Jane Eyre

The Ferndean house is old and remote, buried deep in the woods. When Jane arrives, it grows dark. The gray sky produces a cold gale of rain.

When Jane sees Mr. Rochester, she observes that his “form was of the same strong and stalwart contour as ever: his port was still erect, his hair was still raven black,” however, he now has a certain “desperate and brooding” (1,081) look on his face that saddens Jane. She compares him to a “caged eagle, whose gold-ringed eyes cruelty has extinguished” (1,081).

Jane enters Mr. Rochester’s room. At first, Mr. Rochester speaks as though to a ghost. Jane gives him her hand, and he swiftly recognizes her by touch. He joyfully gathers her to him and embraces her.

Jane kisses Mr. Rochester and tells him she will never leave him. When she explains that she is financially independent thanks to her inheritance money, Mr. Rochester pitifully asks her not to waste her life on a blind “lameter” (1,090), a Scottish word meaning lame person, but she reassures him that there is nowhere she would rather be.

The idea that his relationship with Jane might change due to his disability distresses Mr. Rochester. Jane reassures him that she does not mind serving as his nurse, and she still loves him just the same. In fact, this experience has humanized and softened him.

The next day, the two of them go for a walk through the woods. Jane relates the past year, reassuring Mr. Rochester she is not in love with St. John. She also soothes his injured masculine pride, telling him, “You are no ruin, sir—no lightning-struck tree: you are green and vigorous. Plants will grow about your roots […] because your strength offers them so safe a prop” (1,115).

Thus reassured, Mr. Rochester again asks Jane if he will suit her as a husband. She replies, “To the finest fibre of my nature” (1,118). They agree to marry as soon as possible.

Though Mr. Rochester is not ordinarily a religious man, he thanks God for bringing them together. He explains that a few nights ago, he longed so deeply to see her that he called out her name. He then heard a voice reply, “I am coming: wait for me” (1,122). 

Jane and Mr. Rochester have a quiet wedding with no witnesses other than the parson and a church clerk. She writes to Diana, Mary, and St. John to tell them about the marriage. Though St. John never writes back, Diana and Mary warmly congratulate Jane. Diana will visit Jane once she has gotten “over the honeymoon,” and Mr. Rochester jokes, “She had better not wait till then, Jane, […] if she does, she will be too late, for our honeymoon will shine our life long: its beams will only fade over your grave or mine” (1,128).

Jane has narrated this novel from a position of happiness 10 years into her marriage to Mr. Rochester. Though he is still partially blind, he regained some of his sight after two years. When Jane gave birth to their son, Mr. Rochester was miraculously able to see the boy.

Though Diana and Mary both find husbands, St. John never marries. In his final letter to her, he writes of his forthcoming death, calling out to God just as she and Mr. Rochester once called out to one another.