Summary: Chapter 11
Jane’s driver is late picking her
up from the station at Millcote. When she finally arrives at Thornfield
it is nighttime. Although she cannot distinguish much of the house’s
facade from among the shadows, she finds the interior “cosy and agreeable.”
Mrs. Fairfax, a prim, elderly woman, is waiting for Jane. It turns
out that Mrs. Fairfax is not, as Jane had assumed from their correspondence,
the owner of Thornfield, but rather the housekeeper. Thornfield’s
owner, Mr. Rochester, travels regularly and leaves much of the manor’s
management to Mrs. Fairfax. Jane learns that she will be tutoring
Adèle, an eight-year-old French girl whose mother was a singer and dancer.
Mrs. Fairfax also tells Jane about Rochester, saying that he is
an eccentric man whose family has a history of extreme and violent
behavior. Suddenly, Jane hears a peal of strange, eerie laughter
echoing through the house, and Mrs. Fairfax summons someone named
Grace, whom she orders to make less noise and to “remember directions.”
When Grace leaves, Mrs. Fairfax explains that she is a rather unbalanced and
unpredictable seamstress who works in the house.
Summary: Chapter 12
It is in vain to say human beings ought
to be satisfied with tranquility: they must have action; and they
will make it if they cannot find it. Millions are condemned to a
stiller doom than mine, and millions are in silent revolt against
their lot.
(See Important Quotations Explained)
Jane finds life at Thornfield pleasant and comfortable.
Adèle proves to be exuberant and intelligent, though spoiled and
at times a bit petulant. Nonetheless, Jane is frequently restless
and collects her thoughts while pacing Thornfield’s top-story passageway.
One evening a few months after her arrival at Thornfield, Jane is
alone watching the moon rise when she perceives a horse approaching.
It calls to her mind the story Bessie once told her of a spirit
called a Gytrash, which disguises itself as a mule, dog, or horse
to frighten “belated travellers.” Oddly enough, a dog then appears
as well. Once she realizes that the horse has a rider, the uncanny
moment ceases. Just after the horse passes her, it slips on a patch
of ice, and its rider tumbles to the ground. Jane helps the man
rise to his feet and introduces herself to him. She observes that
he has a dark face, stern features, and a heavy brow. He is not
quite middle-aged. Upon reentering Thornfield, Jane goes to Mrs.
Fairfax’s room and sees the same dog—Pilot—resting on the rug. A
servant answers Jane’s queries, explaining that the dog belongs
to Mr. Rochester, who has just returned home with a sprained ankle,
having fallen from his horse.
Summary: Chapter 13
The day following his arrival, Mr. Rochester invites Jane
and Adèle to have tea with him. He is abrupt and rather cold toward
both of them, although he seems charmed by Jane’s drawings, which
he asks to see. When Jane mentions to Mrs. Fairfax that she finds
Rochester “changeful and abrupt,” Mrs. Fairfax suggests that his
mannerisms are the result of a difficult personal history. Rochester
was something of a family outcast, and when his father died, his
older brother inherited Thornfield. Rochester has been Thornfield’s
proprietor for nine years, since the death of his brother.
Summary: Chapter 14
Jane sees little of Rochester during his first days at
Thornfield. One night, however, in his “after-dinner mood,” Rochester
sends for Jane and Adèle. He gives Adèle the present she has been
anxiously awaiting, and while Adèle plays, Rochester is uncharacteristically chatty
with Jane. When Rochester asks Jane whether she thinks him handsome,
she answers “no” without thinking, and from Rochester’s voluble
reaction Jane concludes that he is slightly drunk. Rochester’s command
that she converse with him makes Jane feel awkward, especially because
he goes on to argue that her relationship to him is not one of servitude.
Their conversation turns to the concepts of sin, forgiveness, and
redemption. When Adèle mentions her mother, Jane is intrigued, and
Rochester promises to explain more about the situation on a future
occasion.
Summary: Chapter 15
A while later, Rochester fulfills his promise to Jane
to tell her about his and Adèle’s pasts. He had a long affair with
Adèle’s mother, the French singer and dancer named Celine Varens.
When he discovered that Celine was engaged in relations with another
man, Rochester ended the relationship. Rochester has always denied
Celine’s claim that Adèle is his daughter, noting that the child
looks utterly unlike him. Even so, when Celine abandoned her daughter,
Rochester brought Adèle to England so that she would be properly
cared for.
Jane lies awake brooding about the strange
insights she has gained into her employer’s past. She hears what
sound like fingers brushing against the walls, and an eerie laugh
soon emanates from the hallway. She hears a door opening and hurries
out of her room to see smoke coming from Rochester’s door. Jane
dashes into his room and finds his bed curtains ablaze. She douses
the bed with water, saving Rochester’s life. Strangely, Rochester’s reaction
is to visit the third floor of the house. When he returns, he says
mysteriously, “I have found it all out, it is just as I thought.”
He inquires whether Jane has ever heard the eerie laughter before,
and she answers that she has heard Grace Poole laugh in the same
way. “Just so. Grace Poole—you have guessed it,” Rochester confirms.
He thanks Jane for saving his life and cautions her to tell no one
about the details of the night’s events. He sleeps on the library
sofa for the remainder of the night.
