to do something that shows his true love for Jane to redeem himself.

CarbonNYC, "Broken Heart," http://www.flickr.com/photos/carbonnyc/132922595/

Keep Your Pride, Leave Everything Behind

“Think of his misery; think of his danger- look at his state when left alone; remember his headlong nature; consider the recklessness following on despair-soothe him; save him; love him; tell him you love him and will be his. Who in the world cares for you? Or who will be injured by what you do?” (322)

“I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.”(322)

Dear Jane,
You have just gone through something which none of us would like to ever go through. I understand that you are heart broken, confused, and full of emotions and despair and cannot think clearly. You are too confused and your thoughts are contradicting one another. However, Jane, you must cease all emotions from letting you take the right decision which in my opinion is to leave Mr. Rochester and forget about him once and for all. Your argument for maybe staying with him is that no one else in the world cares for you, but the thing is that you have not met everyone in the world and there would be plenty of other kind and caring gentlemen who would love to show you their love. However, If you stay at Thornfield you will never find these others. You also ask yourself who will be injured by what you do, and even though you may not care about it, that person is you. You are a woman that respects herself a lot, done let that go down by staying with a man who only wanted to use you. Jane, keep your respect, pride, and heart from being broken any more by taking your own advice which you have been putting at the back of your head and flee from Rochester. Take the first steps into the unknown road to find something better, as shown in this image taken by Vincepal on flickr.com. However, before you leave, i suggest you follow the advice given by Arof on how to leave properly.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vincepal/ / CC BY 2.0

The love she lost

The whole consciousness of my life lorn, my love lost, my hope quenched, my faith death-struck, swayed full and mighty above in one sullen mass. (301)

In this part of the novel, Jane Eyre is depressed because she found out about Mr.Rochester's old marriage. She is sad and very confused due to the fact that she still loves him and Mr.Rochester loves her. But she cannot love him, he's already married, but her heart doesn't understand that. She doesn't want to be viewed as Mr.Rochester's second wife. It will change her reputation and although she'll be happy with him she would be viewed differently from everybody else. She never thought that would happen to her in mass, the moment her life was suppose to change for good just back fired on her and became the moment where she lost her love, Mr.Rochester. I think that she's making a good decision here because she can't change her reputation for bad, especially the way her life has been going. Although she is sad her heart will recover and it will grow stronger. But until then, she has to live her life and try to recover from this great loss.

Here's a link that will take you to a picture of a heart that is broken. In this picture, I quickly saw the emotion and feeling of the heart broken.

Cassandra, a classmate of mine talks about forgiving Mr.Rochester. This relates to my blog because it also talks about how Jane felt in this situation.

Forgive and Forget

Jane: "Gentle Reader, may you never feel what I then felt! May your eyes never shed such stormy, scalding, heart-wrung tears as poured from mine. May you never appeal to Heaven in prayers so hopeless and so agonised as in that hour left my lips: for never may you, like me, dread to be the instrument of evil to what you wholly love." (pg. 327)

Jane clearly tells the reader that she was really hurt when she found out Mr. Rochester was already married. She is not a selfish person at all. She tells the reader that she hopes nothing like what happened to her happens to anyone else. Just from this passage, you can tell what kind of woman Jane is. She is a caring individual that respects not only Mr. Rochester but herself as well. Leaving Thornfield meant willing to leave everything and everyone behind and forgiving those who hurt her. If she didn't respect herself, she wouldn't have cared about her reputation and would've stayed in Thornfield as Mr. Rochester's mistress, but she respects herself enough to recognize that it would be a stupid thing to do. Jane forgave Mr. Rochester and left. She is a smart woman. Forgiving and leaving show that she respects Mr. Rochester and his marriage, even though she loves him.


Here's a link to a picture of a lonely and almost sad-looking bird. Jane was sad about leaving and she was hurt, but she managed to leave everything behind and move on.

Title: Bird and surfers
By: Mel B.

Hitting Rock Bottom

"My strength is quite failing me," I said in a soliloquy. "I feel I cannot go much farther. Shall I be an outcast again this night? While the rain descends so, must I lay my head on the cold, drenched ground? I fear I cannot do otherwise: for who will receive me? But it will be very dreadful, with this feeling of hunger, faintness, chill, and this sense of desolation--this total prostration of hope. In all likelihood, though, I should die before morning. And why cannot I reconcile myself to the prospect of death? Why do I struggle to retain a valueless life?" (335)

Jane has found out that Mr. Rochester has a wife in Thornfield Hall. She has made the decision to leave Mr. Rochester and Thornfield Hall in the past. I think Jane did the correct thing, but she also made the blunder of not taking into account how much money she had. Now she has fled and is in a village where she doesn't know anyone, she doesn't have any money, and she hasn't anywhere to spend the night. Jane has now degraded herself ;she use to have a job and earn money now she has hit rock bottom. She has sunk into some kind of depression. Jane looks at life in a different perspective now that she has to sleep outside and beg for food. I really feel that Jane has become hopeless and discourage. Jane has lost hope on her ability to raise again. Jane needs to remember who she is so she can find the strength to take control of her life again. When I say that Jane has hit rock bottom, I don't mean that she can't look for a way to regain herself. Otilio,my classmate, thinks otherwise. Otilio thinks that Jane hasn't hit rock bottom but really how low do you have to get to know when you have hit rock bottom? Here is a link to Otilio's blogg, so you can read further into this subject.
Honestly, I have thought about running away myself and I have come to the conclusion that it was beyond harder getting food, shelter, clothes, and company back then than it would be today. That doesn't take away the sad and horrific image that I picture when I see a women in the streets cold and hungry. In a way I see Jane now part of the people that I would see out on the street. Here is a picture, that might help you picture Jane the way I do.

