13 Jane Eyre - Stephanie Poppins
Jane Eyre is a first-person narrative from the perspective of the title character. Its setting is somewhere in the north of England, late in the reign of George III (1760–1820). Jane's childhood is at Gateshead Hall, where she is emotionally and physically abused by her aunt and cousins. Her education is at Lowood School, where she gains friends and role models but suffers privations and oppression. In this episode, she speaks to Mr Rochester over dinner. Read by English author and vocal artist Stephanie Poppins.
Transcript
This is S.
D.
Hudson Magic Jane Eyre Chapter 13 Mr.
Rochester,
It seems by the surgeon's orders,
Went to bed early that night,
Nor did he rise soon next morning.
When he did come down,
It was to attend to business.
His agent and some of his tenants were arrived,
And waiting to speak to him.
Adele and I had now to vacate the library.
It would be in daily requisition as a reception room for callers.
A fire was lit in an apartment upstairs,
And there I carried our books and arranged it for the future schoolroom.
I discerned in the course of the morning that Thornfield Hall was a changed place.
No longer silent as a church,
It echoed every hour or two to a knock at the door,
Or a clang of the bell.
Steps,
Too,
Often traversed the hall,
And new voices spoke in different keys below.
A rill from the outer world was flowing through it.
It had a master.
For my part,
I liked it better.
Adele was not easy to teach that day.
She could not apply.
She kept running to the door and looking over the banisters to see if she could get a glimpse of Mr.
Rochester.
Then she coined pretexts to go downstairs in order,
As I shrewdly suspected,
To visit the library,
Where I knew she was not wanted.
Then,
When I got a little angry and made her sit still,
She continued to talk incessantly of M.
Edouard Fairfax de Rochester,
As she dubbed him,
And to conjecture which presents he had bought her,
For it appears he had intimated the night before,
When his luggage came from Millcote,
There would be found amongst it a little box whose contents she had an interest.
I and my pupil dined as usual in Mrs.
Fairfax's parlour.
The afternoon was wild and snowy,
And we passed it in the school room.
At dark,
I allowed Adele to put away books and work and to run downstairs,
For for the comparative silence below,
And from the cessation of appeals to the doorbell,
I conjectured Mr.
Rochester was now at liberty.
Left alone,
I walked to the window,
But nothing was to be seen thence.
Twilight and snowflakes together thickened the air,
And hid the very shrubs on the lawn.
I let down the curtain and went back to the fireside.
In the clear embers I was tracing a view,
Not unlike a picture I remembered to have seen of the castle of Heidelberg on the Rhine,
When Mrs.
Fairfax came in,
Breaking up by her entrance the fiery mosaic I had been piecing together and scattering to some heavy unwelcome thoughts that were beginning to throng on my solitude.
Mr.
Rochester would be glad if you and your pupil would take tea with him in the drawing-room this evening,
Said she.
He has been so much engaged all day he could not ask you to see you before.
"'When is his tea time?
' I inquired.
"'Oh,
It's six o'clock.
It keeps early hours in the country.
You'd better change your frock now.
I'll go with you and fasten it.
Here is a candle.
' "'Is it necessary to change my frock?
' "'Yes,
You had better.
I always dress for the evening when Mr.
Rochester's here.
' This additional ceremony seemed somewhat stately.
However,
I repaired to my room,
And with Mrs.
Fairfax's aid replaced my black-stuffed dress by one of black silk,
The best and only additional one I had,
Except one of light grey,
Which in my lowward notions of the toilette I thought too fine to be worn,
Except on first-rate occasions.
"'You want a brunch?
' said Mrs.
Fairfax.
I had a single little pearl ornament which Miss Temple gave me as a parting keepsake.
I put it on,
And then we went downstairs.
Unused as I was to strangers,
It was rather a trial to appear thus formally summoned in Mr.
Rochester's presence.
I let Mrs.
