ACTIVITIES Before you read (BET Q Listening Listen to the beginning of Part Four. You will hear about some strange things that happened one night at Thornfield. For questions 1-8, complete the sentences. 1 At two o'clock Jane............................ 2 A...........................woke her up after she had fallen asleep a second time. 3 Jane decided to go to Mrs Fairfax because she was............................ 4 The...........................were burning. 5 As soon as he woke up, Mr Rochester............................ 6 Mr Rochester said that...........................was responsible for the fire. 7 Mr Rochester didn't want Jane to go away without............................ 8 Mr Rochester usually did not like..........................., but he didn't mind with Jane. Q Prediction In the next chapter Jane will say, 'What a fool you are! You thought that Mr Rochester could love you!' Why do you think she will say this? A [ | Mr Rochester stops paying attention to her — he is not really attracted by her. B [ ] Mr Rochester sends Jane away because he is in love with her— but he doesn't tell her. C [ j Mr Rochester starts treating Jane rudely — he doesn't like being in debt to her. D [ | Mr Rochester brings a beautiful woman to Thornfield. E | ] Mr Rochester only talked to her because he was bored. F Q Other:............................................................................................... Hope and Sadness One night I was woken up by a strange sound coming from the room above mine. I sat up rn bed and listened, but the sound had stopped. I couldn't go back to sleep. Just as the clock struck two, I heard someone try to open my bedroom door. 'Who's there?' I cried, but there was no answer. I lay down again and closed my eyes, feeling frightened and cold, listening to the silence. Sleep came, and 1 began to dream, but then I was awoken again by a demonic laugh! Again I cried out, 'Who's there?' Again there was no reply, but I heard footsteps going down the corridor towards the staircase to the third floor. 'Was it Grace Poole?' I asked myself. 1 was so frightened that I couldn't stay on my own. I got dressed quickly, thinkinggil'II go to Mrs Fairfax.' With trembling hands I opened the door and looked out into the corridor. Someone had left a lighted candle on the floor outside my room. The corridor was full of smoke and I could smell burning. The smoke was coming from Mr Rochester's room. I took the candle and ran into his room. Mr Rochester lay on the bed in a deep sleep, even though the curtains around his bed were on fire! 'Wake up!' I cried, shaking his shoulder, but he only turned over and continued to sleep. There were two bowls of water on 44 45 PART FOUR the table. 1 picked one up and threw the water over him. Then 1 picked the other up and threw the water on the flames. 'What's happening?' cried Mr Rochester, awake at last. 'Sir, someone set fire to your bed!' Mr Rochester looked at his black, smoking bed. 'Stay here. I must go to the third floor for a minute. I'll be back soon.' When he came back, he said, 'It was Grace Poole. Don't tell anyone what happened, Jane. I'll say 1 fell asleep and left a candle burning by the bed.' 'All right, sir. I'll go back to my room now.' 'What? You can't leave me like that, Jane. You've saved my life! At feast shake hands before you go.' He took my hand in both of his and said, 'I owe you a great debt. I'd hate to owe anyone else so much, but with you it's different. When I first saw you in Hay Lane, I knew you would do me good in some way. Goodnight, Jane!' His voice and the expression of his eyes had a strange intensity. I hurried back to my room, got into bed and pulled the covers over my trembling body, but I could not sleep: my heart was beating fast with hope and joy. The next morning I longed to see Mr Rochester but was afraid to see him at the same time. All day I listened for the sound of his footsteps, but he never came. That evening Mrs Fairfax told me that he'd left Thornfield and would be away for over a week. 'A week!' I cried in amazement. 'Where has he gone?' 'He's gone to visit his friend Mr Eshton. Mr Eshton is having a house party.1 Lord Ingram will be there, and Sir George Lynn, Colonel Dent and others.' 1. house party : a party lasting several days or weeks. 46 HI PART FOUR 'Will any ladies be there?' 'Oh, yes! Mrs Eshton and her three daughters and Miss Blanche Ingram. She's Lord Ingram's sister. She came here to a Christmas party seven years ago when she was eighteen. She's very beautiful, and talented too. I heard her sing a duet with Mr Rochester. It was a pleasure to listen to them.' That night in my room, I looked in the mirror and spoke sternly to my image. 