Chapter twelve

Jane is starting to be settled at Thornfield, and sets out to post a letter. On the way back, she meets Mr. Rochester, although she doesn’t know it him

Themes

Isolation, Jane is starting to feel slightly cut off from other people, as none of the other residents of Thornfield are willing to talk to her, or do not provide the level of conversation Jane feels she needs. Superstition is also touched upon; where Jane thinks that Pilot and Mr. Rochester’s horse are Gytrash (a creature of ill omen). This could show what is to come, as Jane and Mr. Rochester’s relationship has a LOT of ups and down. Trickery may also be considered a theme, as Mr. Rochester has only met Jane for a few minutes and already he is tricking her into believing he is somebody else, pretending to know nothing about Thornfield or himself.

Characters

All of the servants are mentioned, to emphasize how few people are in the huge house, but another character is introduced

• Mr. Rochester, the owner of Thornfield, although his actual name is not connected to him in this chapter. He seems, from Jane’s description to be a stern and formidable person, and very used to have his orders followed, although he makes an effort to be polite.
  

Places

A further description of Thornfield and its surrounding, Jane seems to find the third floor of the house a solace, which suggests that not many people are up there( for reasons that are explained later).

Narrative voice

Jane seems much more restless and wanting for action in this chapter, and she starts to address the reader (us) a lot more, perhaps to demonstrate her lack of other people to converse with. At the end of the chapter Jane’s seems much more cautious, taking time to describe everything, as she is moving more slowly, and has more time to notice everything that is unusual.

Response

I found the whole meeting Mr. Rochester bit slightly annoying, partly because it’s slightly clichéd, but also because he must have been incredibly lucky for him and his horse to fall, and only suffer a sprained ankle, without the horse having suffered any injury. Talking to other members of the group, and thought that this may have made the book more interesting, not injuring the horse (because that would be cruel), but maybe a slightly more drastic injury on Mr. Rochester’s part, to spice up this part of the novel.