i think my issue with the idea that in jane eyre, jane ends up as rochester’s “perfect little housewife” is that it’s a fundamental misread of the story, as in not only does it disregard the shift in power that’s happened between the two of them but it also denies jane her agency, both in a narrative and a material sense. it also disregards the pretty masterful narrative reversal that charlotte bronte executes.
like rochester has been almost literally gelded by narrative karma in the end. all the symbols of his power have been stripped from him. his ancestral family manor, a symbol of his wealth and class privilege, has been burned to the ground. he’s lost a hand (remind you of anything?) and his eyesight, while his looks, which were his “weak” point to begin with, have only been made worse. one can argue over whether or not he’s been sufficiently punished for his crimes, but the fact is that he has been utterly humiliated and significantly weakened.
enter jane who, since she left rochester, after a whole odyssey of her own, now has her own independent wealth, a family/community who she knows will support her, knowledge that she is at least somewhat desirable to others besides rochester, and, most importantly, a newfound confidence, self-possession, and contentment. whereas before rochester held all the cards in the relationship, now jane does. by the standards of the time, this woman has options.
one can speculate as to the reasons that she goes back to rochester (if, for whatever reason, you don’t buy the idea that she actually loves him,) but the fact is that by the end, she has about as much power over him as a woman could be expected to have over her husband at that time and place. she quite literally controls what he sees, where he goes, what he knows about the outside world, and she could absolutely leave him at any moment (and he knows that, as is evidenced by some of their conversations at the end of the book.)
like…..you can say whatever you want about jane’s taste in men etc. but the fact is that, by the end of the story, this woman is completely in control of her own fate.
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baratheonpilled
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