I would like to discuss the conversation held between Jane and her dear friend Helen during the last moments of Helen's life. Helen became deathly ill from "consumption" and left Jane with a profound interpretation of death and afterlife. Throughout these first several chapters, Jane learns how she must follow the teachings of Christianity and becomes strong in her faith. I believe that Helen served as a form of religious teaching to Jane. Helen is so kind and pure, the perfect embodiment of a devout and faithful follower of God. Her very optimistic approach to religion and the promise of an afterlife provided Jane with a different outlook on life. It seems as if Helen is comparable to Christ, Bronte creating her character as an almost Christ-like figure. I believe that Jane and Helen held very different beliefs on the concept of death; Helen does not fear death, rather she is grateful that she will have possibly a better chance for happiness in the afterlife. Meanwhile, this conversation emphasized how Jane continues to struggle with placing her faith completely in God, she seems to be uncertain with what the future may hold. 



I have included an interesting TEDx video that provided insight on life and the final moments before death.

It is apparent that throughout the novel Jane, being her curious self, continues to have these strange and mysterious encounters with the "supernatural". Upon her first encounter with Rochester, she is reminded of a ghost story that Bessie previously mentioned to her; a story about Gytrash, a spirit or sorts. The supernatural is a recurring theme in this novel, causing Jane to be quite observant of her surroundings. I believe these seemingly supernatural or spiritual embellishments add suspense to the novel, keeping the reader engaged and intrigued by the oddities Jane encounters. With the burning of Rochester's bed curtains, and the strange sounds from the third floor, Jane is suspicious of any supernatural activity going on. Thornfield seems to be flowing with unexplainable events. Within this theme of supernatural events, there also seems to be a theme of false appearances. For example, Rochester is disguised as a gypsy, and later reveals his true identity which causes Jane much distress.

Jane and Rochester have quite the tumultuous relationship. In our first exposures to their relationship, it is unclear whether Rochester is genuine with his intentions, and he seems to have trouble with being honest and straightforward. Jane soon admits how she feels strongly towards Rochester, and professes her love, in a sudden burst of passion. I included this picture below that I thought perfectly depicted this rather confusing situation Jane was unfortunately placed in. Rochester brought up his engagement to Blanche just to create jealousy and envy within Jane, in hopes of winning her over. I was surprised that after all of these events, Rochester was able to convince Jane to accept his marriage proposal. I believe that the concept of love was much different in the Victorian Era, it was much more challenging with all of the proper "etiquette" necessary.

The idea of nature combining with the Supernatural is not new to Jane. Jane experiences a rather prophetic dream in which her mother visits her in in the form of a moon, sharing her wisdom and encouraging her to flee Rochester. These occurrences with nature throughout the novel are symbolic of much more than just random lightning strikes or a gust of wind. These voices within Jane's head I believe are just reminding her of her self-worth, desperately telling her to leave behind her temptation. Jane leaving behind her temptation is possibly symbolic of her leaving part of herself in the past, she can now truly find herself and find meaning in life. It was not uncommon for Jane to have several influential voices along her journey, and her dreams just further reiterated the importance in Jane developing as a person. This dream in which her mother presented herself as a spirit of sorts, could also be seen as a reflection of Jane's inner conscious. She is realizing that a life with Rochester is indeed a life that she must run away from. She learns to prioritize herself and her independence and follows this biblical reference and leaves behind her temptation to stay with Rochester. 


I included another painting from The Armory Show at 100 that reminded me of what Jane's mother would look like when she appeared in her dream.

I was really moved by this passage from chapter 37, in which Jane so passionately describes her unconditional love for Rochester. Despite his injuries that were inflicted upon him from the fire, Jane was still clearly attached to him and wanted nothing more than to be his wife. For Jane to claim that she would be the "eyes and hands" to Rochester, really showed me how committed she was to him as her romantic partner. Jane is now a guide and also a servant to Rochester, but she created a family with him as their love for each other grew. I was a little surprised that Jane was willing to make some sacrifices or exceptions to her independence by marrying Rochester. I figured that after her self-discovery journey, that she would not want to make these certain trade-offs, but Jane found the balance that she was seeking for. 
I think that this specific passage also shows the role in which gender-roles play in marriage during the Victorian era. This ceremonial gesture of marriage might suggest that Jane will have to again find balance, or to be seen as equals.