chapter eighteen

The party continues, with the guests playing charades. Jane is invited into the game, but she refuses. Later on, Rochester goes out, and a mysterious stranger turns up, called Mr Mason. A gypsy appears at Thornfields door, wanting to tell the fortunes of the women inside. The servants want to turn her away, but Blanche overrides them, and now by one the single women visit the gypsy, till at last only Jane is left.

Themes

religion is a theme in this chapter, as part of the charade acted out by Rochester and Blanche is the story of Rebeccah at the well (Genesis 24), where Abraham tells his servant to go and find a wife for his son (isacc) from Abrahams relations. When the servant reached the city of the relations of Abraham, he was unsure of how to find the right people, so he sat down by a well and prayed. He asked God to help him find the right woman, by her following a script. If she offered water to the servant and his camels when asked, she was the intended wife of Isaac. This happened, Rebeccah agreed to marry Isaac, and they live happily ever after, with Rebeccah having twins. This relates to the novel not only because Rochester used it as a clue in charades, but also because this is what happened to Rochester when he was younger, although without the happily ever after part. Rochester was the younger brother in a family, and, to avoid the splitting of an estate, was going to be left with no money etc. to prevent this, Rochester's father went on the hunt for a rich and young wife, whom he found in the West Indies. This wasn't such a wise move, as we find out later on in the novel. Love is also a major theme in this chapter, as you can see how the typical idea of courtship is not effective on Mr Rochester, as Jane notices quite quickly. She feels she would know how to 'court' him properly, and make him love her. This again leads to the theme of social status, as Jane writes " all their class holds these principles", immediately separating herself from the others.

Characters

• Mr Mason, an "old friend" of Mr Rochester, turns up unexpected at the house. Jane seems to take a dislike to him, as he seems to have an odd manner(this is because madness runs in his family, but we don't know that yet). Jane seems to be the only person to notice this, as the other women appear to find him "sweet" and "adorable", although I don't think this would be all that reassuring to many grown men.
  

Narrative Voice

Jane seems very confident in this chapter, having noticed that Rochester does not seem to care for Blanche, and again seems to spend most of her time observing Rochester. Jane's instant dislike towards Mason seems surprising, as before she has been willing to give everybody a chance.

Response

This chapter is the first that suggests that Jane and Rochester have a chance together, as Blanche doesn't seem to be having much luck charming him herself. This makes you think about the game of charades, as the fact that Rochester asked Jane about the game, as well as Blanche, suggests that his wife in the sketch would have been Jane, if she had not rejected him. This doesn't actually happen in the novel, but it makes you think it might. I'd also like to know what the "gypsy" says to Blanche, as she doesn't seem to happy about it!