Evie's Blog Post

35-end blog:

Better late than never, right? I hate to say, "I told you so!", (actually, no I don't) but looks like the inevitable love story of Jane and Mr. Rochester has come to a close with a happy ending-- that is if you liked him. While I understand that there are conflicting views on him, personally I was extremely satisfied with this ending. Safe to say, when I read, "My very soul demands you: it will be satisfied, or it will take deadly vengeance on its frame" (Jane Eyre, 552), I had to close my book and take a second. However, I am not blinded by Mr. R's words, and I concede that Jane leaving Thornfield to find herself as an independent and now wealthy woman (aye go get that bag miss girl) was necessary in order for her to be able to love him freely without the chains of title or money. Although reading this in 2024 I find some of the phrases they call each other weird and off putting (like why are you calling your husband your master??), I am sure it was very endearing to read in the 1860s because back then women were, in fact, viewed as property and objects to serve their husband. So maybe some housewife read this and was like, "OMG, master's such a cute nickname for him". I digress unto the second matter-- I love the moment in the conclusion when Jane goes to visit Adele and learns that her former student is unhappy and mistreated at the institution she was placed into. Instead of letting the cycle of trauma she experienced repeat itself, we get to see Jane break it and bring Adele home before finding a school where she can be happy. We love to see it. Finally, speaking back on a moment from a while ago that has been haunting me, does anyone else lowkey get Harpeth Hall vibes from Lowood🤨? IDK about y'all, but that typhus outbreak was too real, because why did I get sick a week ago along with half the Harpeth Hall population? Lowood Class of 2025😝?As always, it's been a joy. Thanks for having me today even though I missed my first blog post 😔

Gracie Blog (28-31)

Oh man, Jane. She really just can't catch a break, can she?? Once her small amount of money runs out, she is booted from the carriage to the side of the road in a town called Whitcross, which is the most boring and underwhelming town known to man. As if that isn't miserable enough, she soon realizes that every single one of the (very few) belongings she brought with her was left in the carriage. I mean talk about unfortunate. Not having many other options, Jane spends her first night alone in the woods pondering life, nature, God, and missing Mr. Rochester!!!...but he's in the past, so we won't talk about that. While she continues her lonesome journey, fatigue sets in as she finds food, water, and shelter to be very scarce. Jane wanders into town and attempts to trade her gloves for food, but she is denied. I was feeling very sad for Jane while reading this. She just wanted to escape manipulation and stand up for herself, and this is what it results in?? She doesn't deserve this! As her hunger grows, she continues to beg for help but continuously gets shut down by the villagers. Unsure of any help or way out, Jane finds herself in the woods expecting to die very soon; however, a small light glares in the distance. We just have a feeling at this point thing are surely going to start turning up for Jane...I hope...she can't just die...right?? Phew. A house is there, the house of Mr. St John and his sisters, Diana and Mary! After observing the activity inside the house, Jane knocks. I am crossing my fingers at this point. I mean this poor girl can't take much more. Hannah, their servant, opens the door and initially turns Jane away. But at this point, Jane is unable to carry herself anywhere else and collapses at the door (Nooooo!!). Oh but wait, Mr. St John to the rescue! Jane's knight in shining armor! He invites her in and cares for her (with the help of Diana and Mary) for numerous days. Even though they slowly start to open up to each other, Jane is still very reluctant to share any specific details of her past. Through these conversations, Mr. St John agrees to charitably help Jane get back on her feet and his sisters advocate to keep her around. She is finally getting the assistance she needs and deserves. Although, I feel a little uneasy about some of the interactions between Mr. St John and Jane. He gives off mysterious and closed off vibes (Jane's favorite). That hits a little too close to home for some of us still recovering from Mr. Rochester. After hanging around the house for a while, Diana and Mary have to go to governess elsewhere, and there are speculations of Mr. St John leaving to become a missionary. While both Jane and Mr. St John are becoming restless in the house, he gives her a proposition of running a small school. Jane accepts because she needs a job! Jane questions whether or not this the quality of life she will always have, but she continues teaching because she doesn't have many more options. To end of the chapter, a new bombshell enters. Mrs. Oliver, the epitome of beauty and grace, strolls on in to the school. It is so apparent that she and Mr. St John are in love....but oh no, how does Jane feel about this? We can only assume Mr. St John to be another potential love interest. Will Jane be getting herself into another sticky situation again or something good for her? I guess we will just have to see for ourselves...but just remember that Mr. St John ISN'T susceptible to the weather.  