Fairfax precede me into the dining-room,
And kept in her shade as we crossed the apartment,
And passing the arch,
Whose curtain was now dropped,
I entered the elegant recess beyond.
Two wax candles stood lighted on the table,
And two on the mantelpiece.
Basking in the light and heat of a superb fire lay Pilot.
Adèle knelt near him.
Half-reclined on a couch appeared Mr.
Rochester,
His foot supported by the cushion.
He was looking at Adèle and the dog.
The fire shone full on his face.
I knew my traveller with his broad and jetty eyebrows,
His square forehead made smart by the horizontal sweep of his black hair.
I recognised his decisive nose,
More remarkable for character than beauty.
His grim mouth,
Chin,
And jaw,
Yes,
All three were very grim and no mistake.
His shape now divested of cloak,
I perceived harmonised in squareness with his physiognomy.
I suppose it was a good figure in the athletic sense of the term,
Broad-chested and thin-flanked,
Though neither tall nor graceful.
Mr.
Rochester must have been aware of the entrance of Mrs.
Fairfax and myself,
But it appeared he was not in the mood to notice us,
For he never lifted his head as we approached.
"'Here is Miss Eyre,
Sir,
' said Mrs.
Fairfax in her quiet way.
He bowed,
Still not taking his eyes from the group of the dog and the child.
"'Let Miss Eyre be seated,
' said he,
And there was something in the forced,
Stiff bow,
In the impatient yet formal tone,
Which seemed further to express what deduces it to me whether Miss Eyre is here or not.
At this moment I am not disposed to accost her.
' I sat down quite embarrassed.
A reception of finished politeness would probably have confused me.
I could not have returned or repaid it by answering grace and elegance on my part,
But harsh caprice laid me under no obligation.
On the contrary,
A decent quiescence under the freak of manner gave me the advantage.
Besides,
The eccentricity of the proceeding was piquant.
I felt interested to see how he would go on.
He went on as a statue would.
That is,
He never spoke nor moved.
Mrs.
Fairfax seemed to think it necessary that someone should be amiable,
And she began to talk.
Kindly,
As usual,
And as usual rather trite.
She condoled with him on the pressure of business he had all day,
On the annoyance it must have been to him with that painful sprain.
Then she commended his patience and perseverance in going through with it.
"'Madam,
I should like some tea,
' was the sole rejoinder she got.
She hastened to ring the bell,
And when the tray came she proceeded to arrange the cups,
Spoons,
Etc.
,
With assiduous celerity.
I and Adèle went to the table,
But the master did not leave his couch.
"'Will you hand Mr.
Rochester's cup?
' said Mrs.
Fairfax to me.
"'Adèle might perhaps spill it.
' "'I did as requested.
' As he took the cup from my hand,
Adèle,
Thinking the moment propitious for making a request in my favour,
Cried out,
"'N'est-ce pas,
Monsieur,
Qu'il y a un cadeau pour Mlle Aire dans votre petit coffre?
' "'Who talks of cadeau?
' said he,
Gruffly.
"'Did you expect a present,
Mlle Aire?
Are you fond of presents?
' And he searched my face with eyes that I saw were dark,
Irate,
And piercing.
"'I hardly know,
Sir.
I have little experience of them.
They are generally thought pleasant things.
' "'Generally thought?
But what do you think?
' "'I should be obliged to take time,
Sir,
Before I could give you an answer worthy of your acceptance.
A present has many faces to it,
Has it not?
And one should consider all before pronouncing an opinion as to its nature.
"'Mlle Aire,
You are not so unsophisticated as Adèle.
She demands a cadeau,
Clamorously,
The moment she sees me.
"'You beat about the bush.
' "'Because I have less confidence in my desserts than Adèle has.
She can prefer the claim of old acquaintance,
And the right,
Too,
Of custom,
For she says you've always been in the habit of giving her playthings.
But if I had to make out a case,
I should be puzzled,
Since I'm a stranger,
And I have done nothing to entitle me to an acknowledgement.