Worst Nightmare

“I have been married: and the women to whom I was married lives!…Some have whispered to you that she is my bastard half-sister: some, my cast-off mistress; I now inform to you that she is my wife, whom I married fifteen years ago,- Bertha Mason by name…Bertha Mason is mad; and she came of a mad family;- idiots and maniacs through three generations!” (296)

Which may be the worst that can happen to someone who is going to marry? Before reading this part of the chapter, I have had asked myself this same question. And things come across my mind; for example having a stain in your wedding dress, or for the any of the two to change their mind of marring each other. But never in my life has it ever occur to me that the worst nightmare that you could have about your wedding would be that the one you love the most is married to someone else. And he never told you about it. Someone else had to intervene and cancel the wedding in order for you not to be fooled by the so called “future husband.” I’m sorry to hear that Jane had to go through all this awkward situation. This is one of those times where I don’t wished to wear her shoes. But then, I know that I told her that she should of find someone better; someone that would treat her right, and be worth her love. But she got carried away, she made her decision and now she’s suffering the consequences. She was thinking with her heart, but unfortunately she wasn’t thinking with her head. Before she even found out about the scandal; she didn’t want to accept gifts from Mr. Rochester because she had a great self respect. She was an independent woman, who wasn’t going to let a man buy her love. But now that she is alone, hungry, and homeless, she is beginning to depend on people’s food and pity. She lowered her self respect as fast as snapping my fingers. Jane wouldn’t have had to go through all of this this is if she would of followed my advises, and if Mr. Rochester wasn’t such a liar and would have told Jane that he was married to someone out of their mind. I wished this was all a nightmare, where Jane could wake up like nothing had happened and to have followed my advises, but also to have not just only listen to her heart but to also think about the consequences of her actions.

This is a picture of how I think Jane looks now that she's alone in the streets. How she seems like she has no self respect, and she's dependent on others now.

Beggar
By: Matti Mattila
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattimattila/2789102341/

Let Go

"One instant, Jane. Give one glance to my horrible life when you are gone. All happiness will be torn away with you. What then is left? For a wife I have but the maniac upstairs: as well might you refer me to some corpse in yonder churchyard. What shall I do, Jane? Where turn for a companion, and for some hope?"(321)

At this point Jane has found out the Mr. Rochester is married to Bertha Mason. She doesn't know what to do. Mr. Rochester had shown that he loved her and was willing to get married with Jane. But, could all of what he said have been a lie. If he knew that he was already married why would he want to hurt Jane. She would have found out about this sooner or later. Mr. Rochester is saying that if Jane walks out of his life now then he will be miserable. If his intentions weren't to hurt Jane, why would he have done this? What Mr. Rochester did was a horrible thing. He could have told Jane that he really did love her but he was already married to someone he didn't even like, it was an arranged marriage.
Now Jane is confused as to what she should do. Should she escape and run from all her troubles? Should she forgive Mr. Rochester? It is clear that Jane fell in love with Mr. Rochester. But, Jane has no one in her life. Mr. Rochester was the only person she had. She may consider herself a fool for falling in love. Now, I think that she won't ever fall in love again because she may be scared that something like this could happen again. Even though it may be hard to forget about Mr. Rochester, the right thing could be to let go.

Let go
By:[nati]
http://www.flickr.com/photos/natita2/2515513630/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/natita2/ / CC BY 2.0

To Go Pass the Sadness

“Sometimes in the afternoon I raised my head, and looking around and seeing the western sun gilding the sign of its decline on the wall, I asked, 'what am I doing to do' ” (302)

At this point of the novel, Jane has no idea what she has to do. Her marriage was interrupted by Mr. Mason. Mr. Mason said that Mr. Rochester could not get married to Jane because he is already married with someone else, a woman named Bertha Mason. She is traumatized by the event that just took place. And Mr. Rochester, the man she loves the most, is not the man she thought he was. Now she is locked in her room weeping and wondering what to do next.
I can't begin to explain the many situations where I had been in a deep sadness and wondered what I had to do in order to continue my life (I still don't know what causes this sadness). I found the challenge of starting life again a very difficult one. I didn't feel like doing anything that would cause me to take a risk in anyway. I didn't think that it was worth it. I would have rather stayed in bed and wish the whole thing would go away by itself. I lay in bed thinking of happy thing that had once brought amusement to my life. Most living in a day-dream. A lie. It didn't work; I found myself haunted ever more with a sadness that continued to eat me alive.
Then, out of longing to feel better, I finally arose. I knew in order to make the evil feelings got away I had to rid of them myself and it worked. Like what Jane did to Mr. Rochester. She go him out of her life so that she won't be sad anymore.
In an other blog by KAEH about what Jane should do and what would happen if she leaves or stays. Here is the link.

Can love cure deceit?

"Little Jane's love would have been my best reward," he answered:"without it, my heart is broken. But Jane will give me her love: yes--nobly, generously."
Up the blood rushed to his face; forth flashed the fire from his eyes; erect he sprang; he held his arms out; but I evaded the embrace, and at once quitted the room.
"Farewell!" was the cry of my heart as I left him. Despair added,"Farewell, for ever!"(324)
Jane is in love with Mr.Rochester, as he is with her. However, she can't be with him for this treacherous deceit. Deceit as defined by Dictionary.com is "the act or practice of deceiving; concealment or distortion of the truth for the purpose of misleading; duplicity; fraud; cheating". This is exactly what Mr.Rochester did. He lied to Jane, but is he justified for his actions?
Most people think that Jane shouldn't forgive Mr.Rochester. Though his cause was okay the truth shall set us free. His legal wife is not fit to be married. She has a disease. However, he is such a good person that he didn't want to put her in an insane asylum. In this time period people in insane asylums were tortured. Though his wife should be in some mental hospital:she didn't deserve to be tortured. So if that isn't justified enough he was also freeing Jane from the burden of knowledge.
Mr.Rochester's actions were selfish, but wouldn't Jane be happy with him? He knew if she knew the truth she wouldn't marry him. He was being deceitful; he purposely tricked Jane. However, had he not, Jane wouldn't even come close to feeling the love she felt for him. Though she was tricked and lied to, she was also given true happiness.
In the end it seems that even though Mr.Rochester's actions are justified:love wasn't enough. Jane loves him: Jane can forgive him, but she will not stay with him. Love can cure many things but honesty unfortunately comes first. Like in the web link below and Sophocles agree. Honesty is number one.
http://writingjunkie.net/honesty.jpg

Mr. Rochester and The Black Gates

(Photographer: Gwinva, Title: Iron yett Blackness Castle, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iron_yett_Blackness_Castle.jpg)

"'Sir, your wife is living: that is a fact acknowledged this morning by yourself. If I lived with you as you desire, I should then be your mistress: to say otherwise is sophistical--is false.'" (Jane)(309)
"It gazed and gazed on me. It spoke to my spirit: immeasurably distant was the tone, yet so near, it whispered in my heart - (Jane)
'My daughter, flee temptation.' (Jane's mother)
'Mother, I will.' (Jane)
So I answered after I had waked from the trance-like dream." (Jane)(325)
“The great gates were closed and locked; but a wicket in one of them was only latched. Through that I departed:it, too,I shut; and now I was out of Thornfield.” (Jane)(326)