'What a fool you are! You thought that Mr Rochester could love you! Look at you! Poor, plain, insignificant Jane! Why would he ever think of you when beautiful ladies of his own class would be glad to marry him?' After that I felt calmer. The week passed, and I spent my time as usual, teaching Adele in the mornings and sitting with Mrs Fairfax in the evenings. One evening, Mrs Fairfax said, 'Mr Rochester is coming home tomorrow, and he is bringing guests.' The next day, the guests arrived. Miss Blanche Ingram was certainly beautiful — tall and elegant with dark hair and eyes — and I noticed that Mr Rochester spoke to her often and seemed to prefer her to any of the other ladies. Mrs Fairfax told me that Mr Rochester wanted me to bring Adele into the drawing room after dinner every evening to talk to his guests. The first evening, I went to my room and changed into my best dress. When Adele was ready, we went downstairs to the drawing room. After a while, the ladies came in. They were all very elegantly dressed. Adele stood up and said, 'Bonjour, mesdames!'1 Miss Ingram looked at Adele and said, 'What a pretty little girl!' All the ladies sat around Adele and spoke to her in French. 1. Bonjour, mesdames : (French) Heilo, ladies. Hope and Sadness 48 Miss Ingram spoke very fluently and with a good accent. I sat in a dark corner of the room, hoping to go unnoticed. At last coffee was brought in and the gentlemen arrived.1 They all looked very handsome in their black clothes. I tried not to look at Mr Rochester, but even so I knew exactly where he was in the room. I remembered the night of the fire, when he had held my hand and thanked me for saving his life. How close we'd been then! And how distant he was now! I wasn't surprised that he didn't come to talk to me, that he didn't even look at me. When he was talking with some ladies at the other end of the room, I raised my .eyes and looked at my master's face. I felt both pleasure and pain as I looked at him. How true is the saying that 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder'! My master's dark skin, strong features and stern expression were not beautiful to others, but how beautiful they were to me! I'd tried not to love him, but now, as I looked at him, I loved him more than ever. He made me love him without looking at me. 1 suppose other women would consider Lord Ingram or Colonel Dent much more handsome than Mr Rochester, but I didn't like their looks. I noticed that when the ladies spoke to Mr Rochester, they seemed unaffected by his presence. 'No,' I thought, 'Miss Ingram doesn't love my master as I love him. He and she aren't the same kind of person, but he and I are &kt> the same kind, despite the differences of age and class. I understand the language of his face and movements. I was wrong to try to stop loving him! I mustn't hope that he will love me, but as long as I live and breathe, I will love him!' Just then Mr Rochester and Miss Ingram walked over to the fireplace not far from my corner. 1. the gentlemen arrived : the gentlemen had stayed at the dining table after dinner to drink brandy and smoke cigars. 49 PART FOUR 'You said you didn't like children,' said Miss Ingram. 'I don't like them,' my master replied. 'Then why did you bring that little girl to live with you?' 'I had no choice,' 'You could have sent her away to school,' 'Schools are so expensive.' 'But you have a governess for her, don't you? That's expensive too.' I feared — or hoped — that Mr Rochester would look at me then, but he didn't. 'How 1 hate governesses!' the lady continued. 'I had lots of governesses — they never stayed very long — and they were all horrible or ridiculous. But let's not talk about them anymore. Let's singl Mr Rochester, I'll play the piano if you sing.' 'Your wish is my command!'1 said Mr Rochester. As Miss Ingram started to play, I moved quietly to the door, hoping to get away unnoticed, but when I heard my master's voice, I stayed and listened to the song. His voice was deep, powerful and full of feeling. As soon as he had finished singing, I left the room and went to the stairs, but then I heard the drawing room door open, and I heard Mr Rochester's voice behind me. 'Are you all right, Jane?' he said. 'Yes, sir.' 'You look pale. Are you ill?' He looked at me for a minute. 'Are those tears in your eyes?' he said at last. 'You must be very tired. Go to your room now and rest. Goodnight, my —' He stopped abruptly and went back into the drawing room. 1. Your wish is my command : (idiom) I'll do anything you want me to do. 50 The text and beyond Q Comprehension check Who said what and why? Match the quotes with the character who said them and then match the quotes with the reason why they said them. Some characters may say more than one quote. Who Jane (]) Mr Rochester (R) Blanche Ingram (B) Adeie (A) What 1 'Bonjour, Mesdames!' 2 'Who's there?' 3 'Let's sing!' 4 'That's expensive too.' 5 'Wake up!' 6 'I'll say I fell asleep and left a candle burning by the bed.' 7 'You can't leave me like that, Jane.' 8 'A week!' 9 'Will any ladies be there?' 10 'Look at you!' 11 'Schools are so expensive.' 12 'Yes, sir.' 13 'You must be very tired.' Why A She is reminding herself of how unimportant she is. B She is jealous. C He is worried about Jane. D He wants the chance to thank Jane for saving his life. E She wants to hide her love for Mr Rochester. F She has noticed something strange in her friend's explanation. G She wants to save Mr Rochester's life. H He is trying to hide the real reasons for his actions. I An unusual noise has woken her up. J She is upset because she can't see the man she loves. K He is saying that he wants to protect Grace Poole. L She wants to please Mr Rochester. M She wishes to change the subject. 