Summary of Chapters 33-38

 

One snowy night, as Jane is sitting down reading Marmion St. John appears at the door. Seeming to be troubled, he tells Jane the story of an orphan girl who became the governess at Thornfield Hall, then disappeared after nearly marrying Edward Rochester, he tells her that the run away governess's name is Jane Eyre. Until this point, Jane has been cautious not to reveal her past and has given the Rivers family a false name. It is clear that St. John suspects her of being the woman of which he is speaking about, but she does not immediately identify herself to him.
Mr. Rivers says that he has received a letter from a solicitor named Mr. Briggs informing them that is is extremely important that this Jane Eyre be found. Jane is only interested in whether Mr. Briggs has sent news of Rochester, but St. John says that Rochester’s well-being is not at issue: Jane Eyre must be found because her uncle, John Eyre, has died, leaving her the vast fortune of 20,000 pounds. Jane reveals herself to be Jane Eyre, knowing that St. John has guessed already. She asks him how he knew. He shows her the scrap of paper he tore from her drawing the previous day: it is her signature. She then asks why Mr. Briggs would have sent him a letter about her at all. St. John explains that though he did not realize it before, he is her cousin: her Uncle John was his Uncle John, and his name is St. John Eyre Rivers. Jane is overjoyed to have found a family at long last, and she decides to divide her inheritance between her cousins and herself evenly, so that they each will inherit 5,000 pounds.
Jane closes her school for Christmas and spends a happy time with her newfound cousins at Moor House. Diana and Mary seem to be delighted with the improvements Jane has made at the school, but St. John seems colder and more distant than ever now. He tells Jane that Rosamond is engaged to a rich man named Mr. Granby.
One day, he asks Jane to give up her study of German and instead to learn “Hindustani”with him—the language he is learning to prepare for missionary work in India. As time goes by, St. John exerts a greater and greater influence on Jane; his power over her is almost supernatural. This leaves Jane feeling empty, cold, and sad, but she follows his wishes. At last, he asks her to go to India with him to be a missionary—and to be his wife. She agrees to go to India as a missionary but says that she will not be his wife because they are not in love. St. John harshly insists that she marry him, declaring that to refuse his proposal is the same as to deny the Christian faith. He abruptly leaves the room.
During the following week, St. John continues to pressure Jane to marry him. She resists as kindly as she can, but her kindness only makes him insist more bitterly and unyieldingly that she accompany him to India as his wife. Diana tells Jane that she would be a fool to go to India with St. John, who considers her merely a tool to aid his great cause. After dinner, St. John prays for Jane, and she is overcome with awe at his powers of speech and his influence. She almost feels forced to marry him, but at that moment she hears what she thinks is Rochester’s voice, calling her name as if from a great distance. Jane believes that something fateful has occurred, and St. John’s spell over her is broken.
Jane contemplates her supernatural experience of the previous night, wondering whether it was really Rochester’s voice that she heard calling to her and whether Rochester might actually be in trouble. She finds a note from St. John urging her to resist temptation, but nevertheless she boards a coach to Thornfield. She travels to the manor, anxious to see Rochester and reflecting on the ways in which her life has changed in the single year since she left. Once hopeless, alone, and weak, Jane now has friends, family, and a fortune. She hurries to the house after her coach arrives and is shocked to find Thornfield burned. She goes to an inn called the Rochester Arms to learn what has happened. Here, she learns that Bertha Mason set the house ablaze several months earlier. Rochester saved his servants and tried to save his wife, but she flung herself from the roof as the fire raged around her. In the fire, Rochester lost a hand and went blind. He has taken up residence in a house called Ferndean, located deep in the forest, with John and Mary, two elderly servants.
Jane goes to Ferndean. From a distance, she sees Rochester reach a hand out of the door, testing for rain. His body looks the same, but his face is desperate and depressed. Rochester returns inside, and Jane approaches the house. She knocks, and Mary answers the door. Jane carries a tray inside to Rochester, who is unable to see her. When he realizes that Jane is in the room with him, he thinks she must be a ghost or spirit speaking to him. When he catches her hand, he takes her in his arms, and she promises never to leave him. The next morning they walk through the woods, and Jane tells Rochester about her experiences the previous year. She has to assure him that she is not in love with St. John. He asks her again to marry him, and she says yes—they are now free from the specter of Bertha Mason. Rochester tells Jane that a few nights earlier, in a moment of desperation, he called out her name and thought he heard her answer. She does not wish to upset him or excite him in his fragile condition, and so she does not tell him about hearing his voice at Moor House.
Jane and Rochester marry with no witnesses other than the parson and the church clerk. Jane writes to her cousins with the news. St. John never acknowledges what has happened, but Mary and Diana write back with their good wishes. Jane visits Adèle at her school, and finds her unhappy. Remembering her own childhood experience, Jane moves Adèle to a more congenial school, and Adèle grows up to be a very pleasant and mild-mannered young woman.
Jane writes that she is narrating her story after ten years of marriage to Rochester, which she describes as inexpressibly blissful. They live as equals, and she helps him to cope with his blindness. After two years, Rochester begins to regain his vision in one eye, and when their first child—a boy—is born, Rochester is able to see the baby. Jane writes that Diana and Mary have both found husbands and that St. John went to India as he had planned. She notes that in his last letter, St. John claimed to have had a premonition of his own approaching death. She does not believe that she will hear from St. John again, but she does not feel sad for him, saying that he has fulfilled his promise and done God’s work. She closes her book with a quote from his letter, in which he begs the Lord Jesus to come for him quickly.