Mr. Rochester is an evil person. He tries to marry Jane while he is currently married to Bertha Mason. This could have sabotaged Jane's future. If Jane would have married this guy she would not be his wife but a concubine. The only thing that is worse is that Jane was sucked in by his lies and fell for him without taking caution. This makes Jane look like a fool for falling into something she could have investigated. There is the chance that Mr. Rochester could have divorced Bertha, but he cares more about his ego and what people would think of him if he divorced Bertha. If he really did care for Jane, he would have divorced Bertha, explain to Jane about his past with Bertha, and ask Jane's hand in marriage. If things went more like this, Jane would have most likely married Mr. Rochester, but instead Mr. Rochester has to lie his way into marriage. Jane you did the right thing when you ran away from Thornfield.
Eduardo's blog, Can love cure deceit?, talks about how love can overcome hardships. I agree with this statement but there is a line to which love cannot overcome difficult hardships. The situation of Jane and Mr. Rochester crosses that line. I don't think love can solve this problem.
There is also a symbol in the book. The gates in which Jane opens to leave Thornfiled is a symbol. She destroys her life at Thornfield and creates a new life. The gates are the threshold to a new world. She is skeptical at first because Jane realizes that once she steps out there is no turning back. Jane leaves after she dreams about her mother telling her to leave.

Who's fault is it really?

"...Bertha Mason is mad; and she came of a mad family; idiots and maniacs through three generations? Her mother, the Creole, was both a madwoman and a drunkard!--as I found out after I had wed the daughter: for they were silent on family secrets before. Bertha, like a dutiful child, copied her parent in both points. I had a charming partner--pure, wise, modest: you can fancy I was a happy man. I went through rich scenes! Oh! my experience has been heavenly, if you only knew it!..." (296)

What's been on my mind is that, ok, I get that Bertha came from an insane family, but maybe Mr. Rochester had a little to do with her insanity too. Maybe she would have outgrown it if Mr. Rochester had given her the opportunity to. I think that him locking her up made her go even more insane. The locking up may have stressed her out and made her emotionally depressed and that may have triggered her insanity. Just like an online article says by a person with the name of KnowledgePower says that many causes of insanity are stress, anxiety, trauma, and emotions. I think he is responsible for her insanity, and it's stupid that he thinks that it's ok for him to re-marry because she is the way she is. When you marry someone, you make an oath: for sickness and in health till death do you apart, he isn't really following through with that. He loved Bertha before he found out she was mad, is it so wrong to love her afterwards. He needs to put up with it, and try to make it work; not lie to people. He's a liar. A BIG FAT LIAR! And for what Jane's been through, she doesn't need anyone that's just going to play with her heart. She made the right decision in leaving.

The letter

“Madam,
“Will you have the goodness to send me the address of my niece, Jane Eyre, and tell me how she is: it is my intention to write shortly and desire her to come to me at Madeira. Providence has blessed my endeavours to secure a competency; and as I am unmarried and childless, I wish to adopt her during my life, and bequeath her at my death whatever I may have to leave.
“I am, Madam, etc., etc.
“John Eyre, Madeira.”


This a letter that Jane's uncle sent Mrs. Reed. Mrs. Reed sent him a letter, when Jane was younger, about her problems with Jane. What Jane's uncle wrote on this letter was that he would adopt Jane. Jane didn't know she had an uncle. She only thought that the Reeds where her only family. If She knew about this at that time, she would of gladly take the offer with no doubt. Jane would of done this if she knew about the letter, but she didn't because Mrs. Reed hid it from her. Mrs. Reed didn't want Jane to leave and have a comfortable life. This was a evil thing to do because Jane could have had a better childhood and not suffer with the Reeds. Mrs. Reed just doesn't want to see Jane happy. She even said it herself. She said that she never showed the letter to Jane because Jane didn't deserve it. She said that Jane was always cruel to her and thats the reason Jane didn't deserve the letter. She is a cruel old women. Jane could of probably had a better life but Mrs. Reed ruined it. Here is a link to a picture of the object that could of change Jane's life.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8078381@N03/ / CC BY 2.0

Relationships are beautiful circles in life that involve two beings. The journey I am about to embark on is based on the social status of the people. Would a relationship between a lion, the king of the wild, and a rat, the prey, be a successful one? NO! As seen on the photo I uploaded from flickr, the lion will eat the rat because it is stronger and at a higher power. Just like that, a relationship between someone of low social status and someone of great wealth and power would be inappropriate. In other words what I am stressing is that the relationship between Jane and Mr. Rochester is inappropriate and should be what? Prohibited.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rofanator/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Forgive.

In chapter 21 after 8 years have passed, Jane talks to Mrs. Reed. Jane makes it very clear that she forgives Mrs. Reed for treating her badly as a child, but Mrs. Reed held a grudge all those years. Jane Eyre's uncle had written a card to Jane 3 years ago. It said that he was well-off money wise, but he had no heir. He wanted to adopt Jane. This would have been a wonderful opportunity for Jane, but Mrs. Reed never gave her the letter and even told Jane's uncle that Jane had died. When Mrs. Reed finally told Jane of the letter, Jane asked why she had never given it to her. Mrs. Reed replied:

Because I disliked you too fixedly and thoroughly ever to lend a hand in lifting you to prosperity. I could not forget your conduct to me, Jane—the fury with which you once turned on me; the tone in which you declared you abhorred me the worst of any body in the world; the unchild-like look and voice with which you affirmed that the very thought of me made you sick, and asserted that I had treated you with miserable cruelty. I could not forget my own sensations when you thus started up and poured out the venom of your mind: I felt fear, as if an animal that I had struck or pushed had looked up at me with human eyes and cursed me in a man's voice.—Bring me some water! Oh, make haste!

This stood out to me because I couldn't believe that Jane, when she was still a young girl, said something to Mrs. Reed that stuck with her for so many years. Mrs. Reed kept in all this resentment towards Jane; she never forgave her. Jane said she would always hate Mrs. Reed, but ended up forgiving her when she saw all that had happened while she was gone. Yet, Mrs. Reed, a grown woman, was still cruel to her after all these years.

Forgive

"Every attention shall be yours.."

