Chapter thirty-seven

Jane arrives at Ferndean, trying to find out what has happened to Mr Rochester. She sees him come out of the door, but he does not see her, as the damage from the fire has taken his eyesight. Jane waits till Rochester is inside, and then knocks on the door, Johns wife, Mary, opens the door, and lets Jane in. After a brief conversation, Jane persuades Mary to allow her to bring Rochester a glass of water, on a tray of candles. Upon entering the room, Pilot ( the dog) immediately recognises Jane, and almost knocks the water everywhere. Jane gives Rochester the water, and he realises its not Mary, and he starts to panic. He then realises its Jane, and, once he has convinced himself that she is really there, they talk, Mr Rochester gets quite jealous when Mr Rivers is mentioned, but Jane promises to stay with him forever.



Themes



There is a strong sense of isolation in this chapter, except it is Rochester experiencing this, instead of Jane. This is because all of a sudden all he can see is black, and so he is unable to know if someone is next to him or not, which I'm sure would probably make him feel so alone. There is also another moment of concealment and trickery, when Jane pretends to be Mary. I found this quite unfair, i know shes most likely paying him back for all the times he deceived her, but creeping up on a blind man is wrong! There is also a supernatural element here, as Rochester tells Jane of his crying out for her, and she realises this is what she heard and replied to, that caused her to go back to Thornfield. The theme of status is also brought up, as all of a sudden the roles of Rochester and Jane have been switched, as Jane is now a strong independent woman, whilst Rochester is now a man who must rely on others to care for him and see for him. This is a huge role reversal, as before Jane seems to rely on Rochester for everything, and he didn't seem to need anyone.



Motifs



The chestnut tree gets another mention, when Rochester compares himself to it. However, what the chestnut tree really symbolises is Rochester and Jane, and how even though on the outside their relationship may have seems ruined, inside it was still living on. This is the same as Mr Rochester, as although he is crippled and blind, his mind is still as sharp as it was before, which is all that really matters to Jane I think. This links back to Jane and Rochester being as one. Another motif is the contrast between St John , the man Jane had just left, "a handsome man: tall, fair, with blue eyes, and a Grecian profile", and Mr Rochester, crippled from the fire, and looking absolutely awful, as he hadn't really been paying much attention to his appearance. Mr Rochester finds it hard to believe that Jane would leave such a brilliant sounding man for a cripple.



Narrative Voice



Jane sounds nervous and worried at the start of the chapter, as she is worried about the fate of Mr Rochester. However, she calms down when she sees him again, despite the fact that hes blind. She sounds more pitying than sad at Rochester's predicament, as she describes him as vunerable, which i suppose he was. Jane also sounds rather mischievous whilst speaking to Rochester, as she used to be when they first met.



Response



I don't really like or dislike this chapter, although the fact that Jane's happily ever after has a slight twist makes me feel slightly better, as nobody can have a perfect life. Its a shame about what happened to Rochester, as he seems to rely on his strength and independence, and now he finds he has neither.