Chapter 38 (last one!)

Summary

Jane and Mr. Rochester have a small, quiet wedding. Jane tells John and Mary, the servants, about it and they have amusingly calm reactions. She also writes to Diana and Mary to explain the marriage and her history with Mr. Rochester. Her letter to St. John goes ignored for six months, but he eventually writes to her about everyday topics. Adèle’s school is much too harsh, so Jane puts her in a more balanced school. Present-day Jane tells us that Adèle’s education erases her childhood superficiality and flightiness, and she has grown into a sensible and sweet girl.

Ten years later, Jane updates the reader on her life. She and Mr. Rochester are very content together, because they are extremely close and their personalities mesh perfectly. Fortunately, Mr. Rochester eventually gains back the sight in one of his eyes after visiting a doctor, and now he can see for himself that their first-born boy has his brilliant, flashing, black eyes. In addition, Diana and Mary are happily married, and St. John is a missionary in India like he always wanted. St. John’s latest letter to Jane indicates that he is going to die soon, and he awaits heaven eagerly.

Reaction

Happy ending! It was actually a perfect ending to their love story. Nothing particularly grand, just a quiet, happy life. And Jane is sure that she has a marriage of equality, and I’m going to trust her on that one. St. John…dies happily? Okay. So he was just waiting for death? I’m even more relieved that Jane ended up with Mr. Rochester.

Chapter 37

Summary

Ferndean is very depressing and gloomy looking, all dark and desolate. Jane watches the house from the grounds, nervous and excited at the prospect of seeing Mr. Rochester again. It happens sooner that she expects. Suddenly, someone comes out of the house. It’s Mr. Rochester! He hides the arm with the missing hand in his jacket. He looks desperate and miserable. He stands out in the rain, ignoring John, the servant, when he offers to help him back inside. Jane lets herself in, and greets the astonished servants. They are delighted to see her again. Jane decides to surprise Mr. Rochester. She enters his room, and Pilot recognizes her. Mr. Rochester soon realizes it’s her, but at first thinks he’s imagining her voice and presence. She assures him she’s real, and tells him about her fortune. Jane seems to bring life back into Mr. Rochester, though he still considers himself a ruin. Jane eventually leaves for the night after combing Mr. Rochester’s wild hair.

The next morning, Jane and Mr. Rochester eat together. They then go outside and she describes the beautiful day for him. She sits on his knee and tells him what she did after she left Thornfield. Mr. Rochester assures her that he would not have forced her to stay, and would have given her money so she wouldn’t have to be destitute. Then he gets all jealous of St. John, until Jane tells him how cold and harsh St. John actually is. Mr. Rochester asks Jane to marry him, and she accepts. Mr. Rochester tells Jane that recently, he has truly repented of his immorality in attempting bigamy. Now he thanks God for tempering judgment with mercy. Then, the supernatural part of the novel is revealed. Remember a few chapters ago when Jane heard Mr. Rochester’s voice call her? He really did call her aloud that night. And he heard her reply but thought he dreamed it. Jane doesn’t tell him that she heard him and replied, however, because she is afraid of how Mr. Rochester will react to the supernatural in his fragile emotional state. The couple walks to the mansion together.

Reaction

            This chapter is like chocolate cake after the dreary oatmeal chapters of St. John (I don’t like oatmeal). The best part about Jane and Mr. Rochester’s reunion is that they so easily fall back into their old banter. It is very refreshing after St. John’s ridiculous behavior, even though Mr. Rochester does have to ask Jane if she really is a human. She assures him that she is, and then calls him a brownie when he calls her a fairy. More seriously, Jane’s uneasiness about their class difference and Mr. Rochester’s penchant for dressing Jane up are alleviated. Jane now is financially independent, and Mr. Rochester realizes that “fine clothes and jewels [are] not worth a fillip” (518). The ‘they get together’ chapter definitely meets my expectations. 

Chapter 36

Summary

In the morning, Jane prepares to leave Moor House for four days, at least. She plans to go to Thornfield and find out what has become of Mr. Rochester. She hopes he will still be there. Mary and Diana respect Jane’s privacy by not asking questions, and bid her goodbye. Jane takes the same coach to Thornfield as she did when running away from Mr. Rochester. The coach drops her off at a nearby inn, and Jane walks to Thornfield, feeling nervous and excited. When she gets there, however, oh horror! Thornfield has been burned to the ground, and is clearly empty. Jane goes back to the inn and inquires about what happened. She learns that Bertha Mason set Thornfield on fire last autumn, and fell to her death. Mr. Rochester is blind and missing a hand, because he tried to save everyone and a beam fell on him as he exited the burning house. Mr. Rochester is at Ferndean, his other manor, with just two servants. Jane offers to pay double the normal fare if the guy can drive her to Ferndean before dark.