"'Oh,
Don't fall back over modesty.
I've examined Adèle,
And find you've taken great pains with her.
She is not bright,
She has no talents,
Yet in a short time she's made much improvement.
"'Sir,
You have now given me my cadeau.
I am obliged to you.
It is the maid-teachers most cover,
Praise of their pupil's progress.
' "'Hmph!
' said Mr.
Rochester,
And he took his tea in silence.
"'Come to the fire,
' said the master,
When the tray was taken away,
And Mrs.
Fairfax settled into a corner with her knitting,
While Adèle was leading me by the hand round the room,
Showing me the beautiful books and ornaments on the consoles.
"'We obeyed,
As in duty bound.
Adèle wanted to take a seat on my knee,
But she was ordered to amuse herself with Pilate.
"'You have been resident in my house three months?
' "'Yes,
Sir.
' "'And you came from?
' "'From Lowood School,
Sir.
' "'Ah,
A charitable concern.
How long were you there?
' "'Eight years.
' "'Eight years!
You must be tenacious of life.
"'I thought half the time in such a place would have done up any constitution.
"'No wonder you have rather the look of another world.
"'I marvelled where you had got that sort of face.
"'When you came on me in Hay Lane last night,
I thought unaccountably of fairy tales,
And had half a mind to demand whether you had bewitched my horse.
"'I am not sure yet.
"'Who are your parents?
' "'I have none.
' "'Nor ever had,
I suppose.
Do you remember them?
' "'No.
' "'I thought not.
"'And so you were waiting for your people when you sat on that stile?
' "'For whom,
Sir?
' "'For the men in green.
It was a proper moonlight even for them.
"'Did I break through one of your rings that you spread that damned ice on the causeway?
' "'I shook my head.
"'The men in green all forsook England a hundred years ago,
' said I,
Speaking as seriously as he'd done.
"'And not even in Hay Lane or the films about it could you find a trace of them.
"'I don't think either Summer or Harvest or Winter Moon will ever shine on their revels any more.
' "'Mrs.
Fairfax dropped her knitting,
And with raised eyebrows,
Seemed wondering what sort of talk this was.
' "'Well,
' resumed Mr.
Rochester,
"'if you disown parents,
You must have some sort of kinsfolk.
"'Aunts and uncles?
' "'No,
None that I ever saw.
' "'And your home?
' "'I have none.
' "'Where do your brothers and sisters live?
' "'I have no brothers or sisters.
' "'Who recommended you to come here?
' "'I advertised,
And Mrs.
Fairfax answered my advertisement.
' "'Yes,
' said the good lady,
Who now knew what ground we were upon,
"'and I'm daily thankful for the choice Providence led me to make.
"'Miss Eyre's been an invaluable companion to me,
A kind and careful teacher to Adele.
' "'Don't trouble yourself to give her a character,
' returned Mr.
Rochester.
"'I shall judge for myself.
' "'She began by felling my horse.
' "'Sir,
' said Mrs.
Fairfax,
"'I have her to thank for this sprain.
' "'The widow looked bewildered.
"'Miss Eyre,
Have you ever lived in a town?
' "'No,
Sir.
' "'Have you seen much society?
' "'None but the pupils and teachers of Lowood,
And now the inmates of Thornfield.
' "'Have you read much?
' "'Only such books as came in my way,
And they've not been numerous or very learned.
' "'You have lived the life of a nun.
"'No doubt you are well drilled in religious forms.
' "'Brocklehurst,
I understand,
Directs Lowood.
"'He's a parson,
Is he not?
' "'Yes,
Sir.
' "'And you girls probably worshipped him,
"'as a convent full of religious would worship their director.
' "'Oh,
No.
' "'You are very cool.
"'No,
A novice not worship her priests.
"'That sounds blasphemous.
' "'I disliked Mr.
