yes!
Posted by Lynn on September 30, 1997 at 13:41:22:
In response to Not a simple answer, written by Mark on September 30, 1997 at 13:22:14
]
] ] So what do the rest of you think? Was Rochester trying to make Jane jealous with his attentions toward Blanche, or was he trying to drive her away?
]
] I also suspect that he was testing everybody involved to see what they were made of. This guy had been hurt before. It is very common for someone like that to lash out and hurt their intended to see if they withstand the onslaught and remain true. Blanche failed. Jane excelled.
] One of the my favorite sequences was the gypsy. His high-falutin' fiance who "loved" him didn't see through the disguise and chose to believe the rumours of financial ruin, but Jane wasn't fooled for a second.
] So the upshot of the whole affair was he was in love with Jane more than ever.
] Mark
This goes along with some comments I made below, that he is vulnerable, he knows he is vulnerable (maybe not consciously, but on some level), and gets involved with Blanche because he knows ahead of time how she really feels about him, he knows what to expect of her. But Jane - she's something different. He doesn't always know what to expect of her - he loves her but he doesn't want to get hurt, so he tries to push her away - not necessarily consciously - so he can avoid getting his emotions even more involved. The fact that she replies the way she does to his questions as the gypsy, the fact that she does whatever he says with the whole Mason thing and says that she doesn't care what other people think of him, shows him that she does care in some way. I can imagine that he was tortured the whole time she was gone to Gateshead, wondering if somehow he really had driven her away, if he was ever going to see her again.
What an interesting thread!
Lynn
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