I think Jane and Mr. Rochester’s marriage is doomed to fail and here is why. First of all, Mr. Rochester tries to make Jane admit that she is in love with him by pretending to court Miss Ingram (who is a horrible, icky person anyways). If that isn’t being manipulative, then I don’t know what is. As if the weird trick where Mr. Rochester pretended to be a gypsy was not warning enough, he had to make Jane jealous enough to make sure that she liked him. Poor Jane is going to have to spend her entire relationship with Mr. Rochester wondering if he is lying to her! These power play moves just make him seem cowardly and is really unfair to Jane since she has much more to lose in the relationship with Mr. Rochester being her boss. The worst part is that Jane was not even that mad that Mr. Rochester lied to her. It seems to me that Mr. Rochester likes being in control of situations, which will be interesting since Jane does also.
Secondly, Halina said in class that Charlotte Brontë is fan of foreshadowing and uses it a lot in her novel. I definitely think I picked up on some red flags that Brontë carefully set for the reader. For instance, just minutes after Mr. Rochester proposes to Jane, the sky grows so dark that she can’t see Mr. Rochester’s face and then a huge storm ensues. It continues for hours through the night and in the morning Jane finds out that the tree that they had been sitting under has been struck by lightning and split in half. There is a figurative as well as a literal dark cloud hanging over their romance right from the beginning. As if that isn’t obvious, Mrs.Fairfax, who we have deemed the voice of reason and facts, tells Jane that “all that is gold does not glitter... and I do fear there will be something found to be different to what either you or I expect” (226). Talk about ominous sounding! She basically tells Jane that Mr. Rochester isn’t all that he is cracked up to be and all Jane can say is never mind. I just think that for someone who spends so much of her time observing others, Jane should be a little better about observing Mr. Rochester. All this talk about love has made Jane put her blinders up and I think she is in too deep with this marriage. RUN FOR THE HILLS, JANE! GET OUT WHILE YOU STILL CAN!
As much as I am rooting for Jane and Mr. Rochester to be together, all signs are pointing to failure. I like how you not only mentioned how Mrs. Fairfax - which I mean would definitely make me at least second guess myself because she knows a lot more than Jane does - but also at the weather after he proposes. Brontë does use a lot of foreshadowing. And after Mrs. Fairfax does give Jane some advice, it seems that she takes it to heart and becomes a little indifferent to Rochester and second guesses herself. I also agree with you that for someone who used to be so observant she has kind of been blinded by Rochester. We'll have to see what happens!
ReplyDeleteI loved what you pointed out about the foreshadowing in the garden scene! But I feel like the foreshadowing starts even earlier than the moments when the sky grows dark. Like Halina pointed out, the proposal scene takes place in an "Eden-like" garden. On one hand, this is the only place that such a scene could happen as it is the only location where Jane and Rochester exist as equals. There are no social structures getting in the way, showcasing their different social statuses and preventing them from being with each other. But on the other hand, as an "Eden-like" garden, with a man and a woman standing beneath a TREE, its like this moment is the one right before the fall - the felix culpa if you will. Jane and Rochester stand beneath this tree discussing marriage - a relationship that is forbidden given that Rochester is already married. This seems to echo the whole forbidden fruit on a tree Adam and Eve story, don't you think?
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