- How has Jane Eyre and Mrs. Reed's relationship, if any, improved since they last saw each other?
- Describe the relationship between Jane and her cousins and the relationship the two sisters share.
Places:
Summary:- Thornfield
- Gateshead
- How does Thornfield differ from Gateshead in the way the occupants act?
- Thornfield is much more lively than Gateshead. The people of Thornfield are much more passionate and are more intellectual. In Thornfield, Rochester and Jane exchange stimulating conversations and there is true love and care for Jane there as well. In Gateshead, the members are very cold to one another and do not care for each others welfare. Here is where Jane is brought back into solitude as she does not say or do much in comparison to her life at Thornfield.
- How does Jane's return to Gateshead provide her with a sense of closure with her past?
- Gateshead brings an end to Jane's past angst with the Reed family as she finds out what has become of them all. John Reed got his "just desserts" as he ruined himself in almost every way possible which resulted in him taking his own life. Jane also gets closure with her aunt when she tells her that she forgives her for the way she treated her when she was a child. This is when Jane finds out that she actually did have other relatives that wanted to care and provide for her. However, Mrs. Reed died with hate still in her heart for Jane.
- Roberts is sent from Mrs. Reed to go seek Jane. He tells Jane that her aunt wishes to speak to her. John Reed had died about a week ago. Following his death, his mother had a stroke. She is not expected to live long. Jane asks Mr. Rochester to take leave. Jane takes money from him for her trip to see her aunt. Mr. Rochester wants her back at Thornfield soon. Jane goes to Gateshead. She socializes with her cousins. When she is able to have a conversation with her aunt, Mrs. Reed reveals her faults. She explained to Jane how Mr. Reed used to her when she was a baby. He would try to make his family like her. He was angered when they were not. At the time of his death, he made Mrs. Reed promise to raise Jane as her own. Mrs. Reed failed to do so. Mrs. Reed also reveals to Jane about how her uncle from her father’s side came to see her. Mrs. Reed explained to Jane that she lied to him. Mrs. Reed told him Jane died at Lowood. After this was exposed to Jane, Mrs Reed dies with no one to shed a tear for her. Jane’s return to Gateshead is another part of Jane’s journey. It is significant to her growth as a person. She is enlightened by truths being revealed to her that were once hidden.
Personal Reactions:
- What is ironic about Jane's visit to Gateshead?
- It is ironic that while Jane had changed so much since she had last been at Gateshead, she notices that it is still generally the same. Nothing had really changed and Gateshead while Jane on the other hand is stronger and more mature. Eliza and Georgiana are basically older versions of themselves when we saw them as little girls. Eliza is still stuck up and Georgiana is self-absorbed. (Monica)
- Jane is kind towards her cousins and aunt. She is willing to forgive her aunt. She stays with her cousins longer than she promised Mr. Rochester to help them out after their mother dies. It is ironic that Jane acts kind to them after a miserable childhood with them. (Nicole)
- What do you think Jane would have been like if she had stayed at Gateshead?
- Had she stayed at Gateshead, Jane would not have grown as a character. If she did grow, it would have been very little. She probably would have remained the same, lonely girl with a low self esteem. If visiting after a few years, Gateshead is still the same and the people living there had basically remained the same, there would not have been much growth for Jane if she had stayed. (Monica)
- I think she would not have liked it. She would have never developed into a intellectual from having education. She never would have friends. She would not have liked to have stayed in that situation. (Nicole)
- The scene where Mrs. Reed tells Jane that she had told John Eyre that Jane had died, Jane forgives her. Do you think that Jane would have learned to forgive if she had not gone to Lowood and met Helen Burns?
- I do not believe that Jane would have forgiven Mrs. Reed if she had not met Helen Burns. Like in the previous question, Jane would not have learned much if she had not left Gateshead to go to Lowood. Although Mrs. Reed had done a terrible deed by telling John Eyre a lie, Jane had forgiven her. The Jane that we had seen prior to meeting Helen Burns would have retailiated and gotten angry at Mrs. Reed. But since she had been enlighted by Helen, Jane learned to forgive others no matter how terrible they are to you. (Monica)
Vocabulary:
“A gauzy azure scarf was twisted in her hair”
Azure: deep blue, like the color of a clear sky
“Was one of the veriest rascals in town”
Veriest:Used to emphasize the degree to which a description applies to someone or something
“Quite in her old peremptory interpretation”
Peremptory: Insisting on immediate attention or obedience, esp. in a brusquely imperious way
“A Certain Superciliousness of cooks”
Superciliousness: Feeling or showing haughty disdain.
“Hushes the promptings of rage and aversion”
Aversion: A strong dislike or disinclination: "an aversion to exercise
“Nor are natural antipathies so readily eradicated”
Eradicated: Put an end to; destroy
“Eliza sat cold, impassable, and assiduously industrious”
Assiduously: constant in application or effort
“Yet the impress of her inexonerable sole”
Inexonerable: impossible to stop or prevent
“The Patient lay still and seemingly lethargic”
Lethargic: impossible to stop or prevent
Husky morsel for human deglutition”
Deglution: The act of swallowing, particularly the swallowing of food
Chapter 21
- People: Ryan
- Places: Gloria
- Summary: Nicole
- Personal Reaction: Monica
- Vocabulary: Rebecca
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