Jane, Mr.Rochester wants for you to look your best; now that you're the future Mrs.Rochester. He wants to buy you as many dresses as you want. He wants himself to "put the diamond chain round your neck, and the circlet on your forehead...clasp the bracelets on these five wrists, and load these fairy-like fingers with rings." (263) He even wants to attire you in satin and lace, to have roses in your hair, and he wants to put a priceless vail. How many girls wouldn't die to have a man that would treat her like this? My opinion, alot. And this is what you replied!: "And then you wouldn't know me, sir; and I shall not be your Jane Eyre any longer, but an ape in a harlequin's jacket,- a jay in borrowed plumes." (263) Why, Jane? He would still love you for who you are, he won't treat you any different for how you look in the outside. He thinks you deserve everything you have ever wished for, and you do. If he wants to waste all the money in the world for you, let him. Why not? Like he said, "Mademoiselle is a fairy" (272) And fairies have everything they wish for. You should just live life as it comes, and don't act any different of how you were yesterday; when he proposed to you. You should have the same smile you had in the morning, that same glow in your eyes. And don't listen to Mrs. Fairfax, she might be right, but she might be wrong aswell. So just let him love you, and treat you like a princess. It's not like it's going to kill you if you do. Being spoil by the one you love won't hurt nobody. And if your worring about what people are going to say, don't listen to them, because they are just hating. Nevertheless this is a picture of how beatiful I think you would look the day of your weeding, with your pretty hair and that gorgeous white weeding dress.

Fontaine- Jane Eyre
By: Lori and The Bell Jar

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucy1965/ / CC BY 2.0

"From a seed to a plant"

Jane I feel that you have blossomed into a mature young lady. You have learned to forgive and leave your past behind. Even though what your aunt did to you when you were younger and even just a few years ago has not stopped you from being the bigger and better person. Lowood has shaped your perspective about your attitude and life that has brought you to a higher level. You have realized that wealth and status has brought the Reeds family to witness destruction. Just take a look at your cousins who you once lived with, they are all having a rough time because they let wealth and status determine their future. Even though you were claimed to have had the lowest status at Gateshead Hall you are now in first place against the Reeds. I honor your gratitude and sympathy towards your aunt because she was a ruffian towards you even though you were just a young child, ready to explore. Most people in the 21st century would take advantage of this moment by taking revenge on her for the evil acts that she presented upon you. I think most of your attitude has to be related to your religious factor with the way you act. Mrs. Reed is not fit to be a mother, she didn't even raised her on children, she left that major duty up to the servants and the money which lead them all to corruption. Jane we really need more people with that type of attitude to set a good example of how people should perform in certain situations like yours. i can honestly say that your killing Mrs. Reed with kindness.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rachelbest/2198340937/
http://images.easyart.com/i/prints/rw/en_easyart/lg/3/0/Young-Woman-on-her-Death-Bed-1621-Flemish-School-301442.jpg

Reality

"As I rose and dressed, I thought over what had happened, and wondered if it were a dream. I could not be certain of the reality till I had seen Mr. Rochester again, and heard him renew his words of love and promise."(261)

Jane Eyre still can't believe what has happened between her and Mr. Rochester. Mr. Rochester has proposed to her. Since, she has never been in love before everything is new to her. She can't distinguish between reality and dreams. I think that to her love is a dream. Jane Eyre needs to understand that it was no dream. She has confessed her love to Mr. Rochester. Even though the chestnut tree split in half it doesn't mean things aren't meant to be. Signs like the chestnut tree shouldn't mean anything to her. As long as she is happy then everything else is good. I'm sure that Jane never thought this day would come or something like this would happen. I think she has dreamt of this day. Her dreams have finally come true.
Reality is real and dreams aren't. I think dreams are something that you might or might not want to happen in real life. Reality is something that just happens in real life. Dreams are something that you can control and reality is something you can't control. Sometimes you want your dreams to become reality.
In the picture below the flower repesents love which to Jane Eyre is a dream. The surrounding area is also a dream. So like the title says it's a dream within a dream.
A Dream within a Dream..
By: lil_miss_whit

http://www.flickr.com/photos/serendipity_photography/ / CC BY 2.0

Rooted Together

“Before I left my bed in the morning, little Adele came running in to tell me that the great horse-chestnut at the bottom of the orchard had been struck by lightning in the night, and half of it split away.”

This is one of the only few examples of symbolism that the author Charlotte Bronte presents in the novel and also the most obvious one. As it turns out, under that same tree that was split away, Jane had confessed her love to Mr. Rochester, and he had proposed to her the evening before. The author is clearly trying to get at the reader by placing such a strong and strange symbolic event. The question in this matter is, what exactly does the author want the reader to conclude from such occurrence? Perhaps the author wants the reader to look ahead and try to draw a conclusion to how the outcome of this story will come to be, or perhaps she just wants to warn the reader of a complete turn of events in the following chapters. To me, this symbol of the tree splitting in two because of the the lightning can be drawn out into two different categories. The first category is that this symbolizes a bad such as maybe Jane's heart being broken, or that Jane and Rochester will not last or aren't meant to be. The second category is that of a good saying that a first things will not work out the way they are planned and Jane and Rochester will have difficulties and want to end it all, but the love that they have for each other keeps them strong and still rooted together such as the two halfs of the tree are by its roots in the above flickr picture taken by the user smenzer.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smenzer/ / CC BY 2.0

Things happen for a reason!

"Before I left my bed in the morning, little Adele came running in to tell me that the great horse-chestnut at the bottom of the orchard had been struck by lightning in the night, and half of it split away."

I think that this part of the book is going to make Jane paranoid. This, for her, is going to make her think that her and Mr. Rochester aren't meant to be together, because the exact place where he proposed got struck by lighting, and the tree split. When I first read that I was like, "Uh oh!" I automatically thought that she was going to take that as an omen and tell Mr. Rochester that she doesn't want to marry him, because they will never be happy. In a way, I think this is true. There are just some people that will never be happy together no matter how hard they try. I've seen it in real life and in soap operas. Well I believe that if God really wants them to be together, then they will find a way and they will eventually be together. But EVERYTHING TAKES TIME! You can't rush things. There's a reason for everything like Mira Kirshenbaum says. If something bad happens, there's always a reason why it did. I think the tree split for a reason. But I think if Jane starts getting paranoid then that's stupid. She's just going to make mess everything up. If its meant to happen, its meant to happen. And if its not, its not.

The mark of a new beginning and possibly the end

Jane has been exposed to happiness recently, Mr. Rochester has proposed Jane to marry him. Jane has accepted to marry Mr. Rochester, but at first she thought that he was mocking her. She was very cautious in the fact, of not letting herself get over excited. Jane went from anger toward Mr. Rochester to excepting Mr. Rochester's proposal.
“ "Come to my side, Jane, and let us explain and understand one another."
"I will never again come to your side: I am torn away now, and cannot return."
"But, Jane, I summon you as my wife: it is you only I intend to marry."
I was silent: I thought he mocked me.
"Come, Jane--come hither."
"Your bride stands between us." ”
The whole conversation between Mr. Rochester and Jane happened in the orchard. The beautiful garden that was full of trees and flowers in blossom. A very romantic place to propose to someone. The same night that Mr. Rochester proposed to Jane something very symbolic happened: the great-chestnut at the bottom of the orchard had been struck by lighting while everyone was sleeping.
The fact that the great-chestnut tree has been struck; the tree where something wonderful and happy has happened for Jane was a very interesting part in the chapter. The tree that signified the spot and the time, when such happiness was about to start.
Jane is the type of person that grew up thinking that there's signs in dreams and in things that happen around her. That's why I think the whole thing about the tree getting struck is something Jane is going to take in account.

