Chapter 12

Question 1

Voice narrative / perspective:

Answer 1

• Mostly dialogue with the stranger: shows her confidence to interact with new people, especially a male.
• Rochester as able to bring out Jane’s voice.
• Balanced with internal monologue, allowing us an insight into her thoughts for this stranger:
  “it was an incident of no moment, no romance, no interest in a sense; yet it marked with change one single hour of a monotonous life.”
• Shows to readers her appreciation for little moments of human connection.
• BUT in love?
  “I had it (his face) when I still entered Hay”.
  “I saw it when I walked fast downhill already can’t forget his face”.

Question 2

Character:

Answer 2

• Suggests Jane has new maturity
  “maturing youth added to them a vigour and vividness beyond what childhood could give”
  -> could reflect the impact Helen and Lowood as a whole has had on her.
  “I cannot think of leaving you sir.. until I see you are fit”
  -> refuses to leave - strength of knowing her own mind and individuality.
• Women not obeying men.
• Likes that Rochester is also unconventional
  “if he had been handsome, heroic-looking…”
  “something of the frown, his roughness set me at ease”.

Question 3

Structure:

Answer 3

• Importance of protofeminist rant - “women feel just as men feel”,
  -> and desire to break free from her limited existence into the “world, town, interactions”
  ->at the beginning of the chapter.
• Establishes idea of Jane/women’s needs for their lives to be active not passive THEN she meets Rochester who will rock her world.
• Motif of moonlight:
  “I am not at all afraid of being out late when it is moonlight.”
• Suggests nature brings her comfort and security, links to gothic portrayment of manmade structure vs the freedom of nature.
• There is a
  “bright moon”, watching over this moment - is god/nature pleased by their meeting?

Question 4

Genre:

Answer 4

• Stranger’s horse is suggested as the spirit “Gytrash” from Bessie’s stories:
  “in the form of horse, mule or large dog, haunted solitary ways, and sometimes came upon belated travellers..”.
• Creates a sense of mystery for the stranger and his horse - additionally building tension as the way the horse is described induces fear.
• Fairytale - gytrash - gives their meeting an otherworldly quality - outside of victorian social structures.
• Gothic - subversion of roles.
• Rochester as damsel in distress. TENSION BUILT throughout - he doesn’t reveal who he is MYSTERY.

Question 5

Context:

Answer 5

• Class system:
  “ran his eye over my dress… neither of them half fine enough for a lady’s maid. He seemed puzzled to decide what I was - I helped him.”
• Links to how Jane is unable to fit into the rigid class scheme of the Victorian Era, reflects Bronte’s experience.
• Also shows the importance of class in society.
• Reversal of gender roles - Jane as hero.
• Breaking of rigid class structures - she helps him and they touch/walk as one unit.
• Being in isolated nature (no mans land between town and house) allows them this interaction away from society/manmade structures that would never allow them to.