Summary of Chapters 29-32

Jane spends three days recuperating in bed, after she is taken in by the Rivers siblings. On the fourth day, she feels healthy again and follows the smell of bread baking in the kitchen, where she finds Hannah.
Jane criticizes Hannah for judging her unfairly when she asked for help, and Hannah apologizes.
Hannah tells Jane the story of Mr. Rivers, the siblings’ father, who lost most of the family fortune in a bad business deal. As a result, Diana and Mary were forced to work as governesses—they are only at Marsh End (or Moor House) now because their father died three weeks ago. Jane then relates some of her own story and admits that Jane Elliott is not her real name.
St. John promises to find her a job.

Jane befriends Diana and Mary, who admire her drawings and give her books to read. St. John, on the other hand, remains distant and cold,even though he is not a nasty person. After a month, Diana and Mary must return to their posts as governesses. St. John has found a position for Jane, running a charity school for girls in the town of Morton. Jane accepts, but St. John presumes that she will soon leave the school out of restlessness, perhaps because he himself is quite restless. His sisters suspect he will soon leave England for a missionary post overseas. St. John tells his sisters that their Uncle John has died and left them nothing, because all his money went to another, unknown, relative. Jane learns that it was Uncle John who led Mr. Rivers into his disastrous business deal.
At Morton, the wealthy heiress Rosamond Oliver provides Jane with a cottage to reside in. Jane begins teaching, but to her own regret, she finds the work degrading and disappointing. St. John visits Jane and reveals that he, too, used to feel that he had made the wrong career choice, until one day he heard God’s call. Now he plans to become a missionary. Out of nowhere the beautiful Rosamond Oliver then appears, interrupting St. John and Jane’s conversation. From their interaction, Jane believes that Rosamond and St. John are in love.
Jane’s students become more familiar and attached to her, and Jane becomes quite popular amongst them. At night, though, she has troubling nightmares that involve Rochester. Jane continues to pay attention to the relationship between St. John and Rosamond, who often visits the school when she knows St. John will be there. Rosamond asks Jane to draw her portrait. one day she is working on it St. John pays her a visit. He gives her a new book of poetry (Sir Walter Scott’s Marmion) and looks at the drawing. She offers to draw him a duplicate, and then boldly declares that he ought to marry Rosamond. St. John admits that he loves her and is tempted by her beauty, but he explains that he refuses to allow worldly affection to interfere with his holy duties. The flirtatious, silly, and shallow Rosamond would make a terrible wife for a missionary. Suddenly, St. John notices something on the edge of Jane’s paper and tears off a tiny piece—Jane is not certain why. With a stangelook on his face, he hurries from the room.