Brocklehurst,
And I was not alone in the feeling.
"'He is a harsh man,
At once pompous and meddling.
"'He cut off our hair,
And for economy's sake,
"'bought us bad needles and thread,
Which we could hardly sew with.
' "'That was very false economy,
' remarked Mrs.
Fairfax,
"'who now and again caught the drift of the dialogue.
' "'And was that the head and front of his offending?
' demanded Mr.
Rochester.
"'He staffed us when he had the sole superintendence of the provision department,
"'before the committee was appointed,
"'and he bored us with long lectures once a week,
"'and with evening readings from books of his own inditing "'about sudden deaths and judgments,
Which made us afraid to go to bed.
"'What age were you when you went to Lowood?
' "'About ten.
' "'And you stayed there eight years.
"'You were now then eighteen.
' "'I assented.
' "'Arithmetic,
You see,
Is useful.
"'Without its aid,
I should hardly have been able to guess your age.
"'It's a point difficult to fix "'when the features and countenance are so much at variance.
"'And now what did you learn at Lowood?
"'Can you play?
' "'A little.
' "'Of course,
That's the established answer.
"'Go to the library,
Take a candle with you,
"'leave the door open,
Sit down to the piano and play a tune.
' "'I departed,
Obeying his directions.
"'Enough,
' he called in a few minutes.
"'You play a little,
I see,
Like any other English schoolgirl.
"'Perhaps rather better than some.
"'But not well.
' "'I closed the piano and returned.
"'Adele showed me some sketches this morning,
' "'continued Mr.
Rochester,
"'which she said were yours.
"'I don't know whether they were entirely of your doing.
"'Probably a master aided you?
' "'No,
Indeed,
' I interjected.
"'Ah,
That prick's pride.
"'Well,
Fetch me your portfolio,
"'if you can vouch for its contents being original.
"'But don't pass your word unless you're certain.
"'I can recognise patchwork.
' "'Then I will say nothing "'and you shall judge for yourself,
Sir.
' "'I brought the portfolio from the library.
' "'No crowding,
' said Mr.
Rochester.
"'Take the drawings from my hand as I finish with them,
"'but don't put your face up to mine.
' "'He deliberately scrutinised each sketch and painting.
"'Three he lay aside.
"'The others,
When he had examined them,
"'he swept from him.
"'Take them off to the other table,
Mrs.
Fairfax,
' said he,
"'and look at them with Adele.
"'You,
Glancing at me.
"'These pictures were done by one hand.
"'Was that hand yours?
' "'Yes.
' "'When did you find the time to do them?
"'They've taken much time and some thought.
"'I did them in the last two vacations I spent at Lowood "'when I had no other occupation.
"'Where did you get your copies?
' "'Out of my head.
' "'That head I see now on your shoulders?
' "'Yes,
Sir.
' "'Has it other furniture of the same kind within?
' "'I should think it may have.
"'I should hope better.
' "'He spread the pictures before him "'and again surveyed them alternately.
"'While he is so occupied,
"'I will tell you,
Reader,
What they are.
"'First I must premise they are nothing wonderful.
"'These pictures were in watercolours.
"'The first represented clouds low and livid "'rolling over a swollen sea.
"'All the distance was in eclipse.
"'So too was the foreground,
"'or rather the nearest billows,
"'for there was no land.
"'One gleam of light lifted into relief "'a half-submerged mast.
"'On which sat a cormorant,
"'dark and large,
"'with wings flecked with foam.
"'Its beak held a gold bracelet set with gems "'that I had touched with its brilliant tints "'as my palate could yield "'and as glittering distinctness "'as my pencil could impart.
"'The second picture contained for foreground "'only the dim peak of a hill,
"'with grass and some leaves "'slanting as if by a breeze.
"'Beyond and above spread an expanse of sky,
"'dark blue as twilight.
"'Rising into the sky was a woman "'shaped to the bust,
"'portrayed in tints as dark "'and soft as I could combine.
