Why is the phrasing of this line so important? How would the sense be different-for the sentence and for the novel as a whole- if the line read, "Reader, we were married."?
I am woman....hear me roar.....
9 years ago
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The line
There is probably no single line in the whole of Jane Eyre that has, in itself, attracted as much critical attention as the first line of the last chapter; "Reader, I married him."
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3 comments:
I love that she wrote, "I married him". The predominant theme in the novel (for me) was the need to love and be loved. Jane had tried her whole life to find her place. I love that she went back for Mr. Rochester and took ownership of her own happiness. She did it. She overcame. It would not have had the same effect if she'd taken her own agency out of that sentence.
Maybe it was criticized because women weren't supposed to be assertive and go after a man, but it was necessary to the story line. During those last few chapters I was actually writing the story in my head and hoping she would run back to Mr. Rochester and find that his wife had passed away. Is that mean? I just really felt like the whole novel would have been pointless and hopeless otherwise. She needed to be loved. We all do.
I was doing the same thing Julie. I kept thinking of what could happen to make them be together.
I loved the line too. I loved all of it. I thought the way she returned to him was so romantic too... especially with the whole idea of them hearing each other yelling out for each other.
I think Charlotte didn't wish to keep the reader in suspense any longer as the reader had been taken to the wedding day and had that disrupted and after a long time Jane had again been brought back into Mr. Rochester's arms. No need to go into planning details...get right to the issue at hand. At that point we could breathe a sigh of relief and know that it was done...and they were finally together.
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