Summary of Chapters 23-28

 

After a blissful two weeks, Jane encounters Rochester in the gardens. He invites her to walk with him, and Jane, caught off guard, accepts. Rochester confides that he has finally decided to marry Blanche Ingram and tells Jane that he knows of an available governess position in Ireland that she could take. Jane expresses her distress at the great distance that separates Ireland from Thornfield. The two seat themselves on a bench at the foot of the chestnut tree, and Rochester says: “we will sit there in peace to-night, though we should never more be destined to sit there together.” He tells Jane that he feels as though they are connected by a “cord of communion.”Jane sobs—“for I could repress what I endured no longer,” she tells us, “I was obliged to yield.” Jane confesses her love for Rochester, and to her surprise, he asks her to be his wife. She suspects that he is teasing her, but he convinces her otherwise by admitting that he only brought up marrying Blanche in order to atir up Jane’s jealousy. Convinced and ecstatic, Jane accepts his proposal. Suddenly a storm occurs, and the newly engaged couple hurries indoors through the rain. Rochester helps Jane out of her wet coat, and he snatches the opportunity to kiss her. Jane looks up to see Mrs. Fairfax watching, astonished. That night, a bolt of lightning splits the same chestnut tree under which Rochester and Jane had been sitting that evening.
As the wedding is approaching, arrangements do not run smoothly. Mrs. Fairfax begins to treat Jane coldly due to her not knowing that Jane was already engaged to Rochester when she allowed him to kiss her. But even after she learns the truth, Mrs. Fairfax maintains her disapproval of the marriage.
Jane feels rootless, when Rochester calls her by what will soon be her name, Jane Rochester.
Jane explains that everything feels impossibly supreme, like a fairy-tale, and with that not being enough Rochester goes as far as trying to turn Jane into a Cinderella-like figure: he tells her he will dress her in jewels and in regalia befitting her new social station, at which point Jane becomes terrified and self-protective. She has a dangerous feeling that the wedding will not occur, and she decides to write her uncle, John Eyre, who is in Madeira. Jane suugest that if he, John Eyre, were to make her his heir, her inheritance might put her on more equal footing with Rochester, which would make her feel less uncomfortable about the marriage.
The night before her wedding, Jane waits for Rochester, who has left Thornfield for the evening. Restless, she decides to take a walk in the orchard, where she sees the now-split chestnut tree. When Rochester arrives, Jane tells him about strange events that have occurred in his absence. The preceding evening, Jane’s wedding dress arrives, and underneath it is an expensive veil—Rochester’s wedding gift to Jane. The corresponding night, Jane has a strange dream, in which a little child cried in her arms as Jane tried to make her way toward Rochester on a long, winding road. Rochester dismisses the dream as insignificant, but then she tells him about a second dream. This time, Jane loses her balance and the child falls from her knee. The dream was so disturbing that it roused Jane from her sleep, and she perceived “a form” rustling in her closet. It turned out to be a strange, savage-looking woman, who took Jane’s veil and tore it in two. Rochester tells her that the woman must have been Grace Poole and that what she experienced was really “half-dream, half-reality.” He tells her that he will give her a full explanation of events after they have been married for one year and one day. Jane sleeps with Adèle for the evening and cries because she will soon have to leave the sleeping girl.
Sophie helps Jane dress for the wedding, and Rochester and Jane walk to the church. Jane notes a pair of strangers reading the headstones in the churchyard cemetery. When Jane and Rochester enter the church, the two strangers are also present. When the priest asks if anyone objects to the ceremony, one of the strangers answers: “The marriage cannot go on: I declare the existence of an impediment.”Rochester attempts to proceed with the ceremony, but the stranger explains that Rochester is already married—his wife is a Creole woman whom Rochester wed fifteen years earlier in Jamaica. The speaker explains that he is a solicitor from London, and he introduces himself as Mr. Briggs. He produces a signed letter from Richard Mason affirming that Rochester is married to Mason’s sister, Bertha. Mr. Mason himself then steps forward to corroborate the story. After a moment of inarticulate fury, Rochester admits that his wife is alive and that in marrying Jane he would have been knowingly taking a second wife. No one in the community knows of his wife because she is mad, and Rochester keeps her locked away under the care of Grace Poole. But, he promises them all, Jane is completely ignorant of Bertha’s existence. He orders the crowd to come to Thornfield to see her, so that they may understand what impelled him to his present course of action.
At Thornfield, the group climbs to the third story. Rochester points out the room where Bertha bit and stabbed her brother, and then he lifts a tapestry to uncover a second door. Inside the hidden room is Bertha Mason, under the care of Grace Poole. Jane writes:

"In the deep shade, at the farther end of the room, a figure ran backwards and forwards. What it was, whether beast or human being, one could not, at first sight tell: it grovelled, seemingly, on all fours; it snatched and growled like some strange wild animal: but it was covered with clothing, and a quantity of dark, grizzled hair, wild as a mane, hid its head and face."

Bertha attempts to strangle Rochester, who reminds his audience, “this is the sole conjugal embrace I am ever to know.”Jane leaves the room with Mason and Briggs, who tells her that he learned of her intent to marry Jane via a letter from Jane’s uncle, John Eyre, to Mason. It turns out that the two men are acquaintances, and Mason had stopped in Madeira on his way back to Jamaica when John received Jane’s letter. Approaching death, John asked Mason to hurry to England to save his niece. After the wedding crowd disperses, Jane locks herself in her room and plunges into an inexpressible grief. She thinks about the almost calm manner in which the morning’s events unfolded and how it seems disproportionate to the immense effect those events will have on her life. She prays to God to be with her.

Later that afternoon, Jane awakes, wondering what she should do: Leave Thornfield at once is the answer. At first, she doesn't think she can leave Rochester, but an inner voice tells her she both can and should. Jane leaves her room, tripping over Rochester, who sits in a chair outside the door. He carries her down to the library, offering her wine and food. Rochester plans to lock Thornfield up, send Adèle away to school, and escape with Jane to a villa in the south of France, where they would live "both virtually and nominally" as husband and wife. Jane won't accept his logic; if she lived with him, she would be his mistress, a position she doesn't want. Afraid of his passionate nature, Jane calls to God for help. Rochester tells Jane the history of his family: His greedy father left all of his estate to Rochester's older brother Rowland, so that the property wouldn't be divided. When Rochester left college, he was sent to Jamaica to marry Bertha, who supposedly would receive a fortune of thirty thousand pounds. Bertha was a beautiful woman, tall and majestic like Blanche Ingram. Bertha seemed to be a dazzling woman and Rochester was aroused by her. He mistook this lust for love. Before he knew it, they were married. After the honeymoon, Rochester learned that Bertha's mother was shut in an asylum and her younger brother was mentally challenged. Ultimately, Bertha's excesses led her into premature insanity. Rochester contemplates suicide, but then decides to return to Europe with Bertha. Both his father and brother are dead, and no one else knows of his marriage. Rochester spends the next ten years searching for a woman to love, but finds only mistresses. From his story, Jane realizes she can never live with Rochester; she would become simply another of his now-despised mistresses. That night, Jane dreams her mother, transformed from the moon, whispers into her heart, "My daughter, flee temptation." Jane does. She packs up a few trinkets, grabs her purse, which contains a mere twenty shillings, and steals away. Walking past Rochester's room, Jane knows she could find a "temporary heaven" there, but she refuses to accept it. Instead, she sneaks out of th