Emery's Blog Post! (Chapters 26-27)

OH BOY were these some interesting chapters. We open on the morning of Jane and Mr. Rochester's wedding, with Jane rushing to get dressed and Rochester being quite impatient. As they enter the church, Jane notices two people lurking in a shadowed corner. Interesting. Just as the service begins, someone shouts from the few gathered to witness -- the ceremony is broken off, what could possibly be the cause? Oh. Mr. Rochester is married. He has a wife. Obviously, Rochester is not pleased with this interruption and he attempts to save the situation but fails miserably. He finally gives in and reveals that his wife, Bertha Mason (the sister of Mr. Mason) lives with him at Thornfield. We also discover now that Grace Poole is not the one making the spooky noises at night and the source of the ominous laughter, but instead, Poole is the caretaker of Rochester's wife. In his fumbled reasoning, he invites the accusers to Thornfield to see his "mad" wife. Upon entering Bertha's room for the visit, Rochester is almost immediately attacked by her, and he only subdues her by tying her to a chair. Resonably, Jane is not pleased with this overall discovery of her intended husband's secret wife. She stays calm in the moment but feels utterly betrayed and confused while grappling with her emotions. How could Rochester keep a secret of this importance from her? One should hope their partner tells you that they are presently married before the wedding day. Sitting in her room, Jane falls into a dream-like trance: she is swallowed by a river, sinking deeper and deeper into the waters. Hmm.

The plot thickens! After her long sleep, Jane wakes up in the afternoon with a realization: She has to leave Mr. Rochester. Jane wrestles with her inner monologue-- can she really leave? Does she have to tear herself away? Surprisingly, when Jane encounters Rochester after she ventures downstairs, she immediately forgives him. In turn, he states he is regretful for bringing Jane to Thornfield, and that he should have never done so. We then get even more tea on Rochester's past, and what haunts him so intensely that he keeps a secret from his own lover. We learn that he was tricked into marrying Bertha Mason, unaware of the state of her mental health. In their marriage, Rochester was filled with despair and hopelessness, until he had a vision. Oooooh. He saw hope, which told him a path to follow. He was told to return to Europe, bring Bertha with him, and keep her locked away in secrecy. Rochester took this amazing and ethical recommendation by the embodiment of hope and ran with it all the way to England. Rochester tries desperately to win Jane over and convince her to stay, but Jane stands her ground. He starts by trying to convince her straightforwardly. When this doesn't work, he tries guilt-tripping her by saying how depressed he will be without her. She says no, and plants her foot. Rochester then speaks of all the women he has tried to love but failed to stay with because they weren't enough for him. Sometimes sharing is not caring. He says that Jane is the only one he truly loves, and he shares all of the things he's noticed and admires about her. This is painful for Jane to hear, but she stays strong with her choice. His last attempt to convince her to stay is to rush at her and grab her waist and arm painfully tight... huh. As Rochester continues to beg Jane, she kisses him on the forehead, and she walks away from him for the last time. Just go Jane, just go.

That night, Jane dreams of her childhood and the red room. There is a spirit with her, gliding around the walls. It reinforces her decision to leave, however painful it may seem. She wakes and leaves without making a notice, avoiding any contact with Rochester she walks the halls of Thornfield for the last time, pausing for a good amount of time outside his bedroom door. She slips out the gates and gazes upon the outstretched road in front of her. Where will it lead her? What does her future hold? With great difficulty, Jane retreats from Thornfield and her love, but now, what comes next in her story?

