Day 43: Oct. 17, 2013
While I was on the elliptical trainer, Jane Eyre inherited a
fortune. She was not overjoyed, mostly shocked. However, she was overjoyed when
she found out that St. John, Mary and Diana are her cousins. (They are the
people who took her in as she languished on the verge of death on their
doorstep.) What is it about being related to someone that makes you feel
connected to them? Is it as simple as
sharing DNA?
There are aspects of this novel that I do not relate to.
Like how St. John is so totally devoted to his religious ideals that he
represses feelings of love for the girl down the road even though it makes him
miserable. He’s not a priest, but a minister, so he’s allowed to get married.
He claims that if he were to marry her, he would grow tired of her after a year
and then live the rest of his life in regret. I guess that’s a legitimate fear.
And I also can’t decide if we’re supposed to view repression
for the sake of adhering to principals as a virtue or a flaw. Jane’s new life as an independent school
teacher is hunky dory. She’s into it, and seems to have developed warm and
happy feelings toward her students and is well loved by all the townspeople. But she is gripped with passion and lust for
Mr. Rochester in her dreams. She wakes trembling every morning. And she longs
for adventure (also in her dreams.) There are many factors at work. She’s a
woman. She’s poor (before the entrance of the fortune.) She’s educated. And she’s
human. It seems that her humanity grips her while she sleeps, while her sex and
social status grip her while she’s awake.
I think Jane knows she’s living a lie. She knows that being
a repressed school teacher in a tiny town is not for her, even though she’s
good at it, and well loved. And not because she’s lusty, but because she’s
smart, in love, and wants to be where she can express herself freely as a
woman. I forget what finally draws her back to Mr. R. I think she goes a little
nuts and begins to hear his name blowing in the wind. At least I kind of
remember that from the movie. Ok, now I’m rambling. Maybe I should join a book
club.
Coffee: One from the grocery store in my new cup. Ok, so I
lost all of my cups and bought a new one yesterday. This pretty much negates all of the
disposable cups I have eschewed over the last 43 days unless someone has found them
and is now using them.
Cups and Bags
Challenge: No emails today, but I’m guessing my mom used her cup. So we’re up
to $47. you use a reusable cup, email me here: cupsandbags@yahoo.com and I’ll send a
dollar to Bring Recycling!
No comments:
Post a Comment