Little Lotte

So the more things remain the same, the more they change after all—plus c'est la même chose, plus ça change

[im-evaporating]

Couples in Contemporary books be blatantly lusting over each other from the get go and graphically fucking by 5th chapter and I could not care less. On the other hand, in a classic, he says "goodnight, my-" and stops then adruptly leaves and I'm screaming crying blushing and rolling on the floor.

Slow burn is so dear to me. LIVE LAUGH LOVE SLOW BURN and FUCK modern romance.

[the-fairy-thing]

Jane and Rochester are my favourite couple hands down but funny enough one of my favourite scenes in the book is their breakup. Not only is it filled with such raw emotions and passion but Charlotte Brontë fed us so much poetic symbolism on their wedding night!!!

1. Rochester bridal carries Jane down the stairs when she felt faint. What stereotypically happens on a wedding night? A groom bridal carries his bride to the bedroom to consummate the marriage. Ironic how it’s reversed… they are descending the stairs and leaving the bedroom.

2. Rochester seating Jane in his chair. His chair symbolizes authority and power. Jane sits in his chair because symbolically she now holds the power and authority over what happens to their relationship. Having Rochester place Jane in his chair foreshadows his realization at the end of the scene that he is in fact powerless, and there is nothing he can do to make Jane stay unless it’s of her own free will. His fate lies within her choice.

3. Again, Charlotte plays with the theme of traditional marriage ceremonies and gives Jane & Rochester reverse wedding vows. Typically in the marriage ceremony there is a vow made followed by an “I do”. Charlotte cleverly uses this but makes it a vow of separation between Jane and Rochester. He pleads to Jane if she really means to go and Jane replies “I do”, then Rochester repeatedly asks if she means it after kissing her to which Jane responds “I do” each time.

4. Rochester’s “I could bend her with my finger and thumb” speech. This whole monologue is full of symbolism as Rochester reasons with himself if physical violence would be his last resort in making Jane stay. Nothing he has said could convince her to yield. He knows he is powerless, though there is one place he still knows he holds more power… in his physical strength. He verbalizes in pretty graphic symbolism what would happen if this option would get him what he wants (Jane) but it won’t do. Even if he got to Jane’s body he wouldn’t have her soul (and that’s really what he wants). He realizes the ONLY way he can have Jane is if her will decides it and this is the moment he finally lets her go.

[bookmatter]

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë

[youvereacheddazey]

I have for the first time found what I can truly love—I have found you. You are my sympathy—my better self—my good angel. I am bound to you with a strong attachment. I think you good, gifted, lovely: a fervent, a solemn passion is conceived in my heart; it leans to you, draws you to my centre and spring of life, wraps my existence about you, and, kindling in pure, powerful flame, fuses you and me in one.

— Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

[the-fairy-thing]

What’s not talked about enough is that although Jane admits Rochester is not conventionally handsome, she’s still deeply attracted to him—just not in terms of looks. Her attraction is rooted in his masculinity: his physical strength, commanding presence, and protective nature. There’s a powerful energy in how he moves through space, how he holds himself, and Jane feels drawn to it.

Rochester seems aware, at least on some level, that Jane is physically affected by him. He often initiates physical closeness—through hand-holding or simply being near her.

A key moment in this dynamic is the night Jane saves him from the fire in his bed. It’s charged with sensual tension. The darkness, the intimacy of the situation, and the adrenaline of the moment stir something physical in Jane. It’s not the reason she loves him, but it’s the moment she becomes aware of a deeper, more visceral attraction. That night awakens her to feelings she hadn’t allowed herself to fully understand before—a kind of feverish desire that catches her off guard.

This physical undercurrent becomes especially important during their engagement and breakup. Jane initiates a no contact rule during their engagement month, as she doesn’t want to be swept up in the ecstasy of touch before knowing this is all really happening. During their breakup when Rochester’s words fail to persuade Jane to stay, he turns to his body. He closes the distance between them, trying to embrace her to make her yield—attempting to move her flesh when her spirit won’t be swayed.

Jane is fully aware of this. She knows how susceptible she is to him physically, which is exactly why she insists on keeping her distance. It’s an act of emotional self-defense, a refusal to let physical desire cloud her judgment or compromise her values. It’s a clear assertion of control, a way to protect her values and autonomy when her emotions are still very much entangled.

What makes all of this especially poignant is the irony that, by the end of the novel, Rochester loses many of the very physical qualities Jane once found compelling. After his injury, he struggles to believe that Jane still wants him. He wonders why she would return when his strength and independence—qualities he assumes she admired in him—are gone. But that’s the beauty of it. Jane may have been drawn to his physicality, but it was never the foundation of her love. Her feelings were always rooted in something deeper: the connection of their minds and souls. Her return proves that what she loves in Rochester transcends appearance, strength, or dominance. It’s the essence of who he is.

[dignasum]

me, 17: the world is awful. life is meaningless. unending horrors and sorrows beyond my comprehension

me, 23 and now Catholic: the world is beautiful. life is full of love and meaning. infinite joys and wonders beyond my comprehension.

[library-of-deities]

[newyork]

you can start today btw

[litloverscorsetlaces]

A heartbreaking Davis Gaines hand thing.

Edit: Boots are cinema because do you SEE how this master lets the camera linger on the empty space even after Christine leaves the frame? Do you understand we give filmmakers oscars for this kind of thing?!

[louisegluckpdf]

painting this on the ceiling above my bed so it's the first thing i see upon waking in the morning and the last thing i see before falling asleep at night

[flagbridge]

Full high quality scans of the 1881 in universe newspapers that were dropped at 6 newsstands in Manhattan this morning. Thanks IG user elissa_rizzo for both quickly snagging and sharing with everyone!

Note the two Le Monde Nouveau from 1880 and 1881 were not dropped. Looks like the front and back are different but the inside are the same which explains some of the timeline wonkiness.

[marvelsmostwanted]

Displayed on the Old North Church in Boston, MA on April 18, 2025, the 250th anniversary of Paul Revere’s ride.

Photo source: silencedogoodboston, the group behind this idea

[awesomebutunpractical]

"I'm Your mess, You clean me up." has been my approach with God for the past decade, you know, it kind of works.

[vampireapologist-archive-deacti]

Submitting myself to the terrifying ordeal of hope

[papayajuan2019]

cruelty is so easy. youre not special for choosing it

[derelicthousefootage]

[chilewithcarnage]

"The trouble is that we have a bad habit, encouraged by pedants and sophisticates, of considering happiness as something rather stupid. Only pain is intellectual, only evil interesting. This is the treason of the artist; a refusal to admit the banality of evil and the terrible boredom of pain."

-Ursula K. LeGuin, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

[wizardnuke]

"Evil is boring. Right? I kinda believe in the banality and mundaneness of evil. Evil is just selfish impulses, which at the end of the day are really easy to understand. It’s easy to understand why people do bad things. It’s like “yeah, ok, you’re selfish and scared and cruel, I get it”. Being good is complex and beautiful and hard." - Brennan Lee Mulligan

[oldshrewsburyian]

"How monotonously alike all the great tyrants and conquerors have been: how gloriously different are the saints." --C.S. Lewis

[vexheart]

[wrathofgnon]

“Abandon hopelessness, all ye who enter here.”

— G.K. Chesterton