In Jane's lifetime the lower class were seperated from the higher class by a strong social hierarchy, this shoved a barrier in between the relationship of Jane and Mr. Rochester. If you view it in terms of relationships between the different levels of the social Hierarchy you see it is similar to the Indian Caste system: The people of one social level couldn't/wouldn't (except in some rare cases) have relations with people of another social level. At one time Jane was beggining to rack her brain with the question, "Why would he choose me? He can get someone better." Her concious told her to use her artistic talents to comprise a portrait of her and a portrait of Blanche Ingram. When she was finally done she compared the two protraits:
"An hour or two sufficed to sketch my own protrait in crayons; and in less than a fortnight I had completed an ivory miniature of an imaginary Blanche Ingram... the contrast was as great as self-control could desire." (Chapter 16)
Jane is now convinced that a noble man such as Mr. Rochester would never fall in love with someone as ugly as her.
Why do you believe that Jane has a low self-esteem? Since Jane is in the lower class, she is able to pull through and not let things get through to her. What do you think this says about Jane's character?
ReplyDeleteI never said she has a low self-esteem, just that she has convinced herself that someone of Mr. Rochester's status wouldn't be in a relationship with someone of her social status.
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