Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë,1847

PART 4 : MOOR HOUSE

Read this extract from chapter 29 (p.399)and pay attention to all the elements about
Jane’s identity.
‘I left Lowood nearly a year since to become a private governess. I obtained a good
situation, and was happy. This place I was obliged to leave four days before I came here.
The reason of my departure I cannot and ought not to explain: it would be useless,
dangerous, and would sound incredible. No blame attached to me: I am as free from
culpability as any one of you three. Miserable I am, and must be for a time; for the
catastrophe which drove me from a house I had found a paradise was of a strange and
direful nature. I observed but two points in planning my departure—speed, secrecy: to secure
these, I had to leave behind me everything I possessed except a small parcel1; which, in my
hurry and trouble of mind, I forgot to take out of the coach that brought me to Whitcross. To
this neighbourhood, then, I came, quite destitute. I slept two nights in the open air, and
wandered about two days without crossing a threshold2: but twice in that space of time did I
taste food; and it was when brought by hunger, exhaustion, and despair almost to the last
gasp3, that you, Mr. Rivers, forbade me to perish of want4 at your door, and took me under
the shelter of your roof. I know all your sisters have done for me since—for I have not been
insensible during my seeming torpor—and I owe to their spontaneous, genuine, genial
compassion as large a debt as to your evangelical charity.’

‘Don’t make her talk any more now, St. John5,’ said Diana, as I paused; ‘she is
evidently not yet fit for excitement. Come to the sofa and sit down now, Miss Elliott.’

I gave an involuntary half start at hearing the alias: I had forgotten my new name. Mr. Rivers,
whom nothing seemed to escape, noticed it at once.

‘You said your name was Jane Elliott?’ he observed.

‘I did say so; and it is the name by which I think it expedient to be called at present,
but it is not my real name, and when I hear it, it sounds strange to me.’

‘Your real name you will not give?’ ‘No: I fear discovery above all things; and
whatever disclosure would lead to it, I avoid.’

‘You are quite right, I am sure,’ said Diana. ‘Now do, brother, let her be at peace a
while.’

But when St. John had mused a few moments he recommenced as imperturbably
and with as much acumen as ever.

‘You would not like to be long dependent on our hospitality—you would wish, I see, to
dispense as soon as may be with my sisters’ compassion, and, above all, with my charity (I

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Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë,1847

am quite sensible of the distinction drawn, nor do I resent it—it is just): you desire to be
independent of us?’

‘I do: I have already said so. Show me how to work, or how to seek work: that is all I
now ask; then let me go, if it be but to the meanest cottage; but till then, allow me to stay
here: I dread another essay of the horrors of homeless destitution.’

1.bag 2. le seuil d’une maison 3.death 4.privation 5.StJohn (/sind n/) is Rivers’s first
name.

1. a.Identify Jane’s new acquaintances and recap what they have done for her.

b. Compare and contrast St.John’s and his sisters’attitudes towards Jane Eyre. You
can use the following words :

cold – sympathetic – welcoming – wary

2. Find two quotes that explain what happened to Jane in her journey from Thornfield
to the Rivers’.
3. Rephrase the different steps in Jane’s journey since the beginning of the book
mentioned in this passage and in the paragraph just before.
4. Explain Jane’s state of mind in this part of her journey and comment on her choice
to have an alias.
5.Explain why this passage shows that Jane is an independent heroine. You can use
the following words :

secretive – independent – overcome obstacles – provide for oneself

6. Check your understanding :

a. Jane is thankful for  the Rivers’ hospitality  the Rivers’offer

b. She admits feeling  delighted  depressed

c. St.John is  warm  curious

d. Jane hides  information about her childhood  information about Thornfield

e. Jane is determined to  stay at Moor House  make her own living

FOCUS on … Coming-of-age stories or Bildungsroman

A coming-of-age story or Bildungsroman is a literary genre that focuses on the main
character’s journey from childhood to adulthood. The reader usually follows the
hero/heroine in his/her quest to face the rules of society and learns about his/her moral
and psychological growth to become a mature adult.

Carry on reading until chapter 35 to see how St. John Rivers behaves towards Jane.

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Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë,1847

Extract 15 : Read this extract from chapter 35 p.482 and take notes on the various
events in the scene.

I stood motionless under my hierophant’s1 touch. My refusals were forgotten—my

fears overcome—my wrestlings paralysed. The Impossible—I.E., my marriage with St. John
—was fast becoming the Possible. All was changing utterly with a sudden sweep. Religion
called—Angels beckoned—God commanded—life rolled together like a scroll—death’s gates
opening, showed eternity beyond: it seemed, that for safety and bliss2 there, all here might
be sacrificed in a second. The dim room was full of visions.
‘Could you decide now?’ asked the missionary. The inquiry was put in gentle tones:
he drew me to him as gently. Oh, that gentleness! how far more potent is it than force! I could
resist St. John’s wrath 3: I grew pliant as a reed under his kindness. Yet I knew all the time, if
I yielded now, I should not the less be made to repent, some day, of my former rebellion. His
nature was not changed by one hour of solemn prayer: it was only elevated.

