Blowing in the Wind

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!

Watercolor: (that black line is supposed to be a road. Uh, this is a good one, don't you think? Its ok, you can lie.)