Do Signs Exist?

“Presentiments are strange things! and so are sympathies; and so are signs: and the three combined make one mystery that humanity has not found the key. I never laugh at presentiments in my life; because I have had strange ones of my own. Sympathies, I believe, exist: (for instance, between far-distant, long distant, long-absent, wholly estranged relatives; asserting, notwithstanding their alienation, the unity of source to which each traces his origin) whose workings baffle mortal comprehension. And signs, for aught we know, may be but the sympathies of Nature with man.” (223)

This is the opening paragraph of chapter 21. Jane is talking about the mystery of some things, such as signs, dreams, and future-telling, that can foretell the future. Jane believes that signs of the future do exist. Because of her past and the strange things that have happened to her, she agrees that everything is connected one way or another. Bessie told her that dreams have a meaning and when you dream about a young child, that is a sure sign that something bad is about to happen, either to one’s self or one’s kin. Humans haven’t proven that dreams or signs are sufficient enough to name their outcome as fact. Jane had been having a dream about a child for a week. She recalled the story that Bessie told her and was afraid that something bad was about to happen. Of course in the book, this is used to forebode that something bad is about to happen; Jane finds out that Mr. John dies and Miss. Reed is on the verge of dying. But what if signs do exist? What if there are some things out in the world that can predict danger or good? What if Déjà vu is a true sign of the future?

I believe that signs do exist. From a religious point of view, I believe that God is able to connect with us through signs that tell us about the future. Example: There is a party and there is going to be a lot of drinking. It is also a very hostile environment, due to rival gang members that were both invited. Your friends ask you to go with them, but you say no. You don’t know why you said no, because you really wanted to go to the party, but you immediately denied the request. Afterwards, on the news, you hear that a fire burned down the building where the party was located and everyone dies. I think that that is a sign from God telling you that you had no business going to the party and surrounding yourself with such people. Obviously I’m exaggerating the circumstances, but I believe that these are the type of things that may foretell about the future. Some signs, such as chickens predicting the coming of rain, are a bit unreliable because people can predict rain by looking at dark clouds in the sky. But I believe that there are signs that can serve as warnings for humans.

Here is a link to some common superstitions and signs that Martha Short has provided from her personal knowledge.

Happiness

“Human beings never enjoy complete happiness in the world. I was not born to a different destiny to the rest of my species; to imagine such a lot befalling me is a fairy tale-a daydream.” (262)

I find this quote very interesting. Mainly because I was always raised to believe that true happiness existed, and that one could be completely happy. But this quote makes so much sense to me; it's human nature to want more so we can never be completely happy. We will always want more; we will always have a void in our hearts. No matter how much we have no matter how happy we are we cannot and will not every be in complete happiness. We are unable to do it; we can always find something wrong. No matter how colored in our hearts are there will always be a spec of black, longing to be filled.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gribanov/ / CC BY 2.0

The Chestnut Tree

The Chestnut Tree

“Before I left my bed in the morning, little Adele came running in to tell me that the great horse-chestnut at the bottom of the orchard had been struck by lightning in the night, and half of it split away.”(261)

Is it meant to be? In a previous blog I wrote about Jane and Mr. Rochester's relationship and stated that I disagree with it, but Jane Eyre followed her heart, and in chapter 23 we learned, that she accepted Mr. Rochester's proposal. Mr. Rochester proposed to her under a chest-nut tree, and soon after a storm irrupted. Was this a sign? Is Jane making a mistake? Also, the same tree that Mr. Rochester proposed to her under was struck by lightning in that storm. It seems to me that Jane has done something terribly wrong, and the storm showed us that. Soon after Jesus was crucified an enormous earthquake broke out, and then the Romans realized what they had done, was wrong. This is the exact same message that Charlotte Bronte is trying to portray to her readers. As her mouth spoke "yes" the sun was overclouded by the dark storm, and at that moment, the storm irrupted. We are not sure what Jane has done wrong, but something bad is sure to happen. Although the tree was struck, do we know if it was killed? So this doesn't mean that Mr. Rochester and Jane's relationship won't survive, it just means that it will be a lot harder than Jane anticipated.

Jane and Harry

As soon as I first read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, there was only one book series that I automatically found a connection to, Harry Potter. I know it was weird to compare a book from the Victorian era to a book series that started during the 1990’s, but both books are really close connected to each other.

They both don’t recognize the place that they have spent most of their life their home. Jane would rather stay away from Gateshead and Harry wouldn’t want to be at Privet Drive. They would prefer to be away form the places that has caused them so much pain in their life. They would rather be at the place they recognize as home; Hogwarts for Harry and Thornfield for Jane. Both of these places have meaning to each person. It is a place where they can be loved for who they are.

As soon as Jane and her cousins are about to depart, they seem to not dislike each other as much as they did when they were little kids. They seemed to push the past behind them and start their life. The same thing happened with Harry and his cousin Dudley during Deathly Hallows . As soon as Harry is about to leave his family forever his cousin Dudley, the one that has been abusive to him for most of his life, finally shows respect to Harry by giving him a proper goodbye and shaking hands willingly. Both knowing that they are at peace with each other and will most likely never see each other ever again.

It is amazing how these books with completely different plots could have similar scenes.

To see more similarities between these two books go to a blog by Madam Malkins called HP and Jane Eyre, The similarities between the two books

Happiness

Jane:"He kissed me repeatedly. When I looked up, on leaving his arms, there stood the widow, pale, grave, and amazed. I only smiled at her, and ran upstairs. 'Explanation will do for another time,' thought I. Still, when I reached my chamber, I felt a pang at the idea she should even temporarily misconstrue what she had seen. But joy soon effaced every other feeling;" (260)

From this quote I can tell that Jane is finally happy. She finally got what she wanted: to find love. Although she is very happy about Mr. Rochester proposing to her, not only did she find love with a man, but she also found the kind of love that makes her feel wanted. No one showed her love when she was a child, and now that she has found someone that loves her, it is only understandable that she is really happy. Every child deserves to be loved, but instead, Jane was treated with such cruelty by her aunt.
I'm kind of happy for Jane because I think she deserves to be happy with the one she loves after a life of bad treatment by others. It seems as if she doesn't care about anything else because she is happy where she's at. This isn't going to help her forget about her past, but instead deal with it. I'm really hoping that everything between her and Mr. Rochester work out.

