Jane Eyre Chapter 19 - 24
The Sybil was dressed in heavy apparel and remained shielded from the light of the low burning fire of the room. Jane felt no trepidation at talking to the gypsy woman and proceeded to sit quite calmly before her. The old woman attempted to make Jane ask her questions about her future, but Jane only grew animated when the woman mentioned that she was acquainted with Grace Poole. The woman then began to talk of Mr. Rochester and his impending marriage to Blanche Ingram, whom she claimed was chiefly interested in him on account of his estate as she had discovered when she had read her fortune. She implies that Jane is interested in her master, but Jane behaves carefully and does not speak about her feelings for Edward. As the woman tells Jane to leave, she happens to notice the plain and youthful appearance of the hand that belonged to the old woman. Jane can discover that the old woman is Mr. Rochester in disguise, as he obliges her by stepping out of the old woman’s costume. He reassures Jane that she needn’t be angry with him for she had not let on anything that may be deemed improper, and Jane informs him that a guest had arrived in search of him. Mr. Rochester’s face loses all color as she tells him that the guest was called Mr. Mason and had claimed to be from the West Indies. He is visibly shaken and requires Jane’s help in getting into a chair, and Jane promises to aid him in any way possible. He tells her to conduct Mr. Mason to him at once, and after doing so she retires to her room.
Jane hears Mr. Rochester allocate Mason a room on their floor but she is woken in the middle of the night by a loud shriek as a fight seems to take place in the room right above Jane. She hears a man calling for Mr. Rochester and she goes into the hallway where the roused gentlefolk are panicking after having heard the loud shriek, but all is restored to order with the entry of Mr. Rochester. He compels and cajoles his guests back to bed, while Jane retreats to her bed and prepares herself to be summoned by her master. She doesn’t need to wait long as Mr. Rochester knocks softly to her door and conducts her to a room on the third story. There she finds a hidden door that leads to a room with light from which the sounds of a canine are being uttered, and she watches as Mr. Rochester goes into the room. His entry is followed by a loud and familiar laugh, and Jane gathers that Mr. Rochester strikes some arrangement with her as he leaves the room and locks it behind him. He then shows Jane the wounded and bleeding Mason, who soon opens his eyes, but seems unable to stir. Mr. Rochester tells Jane to care for the injured man as he goes out to fetch a surgeon, and he leaves promptly. She has a lot of trouble sitting still and following the command but alas the night begins to wane and Mr. Rochester returns with a surgeon. She learns from the conversation between him and the injured man, that Mason had sought an interview with someone without Mr. Rochester and had been attacked by a woman. She had bitten him and had only been prevented from killing him by Mr. Rochester who had snatched a knife from her. Jane helps the doctor and Mr. Rochester to prepare Mason for leaving before the rest of the house guests wake, but before Mason departs, he tells Mr. Rochester to care for 'her' with affection.
Mr. Rochester then conducts Jane to a garden, where he tells her that an individual had committed an error in his youth, which had led him to believe that nothing in life would ever give him bliss. However, he had soon encountered an individual that had all the qualities that he had once desired, and just as he is about to tell her the name of the individual, he takes a long pause. Jane looks at his face to see all the softness removed from it, and Mr. Rochester then tells her that he intends to marry Blanche Ingram.
A few days later, Jane receives a messenger from Gateshead informing her of the death of John Reed, who is suspected to have killed himself due to insurmountable debts, and the ill health of his mother, Mrs. Reed. She learns that Mrs. Reed has been asking for Jane, and so she has been requested to visit her dying aunt. Jane agrees immediately and sets out to inform Mr. Rochester whom she finds in the company of Miss Ingram. He is visibly disturbed by her decision to leave and aims to ensure that she should return to him at Thornfield Hall. He makes her promise that she will not advertise for another position after he has sent Adele to a school which is what Jane desires. She wishes for both Adele and herself to be removed from Thornfield before his marriage to Miss Ingram.