Riding in a coach, Jane quickly exhausts her meager money supply and is forced to sleep outdoors. She spends much of the night in prayer, and the following day she begs for food or a job in the nearby town. No one helps her, except for one farmer who is willing to give her a slice of bread. After another day, Jane sees a light shining from across the moors. Following it, she comes to a house. Through the window, Jane sees two young women studying German while their servant knits. From their conversation Jane learns that the servant is named Hannah and that the graceful young women are Diana and Mary. The three women are waiting for someone named St. John (pronounced“Sinjin”). Jane knocks on the door, but Hannah refuses to let her in. Collapsing on the doorstep in anguish and weakness, Jane cries,“I can but die, and I believe in God. Let me try to wait His will in silence.” A voice answers, “All men must die, but all are not condemned to meet a lingering and premature doom, such as yours would be if you perished here of want.” The voice belongs to “St. John,” who brings Jane into the house. He is the brother of Diana and Mary, and the three siblings give Jane food and shelter. They ask her some questions, and she gives them a false name: “Jane Elliott.”
They then journey far away from Thornfield.



Summary of Chapters 18-22

Several days have passed and the guest are still at Thornfield. Jane believes that Blanche and Rochester will be married soon, because of how how they interact with each other; even though she can tell that they are not in love. If they were to get married Jane thinks Blanche would only marry him for his money, and he would only marry her for her beauty and social position.
One day, a man by the name of Mr. Mason arrives to Gateshead from the West Indies. From the very start Jane dislikes him for his vacant eyes and his slowness. But from him she learns that Rochester once lived in the West Indies too. Several days following that visit a gypsy woman arrives to Thornfield to tell the guests' fortunes. Blanche decides to go first and as she is returning back from her talk with the gypsy she looks disappointed.

After overcoming her doubtfulness, Jane then decides to go into the library. To Janes surprise the Gypsy woman seems to know a lot about her, and tells her that she is very close to happiness. The gypsy woman also shares with Jane that she told Blanche Ingram that Rochester is not as wealthy as he seems,which was the reasoning for her gloomy mood. As the woman is reading Janes fortune, her voice slowly begins to deepen, thereby making Jane realize that the gypsy woman is Rochester in disguise.
Jane addresses Rochester for tricking her, because all along she had thought the gypsy was Grace Poole.
Jane then shares with Mr.Rochester that a stranger, by the name of Mr. Mason had arrived since he had left in the morning. Improbably, Rochester looks troubled.

That same night, Jane hears a hasty cry for help. After running into the hallways, where Rochester is, he assures everyone that a servant has had a nightmare. Reprieved, everyone returns to their beds. And after Rochester knocks at Jane's door to ask her for her help and if she is afraid of blood. After being lead to the third story of the house, Rochester shows her to Mr. Mason who has been stabbed in the arm. Rochester asks Jane to halt the wound, and demands that she and Mr. Mason not communicate in any shape or form. as demanded, no words are exchanged between Jane and Mason, therefore, in silence, Jane stares among the room. She notices images of the apostles and christ cricifixion that is painted on the cabinet across from her.
Rochester then returns to the room, with a surgeon who tends to Mr. Mason's wounds, as he sends Jane to convey some potion.When Jane arrives back with the potion, Mr. Rochester gives it to Mason adaging that it will give him heart for an hour.
After Mason vacates, Jane and Rochester slaunter in the orchard, and Rochester tells Jane a speculative story about a young man who commits a “capital error”in a foreign country and proceeds to lead a life of dissipation in an effort to “obtain relief.” he says that the young man then hopes to redeem himself and live morally with a wife, but convention prevents him from doing so. Rochester then asks Jane whether the young man would be justified in “overleaping an obstacle of custom.” Jane’s answer is that such a man should look to God for his redemption, not to another person. Rochester, who obviously has been describing his own situation, asks Jane to reassure him that marrying Blanche would bring him salvation. He then hurries away before she has a chance to say anything else.