Mia's Blog Post-Chapters 23-25

 Well, we have a lot to unpack here. Love is in the air! Within the first few pages of these chapters, Jane confesses her love for Mr. Rochester and after much back and forth Mr. Rochester asks the BIG question. He begs Jane to marry him and announces that he will leave Ms. Ingram immediately. For all the romance novel fans, these chapters were life changing. One thing that shows up throughout this reading is prophetic fallacy. There are many times where Jane is describing the weather, and it matches her feelings. One example of this is the setting and weather in the orchard right before Mr. Rochester proposes to Jane. This prophetic fallacy also shows up again when Jane is in distress after her run in with this human/vampire during the night. The next day, the weather is stormy and unsettling. She tells Mr. Rochester of this monster, and he tells her she was dreaming. Once he is convinced it was real, he explains that it was Grace Poole and that she was imagining the monstrous features. He says he will tell her the truth of it all after the wedding. It seems like he is trying to lock her down before telling her this, so she can't leave him after finding out the secret. Another suspicious thing that occurs is Mrs. Fairfax almost issuing a warning to Jane about Mr. Rochester. She expresses a lot of our same worries that Jane is inexperienced with men and might be easily taken advantage of and manipulated. She tries to seem happy for Jane, but she seems more worried than happy. A lot of tension towards this secret is being built. I can't wait for the next reading to finally learn this big, bad secret. 

Jesse's Blog Post!

     Dear E Block: THE TENSION ENSUES. I, quite literally, cannot take this anymore. As we (Jane Eyre and our class) uncover more about Mr. Rochester's mysterious past, the unlikely pair grows closer as Mr. Rochester shares his secrets with her. For example, he solicits her assistance after Mason is BIT (??) by Grace Poole (??) in the middle of the night?? Then he LEAVES her there for hours, only to release her upon his return with his surgeon friend who also conveniently is not bothered by this crazy person locked in the other room?? But more on that later. The people in this novel only seem to confuse me more... On this topic, when are Jane and Rochester going to finally confess their undying love for each other? Although I remain weary of Mr. Rochester, I feel for Jane and her passion for her favorite ugly gentleman. She repeatedly, yet inwardly, expresses that she is in love with Rochester! Even though we have not (yet?) seen SOLID proof that Rochester returns her affection, he does allude to a fondness beyond friendship for Jane. The tension between them only seems to worsen in chapters 20-22 due to longing glances, shared secrets, prolonged physical contact, and even a partial confession on Jane's end at the end of chapter 22 (AHH). We must keep in mind, however, that Rochester is engaged and soon to be married to the sickening Ms. Ingram, unfortunately. However, where is she? At the end of the 22nd chapter, Jane notices that, although wedding preparations are supposably ensuing, the "happy" pair has not bothered to visit each other, nor does there seem to be a set date for the ceremony... In all, there seems to be many moving parts to the story of Jane Eyre, from dead aunts, "childless" fathers, mysterious housemaids, ugly gentlemen, and finally, a young woman at the center of it all. Jane, I look forward to reading more of your story. Rochester, MAN UP AND CONFESS!!

Abby's Blog Post

     Poor Jane really thought she could get over Mr. Rochester just like that. As soon as he returns, now accompanied by a fashionable entourage of gentlemen and ladies, she quickly must admit to herself that despite all her efforts, she is very much in love with him. She first observes Mr. Rochester's guests from her not-so inconspicuous seat in the corner during their poorly timed conversation about how awful governesses are. My favorite more tense and flirty moment in this chapter occurs after this unfortunate first impression, when Jane obviously feels out of place and decides to slip away. She is then confronted by Mr. Rochester in the hallway, who, after briefly questioning her as to why she looks depressed (isn’t it obvious?), almost calls her something MUCH more affectionate than would be conventionally appropriate to say to an employee. Next we more specifically get to know the character of Mr. Rochester’s lovely bride-to-be, Miss Ingram. Although Miss Ingram seems to be the absolute picture of perfection, Jane can see her for what she really is: a sarcastic, inconsiderate, unoriginal, prideful, and shallow young woman intent on Mr. Rochester’s fortune. And what is most torturous to Jane is that Mr. Rochester knows it too. Everyone is happy indoors, but Jane’s mood is reflected in the rainy weather outside, especially since Mr. Rochester has now commanded her to make an appearance in the drawing room every night just to witness him pretend to flirt with Miss Ingram. Then Mr. Rochester decides to dress up as an old gypsy woman and tell the fortunes of the young, unmarried women in the party. I love Mr. Rochester and all, but that’s extremely questionable behavior. Genuinely, what was the thought process there? To Miss Ingram, Mr. Rochester says something she obviously doesn’t like and that remains a mystery to us. Then he requests Jane’s presence. Reading over their dialogue with the knowledge that it’s Mr. Rochester in the red cloak, many things are revealed to us. To be very frank, Mr. Rochester can tell that Jane is in love with him, Mr. Rochester is in love with Jane, and he clearly wants her to MAKE A MOVE. In my opinion, make your own move, Mr. Rochester!! Why does Jane have to be the one to take the leap when she’s conventionally in the worst possible position to do so? But then again, if she cares as little for convention as she claims, how come she hasn’t made a move?

