You now realize how much you regret asking this woman to tell her Jane's story. Literature is cool and all, but the mechanics of it are quite dull.
"You aren't dozing off on me, are you?" she taps your calf with her foot, bringing you back to the present moment.
"Uh, no, not at all."
She smiles and flips to another page. "Hopefully some character analysis will wake you up!"
--
"'You have done your duty in excluding, now let me do mine in admitting her'" (341).
"'I know not whether I am a true philanthropist; yet I am willing to aid you to the utmost of my power, in a purpose so honest'" (352).
"'A missionary's wife you must - shall be. You shall be mine..." (409)
--
"And who is this character?"
"St. John Rivers!"
You stare at her blankly.
"You really don't recall his name? Here, a description might jog your memory. When St. John is first presented in the novel, he appears to be a stiff but helpful man. He allows Jane, now a beggar, into his home and he takes care of her. He takes his role as a missionary very seriously, and his Christian values are displayed through his kindness towards Jane. He is humble but willing to do everything he can to help Jane reestablish her life. However, St. John's commitment to a missionary role causes him to become nearly manic, ordering Jane to marry him and accompany him to India. He cites God as his reason for pressuring her to marry him, telling her that this is her destiny that God has chosen. St. John's personality was a slow buildup of passion. He began as an aloof, gentle person, but he ended as a frantic, intense person who was so ambitious that it blinded him from reasonable behavior."
"He sounds crazy."
"He, dearie, is what we call an extremist."
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: Signet Classics, 2008. Print.
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