Student Essay on An Alternate View of Jane Eyre

An Alternate View of Jane Eyre

Summary:   A rewrite of the beginning of the Charlotte Bronte novel Jane Eyre.

My Winter

I am so excited. I will finally have someone to converse with on long winter days. I have hired a governess for Adele. I needed this new person in my life; it gets so lonely up here in this mansion. On long December days like this one, the silence in this mansion gets eerie and overwhelming. Anyways, I have been waiting all day for the new governess. Her name is Miss Jane Eyre. She attended Lowood and advertised for her job here. I wonder if something happened to her on the way here... maybe her driver was late? I hope she is alright.

It was very dark when Jane finally arrived. My first impression of her was that she was a quiet little lady with simplistic tastes.

"Mrs. Fairfax, I suppose"" she asked me.

"Yes, young lady." I replied as I motioned her to have a seat next to mine. I then continued to talk with her. I told her that she will meet her pupil, Miss Adele Varens, in the morning. I then showed her around the house and acquainted her to her bedroom. Before she left I bid goodnight.

The next morning, Jane was up early. I greeted her in the hall and answered her questions about Thornfield. I told her about Mr. Rochester and his residence on this estate. I told her that he often came unexpectedly and he visited only a few times a year. I also told her that I was left in charge of duties around the estate.

Before I knew it, Adele came running with her nurse and found Jane. "Vous etes ma gouvernante"" She asked Jane. I began explaining to Jane that Adele was French and had only recently left France. I continued by adding that Adele could speak little English and her nurse was only fluent in French.

After meeting Adele, Jane was curious about her parents. And I told her that Mr. Rochester was her adopted father, but he never really accepted these responsibilities.

"Is he not a kind man"" She asked.

"No, no, he is a great, kind man but he is never here at Thornfield, but I must keep the house in order because he often comes unexpectedly." I explained.

"Do enjoy having him as your employer"" She asked.

"I would not have anyone else. He is very generous." I replied.

Later, the moment I knew would come, arrived. Jane heard strange laughing noises coming from the third floor. She was a bit frightened at first, but I soon informed her that the laughs came from Grace Poole, a seamstress that resided on the third floor.

The next couple days were pretty boring for me. Jane was busy with Adele and never really talked with me. But I could understand why she didn't really talk with me; she wanted someone of her peers to talk to.

Now it was January and these were the days that Adele usually gets sick. And just as I had predicted, one day Adele came down with the cold and I told Jane that Adele should get the day off. Jane was awfully kind and agreed to give Adele a break from her learning for a day. That same day I needed a letter posted, but the nearest post office was in Millcote. As I was closing the envelope to my letter, Jane walked in.

"Hello there, Mrs. Fairfax, and Do you need anything done today? I am getting bored without Adele. Oh, does that letter needed to be posted? I don't mind going down to the post office if you need me." She said.

"Are sure Jane, it gets pretty dark and cold nowadays"" I asked her.

"Oh no problem, ma'am." She replied.

She was soon off on her way to the post office. It was getting dark and I was getting worried about her well being when I heard a knock on the door. I was certain it was Jane, but to my surprise, it was Mr. Rochester!

He seems a little shaken up. I asked him if he was alright. He replied by saying that he had just fallen off his horse. I hurried to the nurse and brought her straight to him. It turned out that he had met a nice young lady that helped on his horse after his fall. But she had to hurry off somewhere. As soon as Mr. Rochester woke up after his painkillers had put him to sleep, he asked about the new governess. I told him that she had just left to Millecote and she should be back momentarily.

When Jane came home, I immediately informed her on Mr. Rochester's visit. She was a little shaken up. I helped straighten her up; I took off her bonnet and sent her to Mr. Rochester's room. There she stood for a minute, in awkwardness, but soon Mr. Rochester asked her to have a seat. He then complimented her on her beauty and uniqueness.

Ever since Mr. Rochester has been here, it has been complete chaos. People have been coming in and out of this house like it's a hotel. I don't mind the people though, when Mr. Rochester is out of town the house seems very quite and lonely, at least now the place has some life.

One day, Mr. Rochester summoned Adele, Jane and me to the drawing room for tea. I advised Jane to dress up formally for the occasion. Mr. Rochester acknowledged us with a mere nod. For some time, he pretended to take no notice of Jane and Adele, I was sitting in the corner just knitting. After tea, he questioned Jane about her past. He asked her to play the piano and show him her drawings. He was not impressed with her piano recital but was fascinated by her paintings. He suddenly asked for our departure from his room at nine. I was proud of Jane on her excellent composure through Mr. Rochester's abrupt mood changes.

When we were out of his room, Jane asked me about Mr. Rochester and his weird mood changes and behavior. I explained to her best as I could. I told her that Mr. Rochester has led an unsettled kind of life. His father and his brother were unfair to him, especially on the family's finances. I went on to tell her that Mr. Rochester probably shunned Thornfield because he found the place too gloomy.

Over the next couple days Mr. Rochester was very busy. He often woke up early and went to bed late. One evening after dinner he sent for both Jane and Adele. He gave Adele her box of presents and asked me to keep the child occupied. After leaving from Mr. Rochester, I quietly listened to his and Jane's conversation. It was very weird. He then asked to speak to Jane. He asked her why she did not openly talk to him and she answered by saying that she will only answer his questions. He began by commenting on her primness and then asked for her opinion on his appearance. Jane replied objectively, saying that although he is not handsome in the typical sense of the word, he does merit praise for his broad chest, dark hair and rugged features. Then Mr. Rochester offered an apology for his brash conduct, claiming it to be an effect of age. She wondered if he had had too much to drink. That was the most I heard about their conversation.

The next day I noticed that Jane and Mr. Rochester had taken a long walk around the estate. They probably talked about Mr. Rochester's past. But I really don't know. But the strangest thing happened that night; I heard noises coming from Mr. Rochester's room. I suspect it to be Jane, but I must tell myself not jump to any conclusions. The next morning I awoke to servants talking in Mr. Rochester's room. They were talking of something that had happened last night. I was wrong, it was not Jane talking with Mr. Rochester that I heard, and it was a fire! Mr. Rochester's room had caught on fire.