‘I could decide if I were but certain,’ I answered: ‘were I but convinced that it is God’s
will I should marry you, I could vow to marry you here and now—come afterwards what
would!’ 4
‘My prayers are heard!’ ejaculated St. John. He pressed his hand firmer on my head,
as if he claimed me: he surrounded me with his arm, almost as if he loved me (I say almost—
I knew the difference— for I had felt what it was to be loved; but, like him, I had now put love
out of the question, and thought only of duty). I contended with my inward dimness of vision,
before which clouds yet rolled. I sincerely, deeply, fervently longed to do what was right; and
only that. ‘Show me, show me the path!’ I entreated of Heaven. I was excited more than I had
ever been; and whether what followed was the effect of excitement the reader shall judge.

All the house was still; for I believe all, except St. John and myself, were now retired
to rest. The one candle was dying out: the room was full of moonlight. My heart beat fast and
thick: I heard its throb. Suddenly it stood still to an inexpressible feeling that thrilled5 it
through, and passed at once to my head and extremities. The feeling was not like an electric
shock, but it was quite as sharp, as strange, as startling: it acted on my senses as if their
utmost6 activity hitherto had been but torpor, from which they were now summoned and
forced to wake. They rose expectant: eye and ear waited while the flesh quivered on my
bones.
‘What have you heard? What do you see?’ asked St. John. I saw nothing, but I heard
a voice somewhere cry— ‘Jane! Jane! Jane!’—nothing more.
‘O God! what is it?’ I gasped.
I might have said, ‘Where is it?’ for it did not seem in the room— nor in the house—
nor in the garden; it did not come out of the air nor from under the earth—nor from overhead.
I had heard it— where, or whence, for ever impossible to know! And it was the voice of a
human being—a known, loved, well-remembered voice—that of Edward Fairfax Rochester;
and it spoke in pain and woe, wildly, eerily, urgently.

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Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë,1847

‘I am coming!’ I cried. ‘Wait for me! Oh, I will come!’ I flew to the door and looked into
the passage: it was dark. I ran out into the garden: it was void.
‘Where are you?’ I exclaimed.
The hills beyond Marsh Glen sent the answer faintly back—‘Where are you?’ I
listened. The wind sighed low in the firs: all was moorland loneliness and midnight hush.

‘Down7 superstition!’ I commented, as that spectre rose up black by the black yew at
the gate. ‘This is not thy deception, nor thy witchcraft: it is the work of nature. She was
roused, and did—no miracle—but her best.’
I broke from St. John, who had followed, and would have detained me. It was my time
to assume ascendency. My powers were in play and in force. I told him to forbear8 question
or remark; I desired him to leave me: I must and would be alone. He obeyed at once. Where
there is energy to command well enough, obedience never fails. I mounted to my chamber;
locked myself in; fell on my knees; and prayed in my way—a different way to St. John’s, but
effective in its own fashion. I seemed to penetrate very near a Mighty Spirit; and my soul
rushed out in gratitude at His feet. I rose from the thanksgiving—took a resolve9—and lay
down, unscared, enlightened— eager but for the daylight.
1.religious leader 2.extreme happiness 3.fury 4.advienne que pourra 5.électriser
6.greatest 7. à bas 8. abstain from 9.make a determined decision.

1.Focus on the beginning of the passage.

a. Identify St.John’s request.
b. Comment on Jane’s first reactions.
2. a.Spot the plot twist that interrupts St.John’s and Jane’s conversation.
b. Comment on the effect on the readers.
3. Pick out expressions showing that Jane Eyre has evolved and is now ready to make
her own decisions.
4. Why can we say that Charlotte Brontë is making a point on radical religion and
promoting love in this extract ?
5. Check your understanding : match each part of the text with the right title. Write
them into the boxes in the text.

A wake-up call – Spellbound by St.John – Power reversal – Love vs religion

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Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë,1847

TRANSLATION LAB
Dictionary search : use a monolingual dictionary to understand the details of the plot twist
better.
a. Find an English synonym of the highlighted words and translate them into
French.
1. pliant : 2. dimness
3. throb : 4. startling :
5.quiver : 6.gasp :
7. woe : 8. gasp :
9. moorland : 10. ascendancy
b. Comment on the atmosphere Brontë wanted to create with such words.

STYLE LAB
An aside is a device used by writers to enable the audience of a play or readers of a text to
overhear a comment made by the character.
It shows what a character is really thinking and highlights their secret thoughts. It therefore
reinforces the sense of complicity with the reader.
a. Pay attention to this quote : ‘’(I say almost – I knew the difference – for I had felt
what it was to be loved ; but,like him,I had now put love out of the question, and
thought only of duty.)’’
b. Explain why Charlotte Brontë used the itallics on the adverb and comment on
the effect of her aside on us.