Character list

The breadshop clerk 

Hannah- housekeeper at the Rivers’ place. 

Diana Rivers- St John’s sister, she is handsome and intelligent. She loves to share her knowledge and Jane thoroughly enjoys her company. 

Mary Rivers- 

St. John Rivers– 30ish, tall, a pastor. He is somewhat stern, reserved, and very zealous to evangelize on foreign soil. 

Uncle John- a rich uncle who has died and left the Rivers hardly anything from his fortune.  

Mr Oliver- rich owner of the local mill 

Miss Rosamund Oliver- the mill owner’s daughter. She is acting as a patroness for the school. She seems to like St John, and he likes her, but he has committed to being a missionary and knows she does not have the constitution to bear such a life. 

Mr Granby- the man Rosamund will marry. 

Jane’s Struggle 
Heartbroken and wrestling with the temptation to stay, Jane leaves abruptly so as not to be pursued. She wanders destitute for a few days. She is taken in by the Rivers. St John offers her a position as the school teacher for girls, but notes that she will not stay long since he sees that she will need more mental stimulation than this can give. As Jane teaches, she recognizes the poverty she is in and wishes it could be otherwise, but she also knows she could not have given in to Rochester’s temptations. The girls begin to show improvement and Jane is content that she is well-regarded in the neighborhood. 

One night St John tells Jane of her inheritance and their family relations. Jane decides to split the 20k equally between them. 

St John asks Jane to consider that her considerable talents and energy should be used for the kingdom of God. He asks Jane to help him learn Hindi, which she does, but she does not have the same connection with him. She wants to please him, but intuits that it would mean she would have to give up being herself. He proposes before leaving for India. But while telling her she is called, he says “You are formed for labor, not for love”, and ‘claims her for the Lord’s service’. He lists her excellent qualities, but sees them all in terms of how they can serve him in the work. She reasons that she could do the work, but he wants her only as a wife, and she knows he doesn’t love her. In his proposal, she sees his faults. 

She understands she can’t be his wife- always restrained, checked, and forced to repress her own spirit. St John argues that she would learn to love him, but she replies that she scorns his idea of love. He promises to return in two weeks, and tells her to reconsider. He tells her rejecting him is rejecting God. 

Jane, talking to Diana, says “Would it not be strange to be chained for life to a man who regarded one but as a useful tool?” 

St John proposes one more time, and as Jane senses the call of religion, both of glory and condemnation if refused, she considers, and then hears Rochester call out.  

Jane’s Struggle in this period is wisely considering her place in the world. She had previously had to struggle against the injustice of her treatment. While she did not give in to inferiority, she was naïve in how to fight against the injustice. Then she learned to be at peace with herself and find acceptance. She also found the strength to move out when she knew she needed to in order to grow. 

Then she found love at Thornfield, but had to hold fast against the temptation of compromise when it was revealed that she could not legally enter marriage under the circumstances. She nonetheless held fast to her convictions.  

At Moor House, she is confronted with religion, the very thing that Lowood had taught her was the true defense against injustice, and which she had relied on to avoid the temptation to compromise at Thornfield. Now St John is using religion to try and make her compromise her sense of love. But Jane stands firm yet again. She shows a deep understanding of not only what is happening, but of her own heart.