Happiness is one of the things Jane never had as a child. Here is a picture of a happy child:

Title: Oh Happy Day!
By: OakleyOriginals
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oakleyoriginals/3065393607/

The Fight

“Georgina, a more vain and absurd animal than you, was certainly never allowed to cumber the earth. You had no right to be born; for you make no use of life…” (239)

Never in my life have I heard siblings fight verbally like this so I thought it would be a great topic to talk about. Georgina was going to marry Edwin, a very wealthy man, for his money. Eliza knew about this and told Edwin. Edwin got mad and dumped Georgina. The sisters started arguing about this and started insulting each other. In this argument I happen to be in Georgina’s side because you don’t expect your sister to backstab you. She was going to be with a wealthy man and if that’s what she wanted to do than Eliza should respect that decision, even if Georgina doesn’t really love Edwin.

This is a link that will take you to a picture of how a sister might look like in this fight.

Forgive and forget?

"The well-known face was there: stern, relentless as ever--- there was that peculiar eye which nothing could melt; and the somewhat raised, imperious, despotic eyebrow. How often had it lowered on me menace and hate! and how the recollection of childhood's terrors and sorrows revived as I traced its harsh line now! And yet I stooped down and kissed her: she looked at me?
Is this jane Eyre? she said
Yes, aunt Reed. How are you, dear aunt?" (234)

Dear aunt? How is she dear? When in her life did she ever treat you like a human being? How can you just forget all the pain? In this part of the novel Jane has been called by Mrs.Reed on her deathbed to come and talk to her. As if she has the right to ask for anything. However, Jane decides to go and spends about a month at Gateshead. I am so shocked at this reaction Jane had towards that evil woman. She never treated Jane with any type of love, why should Jane even recognize her as her aunt?
This scene in the book really shows how good Jane is. She's able to forgive and forget and even asks for forgiveness. However, while it may be a good thing that she is respectful, since when did we have to love those who cause us pain. Mrs.Reed has been nothing more than an evil witch to Jane. Casting her away from her family, treating her as if she were less of a human. She never earned the title dear aunt.
I was honestly anticipating a lot of conflicts between the both. Mrs.Reed hated Jane. Why should Jane even act courteous towards her. I understand that Mrs.Reed is about to die, but that does not excuse the way she treated Jane. I honestly hate the fact that Jane has forgiven her.
I myself have gone through the same thing with my father. It's been about ten years and it seems as if I will never forgive him. How can Jane so easily treat that woman with any respect? Where did she find the courage to return to that place that held all her painful past? Maybe Jane is nicer and a lot braver than I, but that woman did not deserve her forgiveness.
I am also not the only person to believe we shouldn't forgive those who cause us pain. Rodney Mullins in on of his pictures states,"How can I forgive when it hurts so much." Maybe Jane is no longer in pain about the past, but her past is why she is so careful. Why should she forgive her aunt?
http://rodneymullins.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/forgiveness.jpg

Jane, what have you done?

(Credit:Fir0002/Flagstaffotos)(http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chestnut_tree.jpg)

"'Because you gave me a new name--Jane Rochester; and it seems so strange.'" (262)(Jane)
"Before I left my bed in the morning, little Adele came running in to tell me that the great horse-chestnut at the bottom of the orchard had been struck by lightning in the night, and half of it split away." (261)(Jane)

Jane, I'm afraid you have made a terrible mistake. You told Mr. Rochester that you love him. What is worse is that you still haven't learned the secrets of Mr. Rochester's past with Grace Poole. If Grace finds out that you will be marrying Mr. Rochester, she will definitely be after you. The thing with Grace is that she tries to damage Mr. Rochester's life. Grace will be after you just to do damage to Mr. Rochester.
Even you feel uncomfortable being called Mrs. Rochester or Jane Rochester. What are you going to do now that you realize that you are going to marry this guy? You were in the moment and didn't think about what aspects of your life would change. The other thing that changed was the way he acted around you. He turned into a guy that wants to dress you up like a Barbie doll.
There was also a sign that made me think about your relationship with Mr. Rochester. The tree that split is a sign that your relationship with Mr. Rochester isn't going to last long. Mr. Rochester proposed to you under that tree. That is a superstitious sign that the marriage won't last long.

Add Stuff to Your Blog

We discussed in class how to take your blog to the next level by adding links or images/video to go along with -- and add to -- your posts and comments in texts. So the blog becomes more than a discussion between the author and readers; it becomes connected to other information, other discussions, other ideas through links, and it evokes or extends ideas through visual means.

But we also discussed how you need to be good scholars and give credit for information, ideas, or media you use in your blog (this includes formal citations as well as less formal acknowledgments). You need to do this whether you paraphrase, synthesize, or quote from the other sources. Making your sources known to your reader gives you more authority, and is just the right thing to do -- give credit where credit is due.

In addition, we discussed how we need to have permission to use images or video that is copyrighted because we are PUBLISHING on the Internet and not just using this in a classroom setting. We are disseminating these things to others, and it's illegal to take other people's stuff and put it out there for all the world to see. One way around this is to use works that have already given permission to be used through a "creative commons" license.

Here are some sources you might find helpful:
Embedded Video and Copyright
Fair Use and Blogging
25+ Sources for Creative Commons Content

Jane listen to me!

“Precisely: I see you do. I see genuine contentment in your gait, and mien, your eye and face, when you are helping me and pleasing me—working for me, and with me, in, as you characteristically say, 'all that is right:' for if I bid you do what you thought wrong, there would be no light-footed running, no neat-handed alacrity, no lively glance and complexion. My friend would then turn to me, quiet and pale, and would say, 'No, sir; that is impossible: I cannot do it, because it is wrong;' and would become immutable as a fixed star. Well, you too have power over me, and may injure me: yet I dare not show you where I am vulnerable, lest, faithful and friendly as you are, you should transfix me at once.”

Dear Jane,

I think that it would be a good idea that you and Mr. Rochester keep the relationship you have solely professional. You see once you get involved in an intimate relationship with your boss complicated things become even more complex. As Mr. Rochester is telling you in the quote above, when one gets in a relationship one person often gains power over the other and may be able to hurt the other person. He believes that Jane is getting at that point where she had the strength to injure her boss, Mr. Rochester, and this can put her in a bad situation with her job. Let's say that she did do something that hurt Mr. Rochester. At that point in her life she is at risk of not only losing her job but getting a bad reputation as a governess. And as it is stated in an article in The New York Times(http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/24/fashion/sundaystyles/24HARASS.html), nowadays a relationship like that can lead you in court.