51 Q Speaking: the world of work In Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte gives us an accurate description of the tough life of a governess. But as we saw a young educated woman whose father was a gentleman had few choices. When Charlotte wrote to the poet Robert Southey (1774-1843) for some advice about her writing, Southey wrote her that 'literature cannot be the business of a woman's life.' However, there were women novelists at that time. There were hardly any jobs available for educated women. A Look at the pictures of the jobs below. What are their names? Which ones are commonly performed by women today? Which ones are considered typically female professions? Which ones were open to women during Charlotte Bronte's life? To find out which professions were open to women then, go to page 159. B Make a short presentation about the jobs women do in your country. Use these questions to help you. 1 Are men and women paid the same amount? 2 Do women and men both need jobs as much? 3 Are there still jobs that women cannot do? 4 Are there any professions where women outnumber men? 5 Is the work situation for women much different now than it was 20 or 50 years ago? Q Crossword Complete the crossword puzzle. Across 4 Someone who does not follow orders. 5 Argued or disagreed with. 9 Trembling from the cold. 10 Take pleasure in, like. 11 A child whose parents are both dead. Down 1 Someone who plays the piano, guitar, violin, etc. 2 Impolite. 3 Did not pay attention to. 6 Opposite of'cheap'. 7 Silly and not too intelligent. 8 Another time. □ □ □ □ □ □ »□□□□□□□□□□ □ * □ □ □ □ □□□□□□□□□ .oDd-JUS □ □ »□□□□□□ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ 52 53 ACTIVITIES FCE Before you read Q Prediction Look at the picture on page 57. It shows the arrival of a stranger at Thornfield Hall. Shortly after Mr Rochester says to Jane, 'What would you do if all my friends staying with me now turned against me?' Why do you think he says this? Who is the stranger? Discuss these questions with your partner, then report your ideas to the class. Q Listening Listen to the beginning of Part Five. You will hear what Jane thinks about Mr Rochester's plans to marry, and about the arrival of a stranger. For questions 1-10, complete the sentences. 1 Jane felt that she was............................to Miss Ingram. 2 Mr Rochester planned to marry Miss Ingram, even though he knew she had............................. 3 Mr Rochester was going to marry Miss Ingram because she came from the same............................. 4 Mr Rochester reacted coldly when Miss Ingram............................. 5 The stranger arrived when Mr Rochester was............................. 6 The stranger had come from............................to talk with Mr Rochester. 7 The stranger had a............................when he talked. 8 While the stranger waited for Mr Rochester, the other gentlemen 9 The stranger and Mr Rochester had met............................a long time ago. 10 Mr Rochester had never told Jane about his journey to 54 PART FIVE The Stranger Reader, perhaps you think I was jealous of Miss Ingram and perhaps you think that it was foolish for an insignificant governess to be jealous of a fine lady. I wasn't jealous of her: she was too inferior to make me jealous. She was beautiful, she sang well and she had fine clothes, but her mind was inferior, her heart was empty, she was not good, kind, intelligent or original. I saw that Mr Rochester saw her faults but that he intended to marry her anyway. He didn't love her, but he would marry her because she was from his social class. This caused me terrible pain. At first I was surprised that he intended to marry her. I'd thought that his character was too noble to be influenced by such common motives in his choice of a wife. But w*fien I considered their social position and their education, 1 no longer blamed either my master or Miss Ingram. They were only acting according to the principles of their class. I forgave his intention to marry her as I forgave all his other faults. I saw her flirting with him, and I saw his cold response. I saw how much she tried to win him and how completely she failed. I knew how to win his heart, not with flirtation and brilliant artificial smiles but by simply sitting near him, feeling his pleasures and his pains. 55 PART FIVE_ One day my master went away on business. That evening, a stranger arrived at the house. I was in the drawing room, sitting as usual in a dark corner while Adele chatted with the ladies. The servant showed the stranger into the drawing room. 'I've come to see Mr Rochester,' he said. 'He isn't here,' said Miss Ingram. 'He went to town on business.' 'Do you mind if i wait for him here?' asked the stranger. 