Reaction

Jane is going to see Mr. Rochester soon! And he’s disabled, poor guy. I absolutely loved Jane coming back to Thornfield being compared to a man trying to surprise his sleeping lover. The guy at the Rochester Arms trying to tell Jane about her own story is pretty amusing. Also, Mr. Rochester no longer has a wife, so he and Jane technically can marry now. Hey, just saying.

Chapter 35

Summary

St. John still teaches Jane Hindustani, but is exceedingly cold and detached. Also, he’s nicer to his sisters in contrast just to show Jane what she’s missing. She again asks him to forgive her, and he again claims he already has. He once more asks her to marry him, and she once more refuses. He is very angry, but is suppressing it. He says that he will pray for her. When Jane goes inside the house, Diana is there. She saw Jane and St. John’s argument, and wants to know about it. When Jane fills her in, she too is horrified at the loveless marriage he proposed. Diana agrees that Jane should not marry St. John. Jane sums it up, “He forgets, pitilessly, the feelings and claims of little people, in pursuing his own large views. It is better, therefore, for insignificant to stay out of his way lest, in his progress, he should trample them down” (483).

That night, St. John reads an inspiring passage out of the Bible. He is so sincere and reverent that Jane is touched, and when he asks her to marry him again after, she almost agrees out of duty. Suddenly, she hears a voice cry out in the night. It’s the voice of Mr. Rochester! He sounds urgent and despairing. Jane, troubled and excited, tells St. John she needs to be alone. He leaves without any questions. In her bed, Jane makes up her mind to do – something – tomorrow.

Reaction

Wow! A touch of the supernatural? I’m not quite sure how Jane heard Mr. Rochester’s voice, but this is getting interesting indeed. Hopefully, the voice means Mr. Rochester is alive. St. John, however awful he might be, is a very sincere, devout, and good Christian. He is generous and eloquent, and he speaks so authoritatively about God’s will that Jane is swayed. I’m so glad Jane does not get carried away and agree to marry him. When I reread the mysterious voice part, I realized that while Jane is running outside and replying to the voice aloud, St. John is still there, watching her talk to the sky, probably very confused. That mental image just cracks me up. He likely was so obedient when Jane told him to leave because he was afraid she was possessed or something.

Chapter 34

Summary

Jane bids a fond goodbye to her pupils, and happily leaves for Moor House, planning to renovate it with Hannah’s help, in time for Diana and Mary’s arrival. St. John disapproves of this plan, because he thinks it frivolous, but Jane goes ahead anyway. When she is done, she shows it to him, but while he claims it is an improvement, he does not seem appreciative in the least, and goes right back to studying after glancing through the rooms. Jane is hurt, and starts to think that St. John really is as cold and harsh as he says he is. In contrast, Diana and Mary arrive joyfully and love the improvements made to the house. The girls have a good time, talking and laughing. Jane notices that St. John is pleased that his sisters are back, but does not like to see them so high-spirited and laughing. Soon, it is Christmas. The girls have a great time, and are full of holiday cheer. St. John, however, is the scrooge of the bunch. He does not like their lightheartedness, and would rather see everyone occupied in useful activities. In addition, he does not seem bothered when he learns that Rosamond is engaged to another man, and tells Jane that he has won the battle against temptation.

More scarily, St. John begins to gain power over Jane. He encourages her to make sacrifices and work hard, and she does not dare complain when she is over-taxed. He also asks her to switch from studying German to Hindustani, since he is studying it as a preparation to go to India. Jane agrees, though she does not want to switch. Jane also learns that he is upset when she laughs or talks about trivial matters. In his presence, she feels compelled to engage in only serious conversation and serious activities. Jane wants to obey him, but she feels as though she is changing her own nature to conform to his.

Meanwhile, Jane is still worried about Mr. Rochester, and writes to Mrs. Fairfax multiple times, asking how he is. However, she gets no reply, and grows despondent. To make it worse, in the spring, St. John increases the pace of Jane’s Hindustani lessons, giving her no respite.