Jane has heard that it is a bad thing to dream of children and now she has dreams on seven back-to-back nights involving babies. She learns that her cousin John Reed has committed suicide and that her Aunt Reed has suffered from a stroke and is nearly dead. Jane then returns back to Gateshead, where she is reunited with Bessie. She also sees her other cousins Eliza and Georgiana. Eliza is still plain, and plans to enter a convent soon, while Georgina is a beautiful as ever. Jane learns that ever since Eliza ruined Georgina's chances of running way with a young man, the sisters haven't gotten along. Jane tries to resolve things with Mrs. Reed, but her aunt is still full of hostility towards her late husbands favourite. 

Jane stays at Gateshead for a month because Georgiana dreads being alone with her sister, Eliza. But eventually Georgiana goes to London to live with her uncle, while Eliza finally joins the convent in France. After some time Eliza becomes the Mother Superior of her convent and Georgiana marries a wealthy man. While still at Gateshead Jane receives a letter from Mrs. Fairfax. The letter states that Rochester's guests' have left and that Rochester has gone to London to buy a new carriage which became a clear sign to her that he and Blanche are in fact, getting married. As Jane is travelling back to Thornfield, she becomes anxious and does not anticipate seeing Rochester again. Yet she worries what will become of her after his marriage. Surprisingly as she is leaving for the Millcote Station she encounters Rochester. He questions her about why she had stayed away from Thornfield for so long and Jane replies by saying " I have been with my aunt, sir, who is dead." Rochester then asks Jane about his carriage and tells her "You must see the carriage, Jane, and tell me if you don't think it will suit Mrs. Rochester exactly." After they exchange a few more words, Jane says " I am strangely glad to get back again to you; and where you are is my home-- my only home." When they arrive to the manor Mrs. Fairfax, Adele and the servants greet Jane warmly. 

Summary for Chapters 13-17

The following day, Mr. Rochester invites Jane and Adele to have tea with him. He acts unfriendly and cold towards both of them, although he seems harmed by Jane's drawings, which he asks to see. Later on Jane mentions to Mrs. Fairfax that she finds Mr. Rochester "changeful and abrupt." Mrs. Fairfax then suggest that his idiosyncrasy is a result of a difficult personal history. Jane learns that Rochester is something of a family outcast, and when his father died his older brother inherited Thornfield. After the death of his brother Rochester then became the proprietor and has been so for nine years now. 

 During the first days at Thornfield, Jane sees little of Rochester. But one night when he is in his "after-dinner mood," he sends for both Adele and Jane. Adele then receives the gift she had been anxiously waiting for and while she plays Rochester, he becomes chatty with Jane, which is an unusual thing for him to do. Jane then comes to the conclusion that he is slightly drunk. Rochester's command that Jane converse with him makes Jane feel awkward especially because he goes on to argue that her relationship with him is not one of enslavement. Their conversation eventually turns to the concepts of sin, forgiveness and redemption. Jane then becomes fascinated when Adele asks about her mother. Rochester then promises to explain more about the situation on a future occasion. 

Sometime later, Rochester then tells Jane of he and Adele's past. He had a long affair with Adele's mother, named Celine Varens. But when Rochester had discovered that Celine was engaged with another man, he ended the relationship. Rochester has always denied Celines claim that Adele is his daughter, but still, he took her in after she was abandoned by her mother, to take proper care of her. While Jane is brooding about all the insights that she has learned of Mr Rochester's past, she begins to hear noises. She hears what she believes to be fingers stroking against the wall, and soon after, laughter fills the hallways. The second she hears a door opening, she hurries out of her room and sees smoke coming from Mr. Rochester's bedroom. She drenches the bed with water, saving Mr. Rochesters life. After being saved, Mr. Rochester's first response is to check the third floor, which is quite strange. When he returns, he inquires Jane of whether she has heard an eerie laughter and from who. With her answer being the same as his, he confirms it and thanks Jane for saving his life. He also alerts her not to tell anyone about what has happened, and so, for he reminder of the night, he sleeps on the couch.