Ferrell's Blog Post

     Well, I am extremely frustrated with Jane and Mr. Rochester. We finally see some flirtatious behavior between the two, even though it seems like they are belittling each other the whole time. It is obvious that Mr. Rochester values Jane and her opinions because he asks her if she thinks that he is handsome. I do not understand why Mr. Rochester and Jane are calling each other unattractive while simultaneously engaging in flirty banter, but they are both so strange that they probably like that. Also, we finally get to hear a little about Mr. Rochester's mysterious past. His past seems pretty crazy. He was in love with an opera dancer (who he showered in expensive gifts), but then he caught her cheating on him while he was hiding on her balcony. Then, he immediately stops loving her when he realizes that she is cheating with someone he despises, so he breaks it off and kicks her out of the hotel. Finally, it is revealed that the opera woman (Adele's mom) says that Mr. Rochester is Adele's father. It is evident that he is NOT the father, but when Celine abandons Adele, Mr. Rochester decides to bring her to England. This look into Mr. Rochester's past makes me wonder what else he is hiding. Anyway, let's get back to Jane and Mr. Rochester. We will skip the fire in Mr. Rochester's bedroom, which weirdly everyone ignores, the demonic laughter that Jane hears in the hallway, and the fact that Grace is obviously hiding something shady, so we can get back to the love story that is unfolding. At the end of the reading, Jane confesses that she has grown to love Mr. Rochester and longs to see him, and keeps wondering when he will call for her. Mrs. Fairfax reveals that Mr. Rochester has gone to a party and that he is very popular with the ladies. This leads us to arguably the most disturbing and sad part of the reading, where Jane's jealousy leads her to have extremely negative self talk and to torture herself with a painting. Jane has an inner monologue where she calls herself stupid for ever thinking that she is worthy of Mr. Rochester's love and affection, and to remind herself of this, she paints an "accurate" self portrait and then a painting of what she thinks the perfect Miss Ingram looks like. She does this to remind herself that she will never be worthy of Mr. Rochester, which is extremely depressing and disturbing. I am eager to keep reading and see what happens next in this book!

Kate's Blog Post

 Hello blog! In this reading (chapter 10-13) we arrive at the Thornfield estate and finally meet a potential love interest! ( but more on that later) At Thornfield, Jane is greeted by the kind Mrs. Fairfax. It was so cute to read this part because Mrs. Fairfax is lonely and looking for a friend. Jane is able to find a sense of calm at the Thornfield estate, something I believe that she desperately needs. She finally has a room to herself, more than enough food, and a student, Adèle Varens. Although, after a while, she finds her new accommodations boring. Jane finds Mrs. Fairfax and her student to be dull because they do not ask many questions. When Jane inquires about the owner of the estate Mr. Rochester, Mrs. Fairfax replies with vague answers because she has no motivation to inquire further. I believe Jane is being overly critical of these nice people. I hope that, just because Jane does not find them curious about every single aspect of life, she will not move away. Her moving away is inevitable at some point, but I hope she doesn’t rush it. Jane has finally found people who care for her, and I hope she stays for as long as she can. Secondly, the most interesting part of these chapters is the arrival of Mr. Rochester. My tangent is that I feel that he could be a potential love interest. Jane views him to be handsome and mysterious. Since Jane craves the unknown and interesting people, I believe that she will fall for him. I also believe that Mr. Rochester will find Jane interesting. In the library, he finds it intriguing that she doesn't have any family and is an independent woman. I predict that if a relationship develops he will spoil Jane with gifts as he already asked her what she wants. However, like everything else, I think that Jane will move on once she gets to know Mr. Rochester. Similarly to her placement at Thornfield, I believe that Jane will find him boring because he is a part of high society. All I am saying is that their relationship will be rocky. I get good vibes from Mr. Rochester but I believe that there could be a better match for Jane who understands her past and her need for the unfamiliar. Although, we know that Mr. Rochester travels a lot which would satisfy Jane’s need for the unknown, and he also does not have a lot of family which is similar to Jane. We still have a lot to learn about about Mr. Rochester so it might turn out to be that he is perfect for Jane. I guess I will have to keep reading to find out!