Chapter 21

Jane receives a message from her relatives one afternoon. The messenger informs her that John Reed, her cousin, has committed suicide due to heavy debt and that her aunt Mrs. Reed is very ill and wants to see her. Traveling from Thornfield to Gateshead, Jane meets a socialite named Georgiana and the overly pious and strict Eliza. Bessie is glad to see her. Mrs. Reed shows no remorse for her actions toward Jane in the past, but confesses to having hidden an important letter from Jane. Three years ago, Jane’s uncle had requested for Jane’s custody, but Mrs. Reed had hidden the letter out of bitterness. Jane is angry but attempts to heal her relationship with her aunt. However, Mrs. Reed does not seem interested in reconciliation and also passes away that very night.

Chapter 22

Mrs. Reed’s daughters join a convent and leave for London, and Jane is left with the responsibility of settling the matters of the estate. Jane gets a letter from Mrs. Fairfax who informs her of Rochester’s visit to London to buy a carriage. Jane presumes that this would be in preparation for Rochester’s marriage to Blanche. Accordingly, Jane tells herself that she wouldn’t be staying at Thornfield for long.

Jane and Rochester meet on the road accidentally and are delighted to run into each other. Jane is so overwhelmed at meeting him that she calls him her “home” and suggests that she belongs wherever he resides. In turn, Rochester asks Jane to take a good look at the carriage and tell him if it would be good enough for “Mrs. Rochester.”

Chapter 23

Jane returns to Thornfield and Rochester finds her in the garden. He informs her that his marriage to Blanche has been confirmed. He tells her that he has arranged for Jane to work as a governess in Ireland, but Jane refuses saying she does not prefer to relocate. She adds that she really likes her job at Thornfield, and Rochester requests her to stay. She declares that she is independent and will do as she chooses; she also tells him off for choosing a marriage devoid of passion.

Rochester declares that he has no plans of marrying Blanche and was only trying to tease Jane to see if she would get jealous. He passionately asks Jane to marry him, and Jane is overcome with emotions and is unable to tell if Rochester is being genuine. As she finally agrees to marry Rochester, a heavy downpour occurs. They run indoors for cover, where Rochester kisses Jane. In the terrible weather, the chestnut tree under which the proposal took place is split by lightning.

Chapter 24

Rochester promises Jane that the wedding can be arranged in a month. Mrs. Fairfax congratulates the betrothed couple, but warns Jane about the difficulties of an inter-class marriage. Jane is angered by the suggestion, but is also slightly suspicious of Rochester. Nonetheless, she is soon overcome with joy and happiness at this change in her fate. Rochester meanwhile lavishes Jane with expensive gifts. She is, however, uncomfortable with this and warns him that she needs to be respected as an equal and not objectified. She also tells him that she’d only like to be paid her salary, and nothing more.

Jane decides to respond to her uncle’s letter, which had been hidden by Mrs. Reed. She chooses to do so in the hope that she might acquire an inheritance, which might in turn put her on a more equal keel with Rochester’s scale of wealth. Though Jane resists Rochester’s grand romantic gestures throughout the duration of planning their wedding, she is absolutely devoted to him.

Chapter 25

The preparations are at full swing with the wedding day looming. Jane goes to the garden to investigate the lightning-struck chestnut tree when Rochester is away on business. When Rochester returns, Jane tells him about two strange dreams she’d had. In one dream, she is seen on a long road with a crying child. In the second dream, she sees herself, Rochester, and the same sad child in a ruined Thornfield. She then trips and drops the child. This dream had awoken Jane to a savage woman’s face looking through Jane’s closet. The woman had then taken the wedding veil, torn it, and stomped on it. Rochester dismisses this as a part of the same dream and suggests that if it was real, it must have been Grace Poole. Rochester then promises to divulge more about Grace and the seemingly supernatural events on the first anniversary of their wedding.

Jane spends the night taking care of Adele and is distraught when she has to leave Adele in the morning.

Analysis of Chapter 21 – Chapter 25

The tragic fate of the Reed siblings elevates Jane’s situation. It also highlights Jane’s intelligent and generous nature. The contrast also conveys that social class is only one of many factors that determine a person’s future. Even as Mrs. Reed is on her deathbed, she is not repentant and does not recognize her mistakes. She is only interested in correcting the most recent wrong by confessing that she had hidden a letter from Jane’s uncle. Mrs. Reed’s act debunks the common belief that people are humbled and made gracious by the knowledge of imminent death. On the contrary, Mrs. Reed remains vengeful even on her deathbed. However, Jane is able to forgive her and in doing so, exemplifies the Christian virtue of compassion.

Jane’s display of her passionate love for Rochester during their accidental meeting is a mark of her individuality. Though her display can be seen as an “inappropriate” gesture since Rochester had made her believe that he was going to marry Blanche, Jane finds herself compelled to confess her love.

Rochester’s taunt about sending away Jane evokes the class difference between the two. Jane indirectly calls out Rochester for his class bias by saying that she thinks Ireland is too far and that she likes Thornfield better. Jane’s demands that Rochester treat her as an equal and not lavish her with unnecessary gifts highlights her stance as a modern, educated woman who has her own ideas and belief systems. She is also not interested in leaving her “plain-clothed existence” for the “grandeur” of a life as the wife of a rich man.

The lightning-struck chestnut tree is a symbol of divine disapproval, for Rochester is already a married man pretending to be unmarried in order to propose to another woman.

Jane is also conflicted between becoming a wife and continuing to lead an independent life as a working governess. Her nightmares are subconscious images that amplify this dilemma. Rochester’s dismissal of Jane’s nightmares and Bertha’s sighting and his delayed confession also show that their marriage is not founded on truth and transparency; it is instead driven by passion and haste.