Watch the road on which you travel

Dear Jane,
I understand that you have developed feelings for your boss, Mr. Rochester, and to this I have only one thing to say: proceed with caution. You are in a very delicate situation, Jane; you seem to have fallen for a man who has many secrets and is very deceptive. He is a very odd character. He isn't someone who seems like he can stay in one place too long. He regularly leaves Thornfield and returns for moments at a time; he doesn't seem like the type of man that would settle down for a woman. Also his past experience with Adele's mother more than likely made him very cautious and suspicious person. He will constantly be trying to keep an eye on you. Mr. Rochester is also a very confusing person. He leads you on in ways, for example, when he tells you “Good-night my _____” (184). Yet he continues to keep in touch with Miss Ingram, and he also plans on marrying her as shown in this quote: “'Well whatever I am, remember you are my wife'... She giggled and her colour rose” (187).

Well, Jane, in the end you must do what your heart tells you; it'd be too difficult for you to live with yourself wondering what if. But at the same time you must be cautious of your actions; don't just throw yourself at him because this could end very badly for you. Jane you must listen to your heart but let yourself be guided by your mind.

Take it if you may

“You have nothing to do with the master of Thornfield, further than to receive the salary he gives you for teaching his protégée, and to be grateful for such respectful treatment as, if you do your duty, you have a right to expect at his hands. Be sure that is the only tie he seriously acknowledges between you and him: so don't make him the object of your fine feelings, your raptures, agonies, and so forth. He is not of your order: keep to your caste; and be too self-respecting to lavish the love of the whole heart, soul, and strength, where such a gift is not wanted and would be despised.” (165)

Jane, I consider you a most intelligent and apt lady whom has come to learn how to control her feelings and emotions throughout her life by overcoming a variety of experiences. You are able to stop, think, analyze, think once more, and take control of a situation. However, it seems as if though you have stumbled upon an awfully difficult situation concerning your feeling toward the master of Thornfield, Mr. Rochester. Your heart has fallen for him even though it's not right and can bring many troubles to your yet young life. Jane, you must understand that you shouldn't mix your profession with your personal life. Mr. Rochester is your boss and that is the only thing you should let him be. At first when you feel “a sickening sense of disappointment” (164) because you find out Mr. Rochester will be gone for almost a year, you are able to think clearly and give yourself the advice above, but now you are beginning to forget that advice.

My advice to you, Jane, is to simply follow your own advice. Do not let your heart fall into the fangs of a man whom you know very little about and hides many secrets. I believe he is only trying to use you to escape his past or some other unpleasant secret. I conclude this from the fact that he has been asking you many questions about yourself and your feelings toward him, but he refuses to answer many of your questions and does not tell you the truth about everything that is going on around Thornfield Hall. Instead of telling you the truth about his past straight forward, he tells you part of it but making it seem as if its someone else that is going through this, just as he did during your walk with him after Mason was stabbed.

Jane you have suffered and endured much in your short life already, so therefore I don't think you should go through any more troubles due to a man of unruly manners and habits as is Mr. Rochester. As I said once before, my advice to you is to simply stop, think, analyze, think once more, and take control of the situation by following your own advice. Take it if you may.

It is too much

At this point in the novel, Jane shouldn't be with Mr. Rochester. Despite the fact that she has deep feelings for him, she should not be with him. Being with him is too much for her. Too much adventure and too many secrets that could hurt her in the future.
He is a very secretive man. It seems that every time Jane tries to ask him something he finds a clever way to avoid the question. She never knows where he is or why he went in the first place. Who knows what he could be doing at these other places or who he is seeing? He also doesn't want to express the way he feels about her. We know that he like her and he is not honest about it. He almost said so, but quickly held it back so she wouldn't hear him. He said,"'Good-night, my--' He stopped, bit his lip, and abruptly left me."(184)
He is a very dangerous man to be around. It seems that there is danger every time he is around. Every time he is at Thornfield, there seems to be at least one incident where his life is in danger and she has to save his. Jane might want a life of adventure and a chance to excite her tranquil life, but one day she going to get hurt trying to save Mr. Rochester. She even said that she would do anything for him if something ever happened. She said, "Can I help you, sir?--I'd give my life to serve you." (207)
Having never experienced love, she obviously is very naive and doesn't know what to do. The best thing to to do would be to just keep her relationship Mr. Rochester strictly a business one.

Love is blind

Dear Jane,

You said it yourself: you are in love with Mr. Rochester. You make it clear when you say, “I had not intended to love him: the reader knows I have wrought hard to extirpate from my soul the germs of love there detected; and now, at the first renewed view of him, they spontaneously revived, green and strong! He made me love him without looking at me” (177). I believe that you have to take chances in life, and that is exactly what you should do. Take a chance at love; you never know, Mr. Rochester might be the one for you. But you will never know unless you give it a try, right? It is said that love is blind, and I believe so. You said that Mr. Rochester wasn’t the most handsome guy there is, and he, like all other human beings, has his flaws. Although you might be blinded by love, you must always take a step back and look at the big picture. Mr. Rochester has his flaws, and so do you. No one is perfect. But what really matters is that you love him and he loves you. Love has no limits. Take a risk, and don’t let this chance go. Don’t give up on love or anything else, because the worst thing you can do is let the chance go and then later regret it. Even if you fail, you’ll walk away with your head held high knowing that you at least tried.

Should she? Or should she not?

I think Jane should try to have a relation with Mr. Rochester. Jane cannot deny that she likes him. Since the first time they met, Jane has found an attraction for him. She has tried not to show her feelings towards him, but with every passing day, she has a stronger attraction for him. Also, Mr. Rochester shows that he likes Jane. He is always asking her questions about herself. He is trying not to make it seem as though he is trying to get to know her better, so he speaks to her in a rough voice. Even though he does this, the reader can still tell that he is trying to get a little more personal with her. Since Jane always answers his questions truthfully, she sometimes gives him answers that shows her feelings for him. And since she does this, Mr. Rochester does the same

In the conversation they have on p.206-207, Mr. Rochester starts to open up to Jane and starts to show his feelings towards her by the words he choses to respond.. He does this because of the words that Jane uses to answer him. The words she choses makes the conversation more personal. She starts to also show her feelings. “I wish I were in a quiet island with only you; and trouble, and danger, and hideous recollections removed from me.” (p.206). This is Mr. Rochester speaking to Jane. He has shown his feelings for her in his conversation.

