Chapter 37

Question 1

Voice / narrative perspective:

Answer 1

• Comes after a lot of flirtatious back and forth and a proposal.
• Long monologue telling Jane he has found god and reconciled with his Maker.
• Less of a defense, more like a prayer outloud.
• Does pray aloud to god at end of chapter in front of Jane - she is involved in his relationship with god because it was given by her when she left?

Question 2

Character:

Answer 2

Jane ‘I am an independent woman now’ with her £5000
Jane as teasing and flirting with jokes to bring Rochester out of himself. She is her full self in all her elements - smart, loving, has a good sense of humour, affectionate and chatty. ‘In his presence I thoroughly lived’
Jane as ‘prop and guide’ - ‘i love you more now I can be useful to you’ - power balance equalised fully? Or just the same in a different form?

Question 3

Structure:

Answer 3

Jane’s trickery of Rochester/way she retells her story to create suspense and make Rochester jealous of St John is reminiscent of Rochester dressing up as the fortune teller and telling Jane he’s going to marry Blanch - satisfied in her power? enjoying the tables having turned?
- Fire motif ‘embers low’ - small fire but fire all the same compared to St John cold as an iceberg.
- Ferndean as wholly isolated but covered in green/nature - a place away from society that can rebuild and be themselves?
- Inside/outside motif: this final proposal happens outside in a field (outside of man-made structures of power) where J is sat on R’s lap. Ferndead itself as away from the social structures and expectations.

Question 4

Genre:

Answer 4

• Fairytale? My fairy/happy ending/magical place.
• Gothic reversal? She’s the hero, he’s the damsel in distress?
• Romance subversion: society disappeared - no balls or gowns or mansions - just two people who have struggled coming together in love.

Question 5

Context:

Answer 5

Proto-feminist or not? IS it empowering that Jane only gets Rochester when he is so maimed he cannot wield male power over her?
Can a woman only be truly equal to a man if that man is rendered ‘disabled’ somehow?
Or fully liberated love which loves who and what it loves regardless of societal rules, ability, gender etc?
Victorian readership would approve their union now he has found god - Bronte giving the customers what they want?