chapter 27

A really really long chapter (sigh). Jane decides that she must leave Thornfield, as it would be inappropriate for her to stay after all that has happened. Jane opens the door of her room, finally, to find Mr Rochester waiting outside for her, as he was worried about her. Rochester tries to kiss Jane, and she turns away, as he is married, and it would be wrong to carry on their relationship. Mr Rochester starts to talk of leaving Thornfield, and Jane relaxing, thinking that Rochester has realised that they must part ways. However, it turns out that he wants to move out with her, and travel to a place where nobody would know of his wife, and they could live as spouses happily ever after. Jane isn't very happy about this, as her personality dictates that she could not deceive people into thinking she is Mrs Rochester, and it would also fly in the face of her religion, as she would be committing adultery. Furthermore, she would be living as Rochester’s mistress, and this goes against Jane’s strong nature. Mr Rochester explains to Jane the circumstances of his marriage to Bertha, and how this led to his imprisonment of Bertha and his worldwide search for a woman more suited to him. He describes how he could never find the right woman, no matter where or how hard he looked. He eventually gave up, but on his way back home, he saw a figure sitting on a stile (ringing any bells) and she turned out to be perfect. Rochester then asks again if Jane will be his, and she refuses him, despite his many pleas and his rising anger. He then gets quite violent, but Jane stands strong, and Jane walks away from him, with one final kiss. That night, Jane starts to prepare to sneak away from Thornfield, and in the early morning she does so, believing she has left Thornfield forever.

Themes

Control, or submissiveness, is the main theme of this chapter I think, as it shows how Jane is standing up to Mr Rochester, even though he believes her can control her. You can tell this in a number of ways, for example when he compares Jane to a lamb, and also when he says that even if she went mad, his arms would confine her, all of which shows he still she’s himself as the superior in their couple, despite the fact that their marriage would have made them equals. Jane, however, stands strong and does not give in to Rochester’s pleas and threats, showing that perhaps she is becoming much stronger. There is also the theme of love, as it is painstakingly clear that Jane and Rochester still love each other, and that neither of them wants to leave the other. Mr Rochester is so desperate for Jane’s love that he even thinks to resort to violence, but he knows in his heart that he cannot harm Jane. It’s also interesting to see that throughout the novel Jane has aspired towards love, seeming to need it like others need oxygen, but now she is running from it.

Motifs

Again, it is the weather and the moon that are the most important motifs in this chapter. The moon comes to Jane in a dream, advising Jane to 'flee temptation', Jane also refers to the moon as 'mother', I am not altogether sure what the significance of this is. The weather is also important, as the morning that Jane runs away into is a lovely summer day, which I found odd at first, as all the other descriptions of the weather have reflected the mood of the novel at that moment in time. Does this mean Jane has made the right decision (the moon seems to think so)? Jane also dreams of the red room, a place of immense trauma for her in her early life. This is either because her emotions after her almost-wedding day are similar to the ones she experienced all those years ago, or because the red room was where the ghost of her uncle was supposed to live, and therefore it was a good place for Jane to dream another meeting with a supernatural being, this raises a question, did Jane dream of her mother when she dreamt of the moon?

Narrative voice

Jane becomes almost schizophrenic in this chapter, as her view of her situation is jumping around so much, which her head telling her to flee, and her heart saying she should stay. These two voices even talk to each other, which is quite confusing. However, everything she said seems underlaid with sadness, as she feels that whatever happens she will be unhappy, whether she runs away from Thornfield and her love, or stays and lives a life she would know to be false.

Response

I found some of the things Mr Rochester said slightly creepy, as some of the things he’s saying are not the best things to say when trying to convince someone to stay with you (I could bend her with my finger and thumb?!) however, despite this, I found this a very upsetting chapter, as it was an awful thought to see Jane and Rochester split up. I'm unsure as to whether or not Jane is being strong or weak by fleeing Thornfield, as on one hand she is running from temptation, instead of facing it head on, but on the other she is choosing to do what is right, despite the pain she knows it will cause her