Assignment: Jane 3
Name:
As you read Chapter 20 – Chapter 27 complete this assignment.

Considering Charlotte Brontë’s life, what do you think would be her interest in writing a
story like Jane Eyre? Explain your answer with elements from both Brontë’s life and
from the story.

Write down at least five quotations that you think are revealing about both Jane’s
character and the attitudes of the other figures in the novel. For each quotation describe
its significance in understanding Jane.

Provide quotes from the novel that help describe each of the following characters.
 For each quotation describe its significance in understanding the character.
 For characters that you have come up with a quote for in Jane 1, use a different quote
that shows a greater understanding of the character.
o Jane Eyre
o Mrs. Reed
o Mr. Rochester
o Bertha Mason
o Mrs. Fairfax
o Grace Poole
o Adele Varens
o Blanche Ingram

Begin taking notes about some of the specific differences in Jane’s experiences at
Thornfield compared to Gates Head and Lowood. (You’ll extend these into the other
locations in the story in future units.)
Consider how the symbol has developed and how it helps to illuminate a character or
a theme.

Using the two symbols you started to trace, continue their development throughout this
portion of the novel.

Madness appears throughout Jane Eyre. Two characters go mad and commit suicide while
the main characters, Jane and Mr. Rochester, both have their moments of madness. Jane
seemingly goes mad in the beginning of the novel when she is shut into the Red Room,
and Rochester¹s temper can be unpredictable and dangerous. When Jane is younger, to
the outside eye her temper could also be deemed unpredictable and vengeful, but it is
mainly through her relationship with Helen Burns and Miss Temple that she is able to get
a better handle on her temper. In this passage, the older, more mature Jane is shown as a
stark contrast to the lunatic Bertha Mason.
"That is my wife," said he. "Such is the sole conjugal embrace I am ever to know —
such are the endearments which are to solace my leisure hours! And this is what I
wished to have" (laying his hand on my shoulder): "this young girl, who stands so grave
and quiet at the mouth of hell, looking collectedly at the gambols of a demon. I wanted
her just as a change from this fierce ragout. Wood and Briggs, look at the difference!
Compare these clear eyes with the red balls yonder — this face with that mask — this
form with that bulk; then judge me, priest of the gospel and man of the law, and
remember, with that judgment ye judge and ye shall be judged. Off with you now. I
must shut up my prize."
Questions
1. What is the difference between Jane and Bertha in Rochester’s eyes? Are these valid differences?
2. What constitutes madness for Bertha? For Jane?
3. What were the similarities between Jane's and Bertha's childhoods?
4. Do you feel that Bertha is truly mad? Explain.