One day, he asks her to go for a walk with him. She obeys, and they walk in silence. He presently insists that they must rest. They sit there quietly for half an hour. Then, he tells her that he wants her to go to India with him – and here’s the kicker – as his wife! Jane says that she will go with him, but not as his wife. She decides that she cannot marry a man who thinks of her as a tool instead of loving her. St. John says that she must chose the right path, and leaves her. That night, she kisses his sisters goodnight, but ignores Jane. She runs out after him, and asks him to forgive her. He says, very coldly, that there is nothing to forgive, and goes to bed.

Reaction

This chapter is all about St. John, and how he slowly gains influence over Jane, almost withering her spirit. All my instincts tell me Jane should get out of there, pronto! St. John is such a Debbie Downer. The contrast between St. John and Mr. Rochester is startling. Jane is finally content and St. John tries to take it away. On the other hand, Mr. Rochester really tried to make Jane happy, whatever else you might say about his methods. 

Chapter 33

Summary

It is wild and stormy outside. Jane gets a nice fire going, and curls up with a book to wait it out. Suddenly, St. John enters her house. He takes his frozen cloak off, and sits down by the fire. He seems very broody, and there commences a rather hilarious conversation in which Jane tries to make small talk, and St. John is deeply distracted and fails to reply in more than single words. Jane decides that he if doesn’t want to talk, and just traveled in the snow to sit there, she will ignore him. She tries to read her book, but he acts so very mysterious that it is hard to concentrate. And then, as suddenly as he entered her house, St. John finally begins to speak.

Apparently, the piece of paper that he had so dramatically stolen the day before has Jane’s signature on it, and he found out her real name. He was surprised because people are looking for Jane, and she’s in the local papers. She is sought after because when her uncle John died, he gave her, instead of her cousins, all his money. Sounds familiar? Yep, he’s the same uncle that the Rivers siblings didn’t get any money from. And yes, that means that Jane is their cousin. Oh coincidence! Since St. John was filled in on her complete back-story by the officials looking for Jane, she asks him about Mr. Rochester. Unfortunately, no one knows what how he’s doing. Jane is delighted to have a family, and decides to divide up her new-found fortune with them. The Rivers siblings protest, but eventually give in. Now Jane, Diana, Mary, and St. John each have five thousand pounds.

Reaction

This is the happiest chapter in the book so far. It’s great to see Jane to joyful and carefree as she is when she finds out that she’s related to Diana, Mary, and St. John. Now Jane is wealthy, and has cousins that she loves. This is a very pleasant chapter, but I still wonder what happened to Mr. Rochester. Also, I wonder why Jane never locks her door, since St. John has come in twice without knocking.

Chapter 32

Summary

Jane and her pupils soon warm up to each other, and Jane soon finds some very intelligent, academically inclined young ladies. She makes good friends with several of them, and visits their families. She becomes a popular figure in the village due to her consideration and kindness. Jane is happy, but at night, she has torturous dreams of Mr. Rochester. Rosamond visits the school often during the day, often when St. John is there, teaching the girls the catechism. She visibly affects him, no matter how hard he tries not to show it. After hanging out with Rosamond for a while, Jane thinks that she is very charming and sweet, if a bit frivolous. Rosamond asks Jane to paint a picture of her, and Jane has a delightful time painting such a beautiful model. While she is just adding the finishing touches on the painting, St. John stops by. He starts some small talk, then suddenly looks startled when he sees the painting. Jane decides to be as blunt as only she can be, and ask him why he does not marry Rosamond.

St. John, because he is weird, decides to imagine what might be for precisely 15 minutes. In that time, he looks happy and mumbles about being married to Rosamond. When the time is up, however, he puts all thoughts of her out of his head. He says that he cannot give up his dream of being a missionary, and he know that Rosamond would make a terrible missionary’s wife, so he must try to stop loving her. He is also surprised at Jane’s boldness, because his iciness is usually so off-putting that most people do not confront him as Jane does.  As he is about to leave, he suddenly seems to notice something on a piece of scrap paper on Jane’s desk. He tears off a piece from the paper, and leaves. Jane is rightfully astonished, but she can’t find anything special about what is left of the paper.

Reaction

Well! St. John is unintentionally hilarious. His reactions to Rosamond’s presence are kind of over-the-top, because he actually trembles. The poor children he is talking to must think he’s insane. Also, he actually takes out a watch to measure out the 15 minutes of daydreaming time. And then he doesn’t explain why he dramatically stole a tiny piece of paper from Jane. I really don’t know what to make of that man.