'I've travelled a long way to see him.' He spoke with a strange accent. At first he seemed a handsome man, but then I noticed that his expression was vacant: there was no intelligence in his eyes. He sat in the armchair by the fire and some of the gentlemen began to ask him questions. The stranger told them that his name was Mason and that Mr Rochester and he were old friends. He said they had met in Jamaica years ago, and that he had just arrived in England from Jamaica. Ail this surprised me. I couldn't imagine two men more different than this bland, elegant stranger and my master, so it seemed unlikely that they would be friends. And, although I knew that Mr Rochester had been a traveller, I had never heard that he had travelled so far from home. I took Adéle up to her bed. As I returned downstairs to say pi goodnight to the guests, Mr Rochester arrived. 'Hello, Jane,' he said, taking off his coat. 'Is everything all right?' 'Yes, sir,' I replied. 'A gentleman has come to see you. He's in the drawing room now. Mr Mason, from Jamaica.' Mr Rochester took my hand in both of his. His dark face looked pale and ill. 'Mason! From Jamaica!' he cried. 'Do you feel ill, sir?' I asked. 'This is terrible, Jane!' 'Oh, sir, lean on my shoulder.' 56 PART FIVE The Stranger 'Thank you, my little friend!' I helped him to a chair in the library. 'Go and get me a glass of wine, Jane, and tell me what Mr Mason is doing.' 'I went into the drawing room quietly and poured a glass of wine. The guests were all talking and laughing. [ took the wine to Mr Rochester and told him what was happening in the drawing room. He looked thoughtful. 'Jane, what would you do if all those people turned against me?' '[ would make them leave the house, sir, if 1 could!' 1 replied. 'If they all thought 1 was a bad man, would you leave me?' 'No, sir! I would stay to comfort you!' 'And if they said that it was wrong of you to comfort me, what would you do?' 'I wouldn't care what they said, sir!' 'But, Jane, if I asked you to do something you thought was wrong, you wouldn't do it, would you?' 'No, sir. I couldn't deliberately do something wrong.' 'Thank you, Jane. Now, go back into the drawing room and bring Mr Mason him here to me, then leave us.' 1 did what he asked, then I went up to bed. In the middle of the night, I was woken by a scream! I sat up in my bed, cold with fear. The scream had come from the third floor. I heard the sounds of a struggle then I heard a voice cry, 'Help!' I got dressed quickly and went out into the corridor. The guests were all there asking one another questions: 'What is it?' 'What happened?' 'Is there a fire?' 'Where's Rochester?' 'I'm here!' replied my master, coming down the stairs with a candle in his hand. 'One of the servants had a bad dream and woke up screaming. Now, go back to bed, all of you.' I returned to my room and sat by the window. After a few minutes, I heard a knock on my door. 'Jane, are you still awake?' asked my master. I opened the door. 'I want you to come with me to the third floor,' he said. As I followed him up the stairs, he said, 'Do you faint at the sight of blood?' 'I don't think so,' I replied. We came to a room with tapestries 1 on the walls. One of the tapestries was raised, and behind it was an open door. 'Wait here, Jane,' said Mr Rochester. He went in the room, and, as he shut the door behind him, I heard sounds like the growling of a mad dog and then the demonic laugh I had heard the night of the fire! 'Grace Pooie is in there!' I thought. After a moment, Mr Rochester opened the door and let me in. The tapestry was now down, concealing the door 1 had seen. In the middle of the room was a large bed. Mr Mason sat on the bed with his head down and his eyes closed. The sleeve of his shirt was soaked in blood. Mr Rochester took a sponge and a bowl of water frC£n the table, opened Mr Mason's shirt and started to clean his wound. 'Jane, I'm going to get a doctor. When I'm gone, I want you to stay here. Clean his wound if necessary but don't speak to him. I'll be back in two hours.' 'Yes, sir,' I said. 'Remember! No conversation!' cried Mr Rochester, and he left us. 1. tapestries : ornamental wall hangings, usually made of silk. 58 59 PART FIVE Alone with Mr Mason, 1 couldn't forget the paleness of my master's face as he said, 'This is terrible, Jane!' I couldn't forget how he trembled as he leaned against my shoulder. My mind was full of questions. Who was Mr Mason? Why had he come to the third floor? Who had attacked him and why? An hour passed, and he was getting worse. He was still bleeding, and ! had been cleaning his wound all this time, so that the water in the bowl was now red with blood. His lips were white, and he moaned softly. I was afraid he would die before Mr Rochester returned with the doctor. At last I heard Mr Rochester's footsteps on the stairs. 'How are you, Mason?' asked my master, entering the room, followed by the doctor. Mr Mason replied in a weak voice, 'I'm dying!' 'Nonsense!' said Mr Rochester. 'You'll be all right. Dr Carter will make you weli.' Dr Carter looked closely at Mr Mason's wound. 'Good God!' he cried. 'This wound was made by teeth!' 