Chapter 12

Summary

Jane soon finds that though she is fond of Adèle and likes kind old Mrs. Fairfax, life at Thornfield is pretty boring. Mrs. Fairfax is sweet, but uninteresting, and Adèle is an average child. Jane says that she realizes many people would condemn her for ungratefulness, but she cannot help feeling that her routine is dull.  Jane tells the reader that women should not be scoffed at for wanting more in life than a quiet existence. Women need to have their minds stimulated just as much as men do. Jane further goes against custom by proclaiming that men should not condemn women for wanting to do more than sew and play music and live a quiet, domestic life. Jane wants more than peace – she wants action. Going back to her narrative, Jane mentions hearing Grace Poole laughing often, and even stranger murmurs. She sees Grace fetching a jug of porter (beer) occasionally from the kitchen. Jane tries to talk to her a few times, but Grace’s short replies soon deter her.

One day, Adèle has a cold, so Jane lets her have the day off. She kisses Adèle goodbye when the little girl says – well, something in French, and goes off to mail a letter for Mrs. Fairfax. Jane walks briskly until she is warm, and then slows down to enjoy the scenery, stopping for a while in a pretty field. She sees a large dog coming along the lane all of a sudden. His owner’s horse has slipped on a patch of ice back on the path. Jane rushes over to help, and hears the man swearing enthusiastically as he tries to free himself. I like this guy. The man succeeds, and calms his dog – called Pilot – down. Jane is glad that the man is not handsome, because then she would be too intimidated to talk to him. The man is middle aged, and seems grumpy. However, Jane is again glad he is gruff, because it puts her at ease. He asks her about Thornfield and Mr. Rochester, and Jane tells him that she does not know much about Rochester. The man figures out that Jane is the governess, and says “deuce take me if I had not forgotten! The governess!” (129). Jane mails the letter and returns to Thornfield reluctantly. When she reaches there, she sees Pilot, the strange man’s dog, sitting on the rug. She hears from a servant named Leah that Mr. Rochester just arrived, and he hurt his ankle slipping on a path of ice on the way. Jane goes upstairs to change her clothes.

Reaction

So, there are a lot of things to like about this chapter, and few things to be confused by. I love Jane’s feminist rant; it really was radical in the Victorian era. I also like the whole part with Mr. Rochester, especially Jane being put at ease by his unattractiveness and brusque manner. Mr. Rochester pretending not to be Mr. Rochester is baffling though. It is weird, and I don’t understand why he does it, since Jane would obviously find out who he is when she gets back to Thornfield. Also, exactly what does Adèle say? I couldn’t figure it out from context clues this time. Brontë, I thought I told you to stick to English!