Since Jane has feelings for him and he has feelings for her, I think that they should start dating. They both like each other and if they don't date each other, eventually they will lose their feelings towards each other. They should start dating and see where that will take them.

Find someone better

Dear Jane,

I would like to give you an advise about your so call “love life”. So now that I know you and Mr. Rochester have like a “thing” going on, I think it would be better if you stay away from him, in a way that you should not see him as more than your boss, because that's what he is to you. You went to Thornfield to work as a governess not to find someone to fall in love with. But I'm not writing to you to criticize you. I'm here to help you. So in my opinion, I think that you should find someone your age, and someone that you have things in common, unlike Mr. Rochester, you have almost nothing in common, and to make it even worst he is old enough to be your dad. Concidering this, Jane, you're in a very delicate situation, so it would be better to avoid falling in love with Mr. Rochester; not only because you don't know him that well, but what if he doesn't feel the same way you do? We don't know for sure if he does, and even if we did, we wouldn't be sure if he wants something serious or he would like to be with you to mess around. Nevertheless, back to the main point, he's your BOSS!! And by that, my conclusion goes as you can't be mixing up your love life with your work! That's not right. And also you said the same thing yourself: “You have nothing to do with the master of Thornfield, further than to receive the salary he gives you for teaching hies protégée, and to be grateful for such respectful and kind treatment as, if you do your duty, you have the right to expect at his hands. Be sure that is the only tie he seriously acknowledges between you and him: so don't make the object of your fine feelings, your raptures, agonies, and so forth. He is not of your order: keep to your caste; and be too self-respecting to lavish the love of the whole heart, soul. And strength, where such a gift is not wanted and would be despised.”(165).

And plus think about it, why is it that someone is trying to kill him? I don't think that nobody wants to kill him because he's a good person; it's more likely that they want to kill him because he did something wrong. Also, why is he going to marry Blanche Ingram? This shows that he doesn't feel the same way you do. So, as a friend I'm just giving you and advise, but at the end of the day you're the one making the right choice. All I know is that I'm giving you my sincere opinion, but also by you listening to your heart is a good thing, but thinking with your head is even better. And hopefully now that I'm telling you, Jane, that you need to find someone better, is because I think that that's the best choice. And plus you deserve someone better than him; someone that will respect you. So hopefully, you can find someone that truly deserves to be by your side for the rest of your life.

“Is love is in the air?”

I have told you, reader I have learnt to love Mr. Rochester: I could not unlove him now, merely because I found that he had ceased to notice me... (188)


Dear Jane,

Here's a few words of advice about love. Love is blind, but you cant be naive about your love for Mr. Rochester. The key to love and relationships are trust and honesty. You say you've “learnt to love him” well that's not good because you should only want the best for yourself. Never settle for less because that means you would be lowering your standards. I know that being bold about love is a new adventure for the woman during your time period, that's why you have to make a change. I know how it feels to think you love someone, everybody goes through this emotionally phase at some point in their life. Its not the easiest thing, but if you approach the situation correctly, then it becomes easier because all the secrets, emotions, and feelings will be recognized and not hidden.

Love is all about sacrifice and true commitment . If you are sacrificing the things you most enjoy for the person you love, then you are showing a sign of caring. If you have a true commitment with a person you will tell them what's on your mind even if it may hurt them, which also goes hand and hand with trust and honesty. If a man doesn't have his word, then he has nothing. Wealth and status has nothing to do with true love because true love comes from the heart. Everyone who has there first encounter with true love is going to make mistakes because there so caught up in the moment, but don't let your mistakes keep lingering on until you cant control yourself. The first thing I think you and Mr. Rochester should do is just talk about the situation and just let it all out because the games that you guys are playing with each other will eventually lead to destruction. If the problem doesn't get solved sooner or later it will result into a empty space between the relationship of friends because your love encounters were never sorted out. No one can tell you what to do in a love situation you're only going to do what you want until you can actually feel the pain that love may bring. Love is not something that can not be taught but only learned by the the mistakes that you have made.

Take a chance

Dear Jane,
I would like to give you some advice. My advice to you would be to tell Mr. Rochester how you truly feel. Both, you and Mr. Rochester , are showing signs that you both have a connection. It's better to express how you feel than keep it a secret. Once you have told him how you feel, you will feel a lot better knowing you got the thought out of your mind. I think that even though the first time you encountered him wasn't good, both haven't mentioned it anymore. You went to Thornfield to work as a governess but with that you have found love. “You never felt jealousy,did you, Miss Eyre? Of course not: I need not ask you; because you never felt love....” (144) Mr. Rochester said that you never felt love. But the feelings that you have for him might be love, even though at times he shows that he likes you and other times he tries to hide it. When Mr. Rochester is away you worry about him which tells you that you really do care about him.
“I rather think not,sir: I should have more pleasure in staying with you.”
“To comfort me?”
“Yes, sir, to comfort you, as well as I could.”(207)
You are really starting to care for Mr. Rochester more and more. You want to be with him as much as you can because he leaves then doesn't come back for a while. Mr. Rochester notices all of these emotions but he doesn't say anything. He might be waiting for you to express your true feelings first.
You should take a chance you have nothing to lose.

Think and take things slow

Jane, I understand your confusion. Mr. Rochester is your boss and you have to keep your work life and love life from mixing together. But, I will admit things happen and in your case, it did. You have fallen in love with an older man, who happens to be your boss. Mr. Rochester would not be a great match for you, because there are certain roadblocks that might come up if your relationship with him gets into something more than a work relationship. Jane, you have to get away from that fog that has blinded you. Mr. Rochester is older, wealthier, of a higher social status, and he's your boss. This is your first love and you think that everything is crystal clear and happy, but it just so happens that the person you have fallen in love isn't responding to you the way a man should be if he is interested in you. “I saw he was going to marry her, for family, perhaps political reasons; because her rank and connections suited him; I felt he had not given her his love, and that her qualifications were ill adapted to win from him that treasure.” Jane, when you noticed that Mr. Rochester is getting married and that he was doing it for money and not for love you should have packed your things and started heading for the door. The only thing your presence in his house will do, is cause disturbance to his marriage. Especially if he has feelings for you but doesn't want to man up and tell you. Mr. Rochester is an older man that should know what he wants in life, but maybe he's confused, because there's chemistry in your conversations with him. If he likes you the way you like him, who knows, but take things slow and be careful of the decisions you make. Remember love blinds.