5.4–Sample Analysis of a Novel

Nicole Watson
Prof. Smith
ENGL 203.XXX: Writing about Literature
10 October 2021

“For I was then his vision”: Seeing-eye Jane Eyre

In the concluding chapter of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre: An Autobiography (1847), Jane Eyre marries Edward Rochester, opening the chapter with the iconic line “Reader, I married him” (Vol. III, Ch. XII). However, marrying Rochester at the end of the novel positions Jane on very different footing with her new husband. By the end of the novel, Rochester has lost his sight in a fire that killed his first wife, who actually set the fire and was mentally ill. Jane, upon seeing Rochester again after a year away, agrees to marry him even though he is now effectively blind. Eyes are mentioned across the novel, with special focus on the eyes of others, so it is interesting that Brontë blinds the love interest at the end of the novel. Jane Eyre seeing for Rochester at the end of Jane Eyre suggests that Charlotte Brontë challenged the focus on appearances, particularly when it comes to marriage and the success of a marriage. Jane Eyre and Rochester are only able to have a good marriage because of the loss of Rochester’s sight; the loss of sight prevents the mistake he made with his first wife of choosing a wife on appearance alone.

This initial quote is a little confusing because it makes me think the paper will be discussing the paragraph in which Jane says “Reader, I married him,” when in fact it is a later paragraph.

This quick summary helps me know which part of the novel Nicole’s paper will be analyzing.

Rochester’s lack of sight gives Jane more agency in the relationship, but this change also brought the couple closer together in a way that was not possible for Rochester in his first marriage with Bertha, or even in his first attempt to marry Jane. She tells the reader: “perhaps it was that circumstance [the loss of Rochester’s eyesight] that drew us so very near—that knit us so very close; for I was then his vision, as I am still his right hand” (Vol. III, Ch. XII). Jane repeats herself when she says “that drew us so very near—that knit us so very close”; the repetition tells the reader that the closeness is the change in their relationship. In fact, she uses the word “knit” in her second iteration of the closeness of her relationship to Rochester. “Knit” suggests more than just being drawn closer together, which is what Jane suggests in her first statement. Knitting implies an interconnectedness that cannot be easily separated. In other words, the pair is so connected because of the loss of Rochester’s sight that they are bound to each other in a way that they were not earlier in the novel. The “circumstance” in question is the loss of Rochester’s sight, so the closeness and knitting together is a direct result of Rochester’s loss of sight. Jane follows it up by saying, “for I was then his vision, as I am still his right hand” (Vol. III, Ch. XII). Jane uses the word “then” which tells the reader that Rochester’s vision returns, which does happen further down the page. Telling the reader that she is “still his right hand” suggests that the closeness of their relationship, caused by the loss of sight, continues thanks to the loss of sight. Though, interestingly, she is now his right hand rather than Rochester’s eyes. Brontë possibly was suggesting to readers that it was possible for men and women to have a close marriage and rely on each other, but for Rochester, this was only possible by losing his sight.

In literary analyses, events of the novel are referred to in the present tense, even if the novel is narrated in the past tense. So, this should say “this change also brings the couple closer together.”

Jane tells the reader the level of control she had over his vision, and this level of control was not enjoyed by Jane in the sense that she enjoyed having power over him; rather, she helped Rochester see the world the way that she sees it. Jane writes, “He saw nature—he saw books through me” (Vol. III, Ch. XII). Use of the preposition “through” reinforces to the reader that Jane was literally acting as his eyes. He did not see anything Jane did not want him to see; Jane was the one who decided what was worth telling Rochester about his surroundings or parts of whatever she was reading to him. In one of the earlier meetings between Rochester and Jane, he examines the watercolor paintings Jane did (Vol. I, Ch. XIII). In that case, Rochester was deciding what works of art or parts of the paintings were valuable or interesting. In that moment, Rochester had the control because he was the master, and Jane was his hired help. Now, post-blindness, Rochester must rely on Jane to tell him what is of value in the world. This change balances their relationship and equalizes them. This equalizing is necessary in changing the dynamic from a master-servant relationship to a spousal relationship. Brontë seems interested in the relationships between men and women, as Jane has opportunities to marry either Rochester or her cousin, St. John Rivers. Jane is on unequal footing with both of these men because of her gender, but in the case of Rochester, Jane is not his equal because of her class as well. Taking away Rochester’s sight allows Jane to actually have an equal partnership with her husband that is not possible without this loss of sight.

This is a great explanation of how Rochester’s loss of sight has brought about greater equality in their marriage. Nicole uses a comparison with earlier events of the novel as support for the statements she makes about the paragraph she chose to analyze.

Rochester values Jane for who she is rather than appearance or money, which were his initial interests in Bertha. Jane observes that “he loves me so truly that he knew no reluctance in profiting by my attendance” (Vol. III, Ch. XII). Instead of his loathing of Bertha when he finds out she is not the beauty that he thought her to be, Rochester is able to love Jane in his own disability because he is able to rely on her and she is who she says she is for the entire novel. Jane says that Rochester “profits” from her care. Rochester partially married Bertha for her money (Vol. III, Ch. I), so he was also “profiting” from that marriage. However, this profit from his marriage to Jane is about “attendance” rather than actual wealth. Rochester sees the world and the beauty of the world through Jane, which is the real profit in his second marriage, in stark contrast to his first marriage.

In this paragraph, Nicole never mentions Rochester’s blindness, which makes it a little hard for me to figure out how it connects to the thesis. The concluding sentence almost tells me the connection, but it could be improved by making the connection a little clearer.

Jane seeing for Rochester at the end of Jane Eyre enables the couple to have a successful marriage because it puts the couple on equal footing, and it enables Rochester to value Jane for something other than her appearance or her money. Jane gets to decide what parts of the world Rochester sees, in contrast to Rochester examining Jane’s paintings and deciding what about them was good or original. Jane becomes both narrator and storyteller when she says “he saw books through me” (Brontë vol. III, ch. XII). She does not say “he read books through me”; use of the word “saw” instead highlights the imaginative aspects of reading and what happens when readers are reading. Readers see the pictures in their heads of the characters or the actions. Brontë includes this moment at the end of the novel between Rochester and Jane to show that Jane is curating the story for us as well. We see Jane Eyre through Jane like Rochester sees the world through Jane.

This is a really interesting and insightful point, but it shouldn’t be in the concluding paragraph. Concluding paragraphs should wrap up the essay rather than then introducing new ideas. Nicole could fix this just by adding another earlier paragraph that introduces this very interesting point.

Work Cited