Early uses of imagery can affect the way the reader perceives other events when the same use of language is brought up again later in the book. During the wedding between the two of them, everything seems to be going well but as the solicitor comes in and announces the controversy of Mr. Rochester’s previous marriage, we see a repetition of the sharp language and echoes of the agony once more. This can be particularly seen the moment after the secret is revealed and the narrative states,
“My nerves vibrated to those low-spoken words as they had never vibrated to thunder – my blood felt their subtle violence as if it had never felt frost or fire.”
This may bring the reader back to the feelings of agony which Jane had in the earlier chapters as the relationship was forming and link them in their minds. The “violence” mentioned by Jane makes the reader recreate the feelings which they have already developed in the earlier chapters and immediately empathize with Jane.
Another way in which Brontë presents the feelings, especially of Mr. Rochester, to the reader is through careful emphasis of subtle things which are said in speech with each other. Although some people might say that these details might not be noticed at the time of reading, I think that they subconsciously make the reader much more aware of the feelings and prepare them for the ultimate revealing of Rochester’s love for Jane. Along with the little hints that are dropped through this section, a quotation that really begins to show Rochester’s feelings, though is still subtle enough to be misinterpreted or even missed by the reader, is when is he is talking to Jane after the evening of talking with the guests. It is right at the end of the chapter, to end with your mind thinking of the point and leave you wanting to find more, and it is just the little detail that he begins to say, “Goodnight, my ----,” and then bights his tongue and leaves abruptly. It is not said what he was planning on saying before he bit his tongue, but as the reader I believe that most people would think it would think that it would be something like ‘love’ or ‘darling’, both words which would associate his feelings as romantic rather than friendly as they have always seemed before. However, others could interpret it as just a slip of the tongue at the time and think nothing of it, to be surprised by the revelation later on. I think this is a good way to end the chapter as it is suspenseful and really conveys the feelings which are beginning to emerge in this period of the book. I also think the fact that it says that he left ‘abruptly’ is a good hint as to his feelings as it shows us that he knows that he has almost made a mistake in conveying his incorrect love of someone of a lower status and he cannot think what to say to reconcile the situation. I think this makes the readers see him in a different light, because before he had never really let any emotion show and this scene shows him losing his mask just a little as he cannot hide his feelings any longer.
The writer also uses these chapters to show that, although a relationship is developing between the two main characters, this is frowned upon among the company that is being kept. This is obviously in context with how life would have been for Charlotte Brontë when she was writing the book and may well draw attitudes from the time when she was a governess in a house very similar to Thornfield. Like many other governesses of the time it was probably very hard for her to have and social acquaintances as she was of lower class than the family so could not properly socialize with them, but was of a higher, almost family like status, than the servants and so it would not really be proper to form relationships with them either. At the time, many people had very low views of governesses and this is no different in Jane Eyre. Blanche is the main antagonist in this form and when the guests are all sitting together and in full view of both Jane and Rochester she says that “I [Blanche] have just one word to say of the whole tribe; they are a nuisance!” This clearly shows her disrespectful view of governesses and that she thinks so little of them that she is willing to talk rudely about them even in front of one. The word ‘tribe’ shows that she is really stereotyping governesses as a whole and does not see them as individuals but as a large group. The word ‘tribe’ also gives off images of savage and violently behaving people rather than mild mannered people such as Jane. I think that Blanche’s annoyance about governesses is very pronounced in this chapter and seems almost over exaggerated on purpose. Some people may believe that this is because Blanche suspects Jane and Rochester’s feelings for each other and is trying to eradicate them due to her own plans for him. Others may argue that it is just showing the general feeling of the time, but I would agree more with the former as it would give more reason for her to be so bitter about it. These views probably make the reader more shocked at the proposal made by Rochester later on as he is a higher class man asking a governess to marry him which would be seemingly unheard of at the time. They would be able to understand why everyone is shocked as the cast their minds back to Blanche’s low opinion.
Charlotte Brontë also presents the feelings very obviously in one of the final scenes of this section in which Mr. Rochester dresses up as a gypsy to find out how Jane feels. The writer cleverly uses this section as partly humour and partly the mystery to us of who this ‘woman’ is. Brontë can use this opportunity to feed the reader more information on how Jane is feeling and then surprise them at the end with the fact that it is not a gypsy woman but in fact Mr. Rochester in disguise. Rochester is obviously trying to get out of Jane whether she loves him or not as he ‘predicts’ his own marriage, saying he will shortly be married “to the beautiful Miss Ingram”, and uses this chance where she should be able to speak to him freely and tries to get her to give her opinions on him before he makes any decisions. Brontë uses this opportunity to raise the suspense within the developing relationship and focuses on Jane’s unwillingness to let any of her true feelings through and just say the barest minimum. This makes the reader unclear about how the feelings are being presented at the time as neither of the characters wants to let the other know how they really feel unless they don’t feel the same way, so the conversation comes off with very little emotion and seems very cool even though they are two people who love each other very much and have done for a long time. To show this, short, to the point sentences are used such as “I said nothing.” This evokes a response of tenseness in the reader who is automatically willing them to realize each others emotions and keeps them reading on, wanting to know whether either of them will reveal anything. This is a clever way of presenting the relationship as not only is it more realistic but it also makes it far more interesting to read when there are barriers in the way of the final task being achieved. This is mirrored in the ending where, despite the many barriers facing Jane and Mr. Rochester, they end up together and have a far superior life than they could have possibly imagined to start with.
Overall I think that these chapters are definitely the ones in which we most clearly see the developing romance between Jane and Rochester and really get to see some of their emotions more deeply. They are also a very good chance for us to be prepared for the future troubles by fitting in imagery of pain and the information about how governesses were viewed by others in those days. Brontë uses these chapters very well and through them we are always in suspense as the whether or not the characters will realize each others emotions or whether they will go on being as miserable as they were before and never find out. Even though inside you know that there will probably be a happy ending, the way that this is written still makes you worried for the protagonist and empathizes with her in the situations that she comes across, meaning that you will read on just to make sure that it all turns out the way you want.
