Buffy ,'Lessons'
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
I'm with Kat.
I think for me, too, the fact that she turns down St. John can be read too easily as her rejecting him because she still loves Rochester. But I firmly believe she wouldn't have accepted him at any time, because while so many other women of that era would have taken the chance to be a wife (and therefore ensured of food and shelter, etc.), she didn't love him.
That's the kind of righteousness I admire in her. She never looks for the easy way out.
Her still loving Rochester may have played into her rejection of St. John, but more from a "I have too much honor to marry him if I cannot marry him with a whole heart."
Also, St. John was kind of an ass. I know he's supposed to be this deeply religious man whom Jane admires a lot - but he's such a no-fun prig. Every time I read the book, I really dislike him. At least Rochester had a sense of humor.
I also think his desire for an assistant is much greater than his desire for love. And he squashes any joy out of his life. IOW, Maysa, AGREED.
Pix - I just finished the Fevercrack and I blame you!
And it was totally cracktastic.
BTW Katha Pollitt loves the new JE movie.
Upon reread (I hadn't read JE since my teen years) I was mostly struck by how much of a selfish manipulating a**hole Rochester was. Also, I apparently blocked out much of the St. John stuff since I had no memory of it being almost a third of the book.
I was mostly struck by how much of a selfish manipulating a**hole Rochester was.
Well, yeah. He was within minutes of committing bigamy before Jane learned the truth about his wife. Not exactly a fine, upstanding human being.
Yeah--not sure how close the movie was to the book, but he came across as very manipulating of a naive young girl. Rather than touched by the ending, I was rooting for her to take the damn inheritance and have some fun and meet other people who were less emotionally abusive than him!!