Jane arrives at Gateshead, where she is treated warmly by Bessie, but coldly by Georgiana and Eliza who have both matured into very different individuals. Georgiana is beautiful and plump, while Eliza is gaunt, religious, and stern. Jane sees her aunt on that very night but Mrs. Reed is not in her seeming senses, however, she talks of Jane in the usual hateful manner. Jane decides to stay at Gateshead until Mrs. Reed has either recovered or has passed. She learns that John’s gambling had caused the financial situation of the family to deteriorate, while Georgiana blames Eliza for interfering in her plans to elope with an esteemed gentleman. Eliza feels that Georgiana is far too consumed with entertainment and luxuries and vehemently expresses her desire to be separated from her after their mother’s demise. Mrs. Reed soon regains some of her sense and she gives Jane a letter from her uncle John Eyre from Madeira, who had desired to adopt Jane given his lack of children. The rich uncle had wished to entrust his fortune to Jane, but Mrs. Reed could not abide the thought of Jane being raised in the world and so had lied to her uncle and had told him that Jane had perished from Typhus fever while she had been at Lowood. Jane does her best to ensure that Mrs. Reed understands that Jane has forgiven her, but the lady is unable to shed the hatred that she had borne for Jane all of her life. Mrs. Reed passes away later that night.
It takes Jane nearly a month to return to Thornfield Hall as she helps both Georgiana and Eliza prepare for their journeys. Georgiana is invited by her uncle to reside in London, while Eliza wishes to leave for the continent and take up the veil. Jane’s weary journey allows her to contemplate the futures of her relatives, and she is surprised to discover that she was experiencing the joy of returning home for the first time in her life. She has to halt her walk to the house to examine why she experiences joy despite the soon to arrive separation that must occur given her master’s wedding. Jane acknowledges that it is Mr. Rochester whom she wishes to be with again, and conveniently finds him seated outside the house writing in his journal. She wishes to enter the house undetected but he notices her and welcomes her most endearingly. As he invites her in, Jane cannot hold back her words as she thanks him for welcoming her home and tells him that her home is wherever he is. The next few days are spent in bliss as Jane basks in the pleasure of the company of Mr. Rochester, Mrs. Fairfax, and Adele, yet the thoughts of separation continue to haunt her.
One beautiful mid-summer night, Jane finds herself walking the verdant garden with Mr. Rochester at dusk. He tells her that her time for separation has come as he is to marry Miss Ingram soon, and he has found a position for her in Ireland. Jane is terrified at the thought of being separated from him by an ocean, and in that heat confesses her feelings for him. She is overcome by her emotions and fails to understand that Mr. Rochester is asking her to marry him. He confesses his love for her, and her desire to be his wife, but she believes that he is making fun of her. Finally, Mr. Rochester convinces her that his proposal is legitimate and Jane lovingly accepts his proposal. They rush into the home as a storm begins to brew, and are seen by Mrs. Fairfax. Jane rushes to her room and goes to sleep hardly believing the turn of events. The next morning, Mr. Rochester renews his vow to marry her. Jane discovers that he had only spread the rumor of his marriage to Miss Ingram to incite jealousy in Jane and thereby learn of her. She feels immensely uncomfortable when he tells her that he intends to shower her with jewels and silks, but requests him to inform Mrs. Fairfax of their desire to be married in a month. Mrs. Fairfax isn’t happy with the turn of events and expresses her worry for Jane as she cautions her to be careful in how she proceeds with Mr. Rochester.
Mr. Rochester takes Jane to the market and insists on buying her clothes and Jewels, both of which cause her great discomfort. She also decides to write to her uncle John Eyre to secure for herself whatever small fortune he had intended to bequeath her. She insists on continuing with her duties as a governess until their marriage and additionally begins to curtail Mr. Rochester’s newfound affectionate dispositions. Jane soon discovers that Mr. Rochester returns to the abrupt and stern manner that she loves, and Mrs. Fairfax begins to seem more accepting of Jane’s conduct.
Analysis
Gender relations is another major theme of the novel as Jane struggles to pave her way in the deeply misogynistic world of Victorian England. At the time, women were believed to be suited only to household work and so were actively prevented from venturing outside of the house. They were thought to have a higher sense of morality and thus expected to be mild. Passionate outbursts and disagreeable conduct were thought to be unfeminine. The author demonstrates how this view permeated society as Jane is treated poorly by her aunt for expressing her anger at being treated poorly. She is expected to behave cordially even when her cousins and aunt mistreat her since that was how women were expected to behave. In this way, the societal forces of Victorian England are depicted as the antagonist of the novel as Jane independently struggles against them to form a meaningful and satisfactory life for herself.
The theme of home and belonging is further developed in this section of the book as Jane begins to think of Thornfield as her home. She experiences this emotion not just because her of work with Adele, which is a significant motivation, but also because of the love that exists between her and Mr. Rochester.
Supernatural forces also play a major role in the plot of the novel, as the tree under which Mr. Rochester proposes to Jane is hewn into two by a lightning strike. This is meant to indicate God's disapproval for the union between Jane and Mr. Rochester due to him having a living wife.
