Chapter 21

In this chapter Jane gets a visit from Bessie’s husband, who brings news that her estranged cousin (John) has committed suicide, and Jane’s Aunt Reed is on her death bed. Jane asks Mr Rochester for time off, and then heads off to Gateshead, where she has not been since she left for Lowood. She re-meets Georgiana and Elise, who seems to have changed quite a bit. Jane speaks to Mrs Reed, who tells her that Jane’s other uncle in Madeira is still alive, and wanted to leave Jane all his goods when he died. Mrs Reed wrote back saying Jane was dead, which was a bit mean. Mrs Reed then dies, and that’s another chapter over.

Themes

The dreams of the small children could be interpreted as a continuation of the theme of the supernatural. Jane dreams of a sickly infant (which, incidentally, is the description of Jane as a baby later on in this chapter), this supposedly signifies a sign of trouble for you or a member of family, and Jane, being a superstitious type of person, starts to worry, with good reason, as her cousin hung himself, and her Aunt was nearly dead. The theme of the supernatural is continued when Mrs Reed mentions that she has been seeing John in her dreams, telling her to come clean to Jane. I found this strange, as John didn’t seem to like Jane very much when she lived with him all those years ago. Religion crops up a lot as well, the most obvious is the fact the Elise is now a nun, and a very good one too. Isolation is also a slight theme here, as Jane feels like her cousins are shunning her at the beginning of the chapter.

Characters

No new characters here, but there are a couple of old ones that are worth re-mentioning...

Mrs Reed, Jane’s aunt, makes her final appearance in this novel. Despite having 20 years or so to forgive Jane, she still seems as bitter and hating as ever. It turns out that her hatred of Jane went so far that she told Jane remaining relatives that she had died, to prevent her from inheriting any money, which seems quite mean. Jane forgives her, a very Christian thing to do, but Mrs Reed doesn’t seem to be able to forgive back, which makes me wonder what Jane ever did to deserve such a strong shunning. Mrs Reed then proceeds to die, and nobody (including her daughter Elise) shed a single tear for her. Serves her right

Elise has grown up to become a nun, and a very puritan one at that, which a plain black and modest dress, and a string of rosary beads around her neck. She seems very quiet, but at one point she just seems to explode at Georgiana for no apparent reason. This seems a bit out of character, but reminds me of Jane slightly. Is this to show us of who Jane could have become is she had stayed on at Lowood?

Motifs

The main motif here is contrast, as you can clearly see the difference of how Gateshead was, and how it is now. Another interesting contrast is created when it is said that Elise was "almost as tall as Miss Ingram". This interested me, as Elise is the complete opposite of Blanche, who is comes across as a flirty and social person, whilst Elise the nun is poles apart.PlacesBack at Gateshead. Not much has changed, everything seems to be the same as before, does this make Jane a catalyst for change?

Narrative voice

Jane seems uneasy at being back at a place she was so sure she would never have to visit again, but this time round she seems more in control, as she is mature and has a better handle on life.

Response

Found this chapter depressing, no points for getting why. I still find it surprising that Jane can be so forgiving of Mrs Reed, after everything she’s done to her, but not forgive people like Mr Brocklehurst, or (secretly) Blanche Ingram