The following morning Jane arouses shocked to hear that last nights events have caused no misconduct. The servants believe that Rochester might have fallen asleep with a lit candle by his bed, and even Grace Poole shows no signs of culpability nor repentance. At this point Jane does not understand why an attempted murderer can continue to live there. Jane finally realises that she is starting to have feelings for Mr. Rochester, which makes her quite sad that she is saving. Thornfield for a couple days. Jane learns that he has left to accompany a beautiful lady, Blanche Ingram, at a party. She rebukes herself for being disappointed at what she has learned. She then compares herself to Blanche, and notices how much plainer she is to her. 

Rochester has already been gone for a week now, and Jane is appalled to learn that he may not return to Thornfield, and that he may just head for Europe instead. According to Mrs. Fairfax, he could be gone for more than a year. However, a week after Jane finds out the horrible news, Mrs. Fairfax receives a call call from Mr. Rochester stating that he will be arriving to Thornfield in three days, with a large group of guest. While Jane waits for Rochester return, she cannot help but notice how strange Grace Poole, seems to be enjoying the rest of the staff. Jane also overhears a conversation in which a few servant are discussing Grace's high pay. This makes Jane a bit sceptical abut Grace, because now she believes that she doesn't know the entire truth of Grace Poole. 

A party of elegant and aristocratic guest arrive accompanied by Mr. Rochester. Jane becomes forced  to join the group but spends the evening watching them from a window seat. Blanche and her mother are both members of the party, who both treat Jane with contempt and brutality. As Jane is trying to leave the party she is stopped by Mr. Rochester. However he lets her go once he sees the tears falling from her eyes. He informs her she must come into the drawing room every evening during his guests' stay at Thornfield. As they are partying Rochester says, "Goodnight, my--" before biting his lip and saying more than he had intended to.

Summary of Chapters 9-12

As spring begins, life at Lowood begins to get a bit more exciting and happier, but in that same breath Lowood still continues to be a breeding-ground for the typhus disease. While all of this is taking pace, Jane remains healthy and spends most of her tine outside with her new friend, Mary Ann Wilson. Later on Jane learns that her friend, Helen; is dying from consumption. Wishing to see her one last time before she dies, Jane sneaks to Miss Temple's room. Helen tells Jane that she is happy to be leaving the worlds suffering behind and that she feels little pain. The girls fall asleep together and that same night, Helen dies. Fifteen years after Helens death, her grave is imprinted with the latin word 'resurgam' which means 'I shall rise.' 

A new group of overseers are brought to Lowood to run the school after Mr. Brocklehurst is found to be the cause of the typhus spreads due to his neglection of the girls. In no time, things begin to get better for the girls, and as so Jane begins to excel in her studies for the next six years. Jane then become the teacher at Lowood and after spending 2 years there, she decides that she is ready for a change. She then advertises herself in search of post as a governess and accepts the position at Thornfield. Before leaving Lowood Jane surprisingly receives a visit from Bessie. Bessie tells Jane abut how Georgiana had attempted to run away from Gateshead, about how John has fallen into a life of dissipation and cessation. Bessie also tells Jane that seven years ago, John Eyre, her fathers brother went to Gateshead in search of her, but did not have time to travel to Lowood and instead went to Madeira in search of wealth. At the end of their discussion Bessie heads back to Gateshead and Jane heads for Thornfield.

When Jane arrives to Millcote she notices that her driver is late picking her up, so therefore when she finally arrives to Thornfield it is nighttime. Although she cannot differentiate much of the houses facade because on how dark it is, she finds the inferior "cosy and agreeable." A prim, elder woman, by the nme of Mrs. Fairfax awaits Jane as she arrives. She learns that Mrs. Fairfax is not the actual owner of Thornfield, she is just the housekeeper, and that it is actually owned by Mr. Edward Rochester, who travels regularly. Jane also learns that he's in charge of tutoring Adele, who is an eight year-old French girl, whose mother was a singer and dancer. Jane also learns that Mr. Rochester is an eccentric man whose family holds a history for extreme and violent behaviours. Suddenly, an eerie laughter echoes through the house and Mrs. Fairfax summons a girl named Grace and orders her to make less noise and to "remember directions." When Grace leaves the room Mrs. fairfax tells Jane that she is a rather unbalanced and unpredictable seamstress who works in the house. 

