Chapter 25

Summary

It is now the day before the wedding. Mr. Rochester has been out on a business trip the last two days, but he is late, and Jane grows anxious. It is dark outside, but she cannot sleep. She decides to take a walk, and wait for Mr. Rochester to arrive. She goes to the split chestnut tree. She muses that though it is damaged beyond repair, each splinter has a companion. Mr. Rochester still does not show up, so Jane decides to try to intercept him on his way back. She does meet him soon, and he helps her up on the horse after greeting her affectionately. They get home, and talk in the library. Mr. Rochester notices that something troubles Jane, so she tells him what happened last night.

Last night, Jane had a few nightmares. Both dreams included an infant that Jane had to carry, and Mr. Rochester leaving or being torn away from her. Mr. Rochester comforts her, but Jane says the worst is yet to come, and it wasn’t a dream. In the middle of the night, Jane woke up to see someone rummaging in her closet, where her wedding dress and veil were. The strange figure was tall, female, and grotesque. She looked like a vampire. The vampire lady spitefully tore Jane’s wedding veil and stamped on it. Then she snuffed the candle out in Jane’s face, whereupon Jane was overcome with terror and fainted. When she came to, it was morning and she was alone. When he hears this story, Mr. Rochester tries to assure Jane that the woman was a dream, but Jane can refute this theory, since the veil actually is torn and trampled upon. Then Mr. Rochester tells her that it was Grace Poole, and Jane just imagined her creepy appearance. Jane disagrees, but can find no better explanation. He then asks her to sleep in Adèle’s bed for the night just to be safe. Jane does, but she can’t sleep all night. She has a vague feeling of dread. In the morning, she feels strangely emotional, and cries over Adèle when she leaves the little girl.

Reaction

So…either Grace Poole is completely loony, or the vampire lady is not Grace Poole. Let’s think about the facts. According to Mr. Rochester, Grace Poole is a middle-aged woman hired to do some sewing, laughs drearily to herself, makes random animal noises, almost burned him alive, stabbed and bit Mason, and tore Jane’s wedding veil. In addition, she has some kind of leverage over him, so he does not fire her. But then, faced with the Grace Poole we have seen – placid, laconic, and calm – it just seems impossible that they are the same person unless she has fits of madness. Also, the bad omens are piling up. The lightning-struck tree, the infant dreams, and the tearing of the veil. The wedding is in the next chapter!