Jane is attracted to Rochester, even though she does not find him handsome. “…It was not easy to give an impromptu answer to a question about appearances; that tastes differ; and that beauty is of little consequence…” After answering no to Rochester’s question of whether or not he was handsome, she goes on to tell him that appearances mean little or nothing. One of the purposes of this book is to make us realise that love comes from within the heart and that beauty is only a bonus. I enjoyed this plot as it was exciting and kept you gripped the whole way through.
I found the part of the book in which you discover Rochester’s secret the most dramatic and interesting. It gives the novel a complete twist and distorts your opinion of Rochester. In my opinion the wedding being stopped in the manner that it is, is a cliché. The fact that he is already married to an insane woman whom he keeps in the attic of his mansion is quite humorous, though in a very serious way. It all happens very quickly, and Jane leaves Thornfield soon after it all happens. Rochester’s wife dies shortly afterwards also.
When Jane was young, her aunt isolated her from the rest of the family; this made her hate time she spent there. Jane states: “ …hate to live here…” This quote proves that Jane hated Gateshead and that she was determined to find a better place. Jane found the Lowood Institution for orphans. With the help of her friend Helen Burns, Jane learns to forget hate and live for happiness and love. Helen says:”…Life appears too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs…” Helen appears much more mature and experienced than Jane. Another great influence to Jane during her time at Lowood was Miss Temple. Jane says: “…Miss Temple is full of goodness…” Miss Temple treated Jane as if she was her own daughter and shows her great kindness. Jane had not only gained great friends at Lowood, she had received a great education and had gained confidence and experience.
Jane’s next destination was Thornfield, where she was to become the governess of Adele, an orphan just like her. Adele’s presence reminds Jane of her old self and her awful childhood at Gateshead. She wanted Adele to have a better childhood than she did. Jane is happy at Thornfield for the most part because of Mr. Rochester’s love. “…I have learned to love Mr. Rochester, I could not unlove him now…”
Jane does not care for the beautiful Miss Ingram, as she believes that she has no qualities to be envied. It does not bother her that she is close to Mr. Rochester, as beneath the surface she does not have the same intellect as her. “…She was very showy, but she was not genuine; she had a fine person, many brilliant attainments, but her mind was poor, her heart barren by nature…” Jane knows it is better to have a beautiful mind rather than to have beautiful features and an abundance of money.
It is this attitude, which allows her to make the right decisions. Jane does not fall in love and marry St. John for even though he is much more handsome than Rochester and she is attracted to him, he does not have a personality like that of Mr. Rochester. She says of St. John: “…He was young – perhaps from twenty eight to thirty – tall, slender; his face riveted the eye; it was like a Greek face, very pure in outline…”
I really enjoyed this book and found it really enjoyable and gripping. Brontë has used imagery to great effect and I believe that this helped the book come alive in my mind.