Successfully, Jane finds life at Thornfield pleasing and cozy. Adele proves to be exuberant and intelligent, though she can be quite spoiled and a bit petulant at times. However, Jane becomes frequently tired and decides to go on walks at Thornfield's top-story passage way to collect her thoughts. A few months have passed since Jane has first arrived to Thornfield, and one evening while she is watching the moon rise she recognises a horse approaching. As this is occurring, she remembers the story of a spirit called a Gystrash, that Bessie had once told her, which impersonates itself as a horse/ mule/ dog to scare away "belated travellers." Strangely, a dog then appears. Once Jane notices that the horse has a ride, the eerie feeling goes away. Just after the horse passes, it slips on a pitch of ice and its rider falls to the ground. Jane then helps the man to his feet, and introduces herself to him, while observing his facial features. Jane then returns back to Thornfield, and while entering she encounters the same dog resting on the rug. Jane questions a servant about who the dog belongs to and then learns that it is owned by Mr. Rochester, and that he has just returned home with a sprained ankle, after falling from his horse. 

Summary of Chapters 5-8

 

Days after meeting Mr. Brocklehurst, Jane the travels to Lowood. The sky is dark and it is a bit rainy. The next day Jane gets introduced to her classmates and learns of her daily routine. She meets Miss Temple who she thinks is kind, and also Miss Scatcherd, which she thinks is unpleasant, especially to another student named Helen Burns. After Jane and Helen become friends Jane learns that Lowood is a charity school for female orphans, which brought her to the conclusion that Mrs. reed didn't have to pay a red cent for her to be put there.

 

 

On the second day, when the girls wake up they are unable to wash their faces because the water is frozen. Jane learns that the girls are underfed, overworked an d forced to do things; in other words, life at Lowood both harsh and hard for the girls. But Jane doesn't let this negativity affect her relationship with Helen. To Jane, Helen is like an idol because she is able to endure the cruelest treatment and because she has lots of knowledge. Helen tells Jane that she practices a doctrine of Christian endurance and that she should do it as well. But Jane disagrees with Helen and feels opposite of her. In this chapter we learn that Helen is one that criticizes herself and believes what others say of her. She believes that she is a poor student and rebukes herself for daydreaming when she should be focusing on her work.


As the first month goes by, Mr. Brocklehurst spends most of his time away from Lowood. But when he returns, Jane becomes a bit nervous, remembering what he had promised her aunt. which was to inform the school about Jane's lying ways. Jane's 'secret' is then told when she drops her slate in Mr.Brocklehurst presence. In furiousness, he tells her she is careless and orders her to stand on a stool while telling her 'secret'. Mr. Brocklehurst also tells the others not to communicate with Jane for the rest of the day. Knowing that Jane is upset and hurt Helen comforts her by saying that no one at Lowood likes Mr.Brocklehurst and that if he would have been nice to her, the other girls would have became suspicious towards her.


Finally, after all the students leave Jane collapses on the floor. At this point she is ashamed and believes her reputation at Lowood has been ruined, but Helen, one again, comforts her. Jane tells Miss Temple of her childhood at Gateshead while trying to connect it with the fact that she is not a liar. Miss Temple believes Jane and then writes a letter to Mr. Lloyd requesting confirmation of Jan 's account of events. Miss Temple offers Jane and Helen tea and seed cake. When Mr.Lloyd's letter arrives, Miss Temple publicly tells everyone that Jane is innocent. After this Jane is relieved and satisfied, which makes her devote herself to her work. She excels at drawing and makes progress in French.