"'The dim forehead was crowned with a star.
"'The eyes shone dark and wild,
"'the hair streamed shadowy "'like a beamless cloud torn by storm "'or electric devail.
"'On the neck lay a pale reflection like moonlight.
"'The same faint luster touched the train of thin clouds "'from which rose and bowed this vision.
"'The third showed the pinnacle of an iceberg "'piercing a polar winter sky.
"'A muster of northern lights reared their dim lances "'along the horizon.
"'Were you happy when you painted these pictures?
' "'asked Mr.
Rochester presently.
"'I was absorbed,
Sir,
Yes,
And I was happy.
"'To paint them in short was to enjoy "'one of the keenest pleasures I have ever known.
' "'That is not saying much.
"'Your pleasures by your own account have been few,
"'but I dare say you did exist "'in a kind of artist's dreamland "'while you blend and arrange these strange tints.
"'Did you sit at them long each day?
' "'I had nothing else to do because it was the vacation,
"'so I sat at them from morning till noon.
' "'And you felt self-satisfied "'with the results of your ardent labours?
' "'Far from it.
"'I was tormented by the contrast "'between my idea and my handiwork.
"'I had scarce tied the strings of the portfolio.
"'When looking at his watch,
"'Mr.
Rochester said suddenly,
"'It is nine o'clock.
"'What are you about,
Miss Eyre,
"'to let Adele sit up so long?
"'Take her to bed.
' "'Adele went to kiss him before quitting the room.
"'He endured the caress,
"'but scarcely seemed to relish it "'more than Pilot would have done.
"'I wish you all good night now,
' said he,
"'making a movement of his hand towards the door.
"'He was tired of our company and wished to dismiss us.
"'You said Mr.
Rochester was not strikingly peculiar,
"'Mrs.
Fairfax,
' I observed when I rejoined her in her room "'after putting Adele to bed.
"'Well,
Is he?
' "'I think so.
He's very changeful and abrupt.
"'True,
No doubt he may appear so to a stranger,
"'but I'm so accustomed to his manner I never think of it,
"'and then if his peculiarities attemper,
"'a lounge should be made.
' "'Why?
' "'Because it's in his nature,
"'and we none of us can help our nature.
"'And he has painful thoughts,
No doubt,
To harass him.
' "'What about?
' "'Family troubles,
For one thing.
' "'But he has no family.
' "'Not now,
But he has had,
Or at least relatives.
"'He lost his elder brother a few years since.
' "'His elder brother?
' "'Yes,
The present Mr.
Rochester's not been very long "'in possession of the property,
Only about nine years.
"'I believe there were some misunderstandings between them.
"'Mr.
Road and Rochester was not quite just to Mr.
Edward,
"'and perhaps he prejudiced his father against him.
"'The old gentleman was fond of money "'and anxious to keep the family estate together.
"'He didn't like to diminish the property by division,
"'yet he was anxious Edward Rochester should have wealth too.
"'Old Mr.
Rochester and Mr.
Rowland combined "'to bring Mr.
Edward into what he considered a painful position.
"'What the precise nature of that position was I never really knew,
"'but his spirit could not brook what he had to suffer.
"'He is not a very forgiving man.
"'He broke with his family,
"'and now for many years has led an unsettled life.
"'I don't think he's ever been resident "'in Thornfield for a fortnight together "'since the death of his brother without a will "'left him the master of the estate.
"'No wonder he shuns the old place.
' "'Why should he shun it?
' "'Because he thinks it gloomy.
' "'The answer was evasive.
"'I should have liked something clearer.
"'But Mrs.
Fairfax could not,
Or would not,
"'give me more information of the origin and nature "'of Mr.
Rochester's trials.
"'She said they were a mystery to herself,
"'and that what she knew was chiefly from conjecture.
"'It was evident indeed "'that she wished me to drop the subject,
"'which I did accordingly.
'"
