What a powerhouse of a chapter!

“Laws and principles are not for the time when there is no temptation… If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth?”

“The soul, fortunately, has an interpreter - in the eye.”

“Conqueror I may be of the house; but the inmate would escape to heaven before I could call myself possessor of its clay dwelling-place.”

Charlotte Brontë can WRITE. She uses such a wide range of vocab and techniques so perfectly to convey feelings and ideas with such exactness. I totally get the Rochester hate but the way he genuinely seems to admire Jane’s soul, her coolness and her resolve makes him more of a man than other’s (I mean if you’ve read Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë you know there could be much worse) - especially for the standards and liberties men had at that time. I think you have to remember this was the 1800s to not get totally filled with shock/hatred so to me, Rochester’s character seems purposefully and perfectly created with horrible and redeeming qualities to create some sort of moral dilemma.

“But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires: …To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;

To rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy;

To return home at even tide with gratitude

And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips. “

Let this be your sign to remember to love and appreciate fully your significant other, your family and even your pets! Such a beautiful life is a life with love.