Summary: Chapter 29
After she is taken in by the Rivers siblings, Jane spends
three days recuperating in bed. On the fourth day, she feels well
again and follows the smell of baking bread into the kitchen, where
she finds Hannah. Jane criticizes Hannah for judging her unfairly
when she asked for help, and Hannah apologizes. Hannah tells the
story of Mr. Rivers, the siblings’ father, who lost most of the
family fortune in a bad business deal. In turn, Diana and Mary were
forced to work as governesses—they are only at Marsh End (or Moor
House) now because their father died three weeks ago. Jane then
relates some of her own story and admits that Jane Elliott is not
her real name. St. John promises to find her a job.
Summary: Chapter 30
Jane befriends Diana and Mary, who admire her drawings
and give her books to read. St. John, on the other hand, remains
distant and cold, although he is never unkind. After a month, Diana
and Mary must return to their posts as governesses. St. John has
found a position for Jane, running a charity school for girls in
the town of Morton. Jane accepts, but St. John presumes that she
will soon leave the school out of restlessness, perhaps because
he himself is quite restless. His sisters suspect he will soon leave
England for a missionary post overseas. St. John tells his sisters
that their Uncle John has died and left them nothing, because all
his money went to another, unknown, relative. Jane learns that it
was Uncle John who led Mr. Rivers into his disastrous business deal.
Summary: Chapter 31
At Morton, the wealthy heiress Rosamond Oliver provides
Jane with a cottage in which to live. Jane begins teaching, but
to her own regret, she finds the work degrading and disappointing.
While on a visit to Jane, St. John reveals that he, too, used to
feel that he had made the wrong career choice, until one day he
heard God’s call. Now he plans to become a missionary. The beautiful
Rosamond Oliver then appears, interrupting St. John and Jane’s conversation. From
their interaction, Jane believes that Rosamond and St. John are
in love.
Summary: Chapter 32
Jane’s students become more familiar and endeared to her,
and Jane becomes quite popular among them. At night, though, she
has troubling nightmares that involve Rochester. Jane continues
to pay attention to the relationship between St. John and Rosamond,
who often visits the school when she knows St. John will be there. Rosamond
asks Jane to draw her portrait, and as she is working on it one
day, St. John pays her a visit. He gives her a new book of poetry
(Sir Walter Scott’s Marmion) and looks at the drawing.
She offers to draw him a duplicate, and then boldly declares that
he ought to marry Rosamond. St. John admits that he loves her and
is tempted by her beauty, but he explains that he refuses to allow worldly
affection to interfere with his holy duties. The flirtatious, silly,
and shallow Rosamond would make a terrible wife for a missionary.
Suddenly, St. John notices something on the edge of Jane’s paper
and tears off a tiny piece—Jane is not certain why. With a peculiar
look on his face, he hurries from the room.
Analysis: Chapters 29–32
Marsh End and Morton are the setting of the novel’s fourth
phase. Here Jane develops a new sense of belonging, and proves herself capable
of finding like-minded companions with whom she is not romantically
involved.
The fact that Diana and Mary Rivers are also
governesses puts them on an equal footing with Jane. Although Jane
left Thornfield convinced that she had made the right decision,
she harbored uncertainty as to whether she would ever find a sense
of belonging without sacrificing her autonomy. Jane’s stay at Marsh End
proves to her that she is not doomed to be forever alienated from
the world, that a balance between community and autonomy can be
achieved. Now, as an integrated member of the Rivers household,
Jane realizes that one may give and accept love from others in equal
exchange.