'She stabbed me with a knife,' said Mr Mason, 'but, when Rochester took the knife away from her, she bit me!' 'I told you she was dangerous,' my master said. 'Why didn't you wait till tomorrow? You were a fool to come up here on your own!' Dr Carter cleaned the wound and put bandages on it. Mr Rochester gave Mr Mason a clean shirt. 'Get dressed now, Mason,' he said. 'The carriage is waiting to take you to your ship.' The doctor and my master helped him to dress and took him downstairs. As they put him into the carriage, Mr Mason said to my master, 'Be kind to her! Take care of her!' 'I do my best,' my master replied, and he watched and waved as the carriage drove off. The text and beyond Q Comprehension check Say whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F), and then correct the false ones. T F 1 Mr Rochester enjoyed Miss Ingram's company. □ 1 1 2 Jane thought Mr Mason was a very attractive man. □ □ 3 Mr Rochester pretended not to be upset by Mr Mason's arrival. □ □ 4 Mr Rochester needed no confirmation of Jane's devotion to him. □ □ 5 Jane was even willing to do something morally wrong for Mr Rochester. □ □ 6 Mr Rochester lied to his guests about the screaming. □ □ 7 When Jane heard the strange noises on the third floor, she thought there was a dog there. □ □ 8 Jane asked Mr Mason many questions. □ □ 9 The doctor was shocked when he saw how the wound was made. □ □ 10 Mason was worried about the woman who attacked him. □ □ Q Summary Number the paragraphs in the right order to make a summary of Parts 1-5. A [ | Her first job was at a large house called Thornfield, y^ere she taught a young French girl named Adele. When she arrived there, though, the master of the house, Mr Rochester was away. B [ ] When Jane Eyre's parents died, Mr Reed, her uncle, took her in. Sadly, he too died, and Jane was left alone with her aunt and two cousins who did not like her at all. C [~J One day in January, Jane was out walking. A man on horseback went galloping by and the horse slipped and fell. Jane went to help the man, who was not at all friendly. She did, though, help him back on his horse. 60 61 D [ | One day when Mr Rochester was out, a man came to Thornfield to see him. His name was Mason and he said that he had come from Jamaica. When Mr Rochester saw him, he was shocked. The two men then talked in private. E | In the end, Helen died of tuberculosis. After six years as a student, Jane became a teacher at the school. She taught there for two years and then looked for work as a governess. F | ] That night Jane was woken by a scream. She left her room and saw Mr Rochester who told everybody to return to their rooms — one of the servants, he said, had had a bad dream. G [ | Her aunt later sent Jane to a horrible school called Lowood. Jane made friends with an older girl named Helen Burns. Helen loved one gentle teacher, Miss Temple, but she also tolerated, with no thoughts of rebellion, the cruel director and teachers. H [ | When Jane returned to her room, he came and got her. He took her up to the third floor where Mason was sitting on a bed. His arm was bleeding. Mr Rochester told Jane to care for him — but not to talk to him — while he went to get a doctor. When the doctor returned, she heard what had happened: a woman had tried to stab Mr Mason and then she had bitten him. I ] That evening she met this man again at Thornfield. He was Mr Rochester, her master. After a while, Mr Rochester began to like Jane. One night after he had drunk some wine, he told her about Adele's mother. After this they spoke many times, and Jane fell in love with him. J ] One night Jane woke up in the middle of the night and heard a strange noise. She got out of bed and saw some smoke which was coming out of Mr Rochester's room. She went in and saw his bed curtains were on fire. She threw water on them. When he woke up and understood what had happened, he told her that it was the servant Grace Poole who had started the fire. K [ | The next day Mr Rochester left Thornfield to visit Lord Ingram and other friends. A week later, he returned with these friends, including Blanche Ingram. Jane became very jealous of her (even though Jane denied it) because Mr Rochester was going to marry her. Q Sentence transformation For questions 1-9, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given. There is an example at the beginning (0). 0 Her heart was empty, was There .was..nothing.in..her........heart. 1 'I've come to see Mr Rochester,' he said, he He said that...........................................Mr Rochester. 2 She bit me. by I...........................................her. 3 Mr Mason said to my master, 'Take care of her!' to Mr Mason...........................................care of her. 4 One night I was woken up by a strange sound, me One night...........................................up. 5 The next morning I longed to see Mr Rochester, not The next morning I...........................................Mr Rochester. 6 After that 1 felt calmer, not After that...........................................upset. 7 I sat in a dark corner, hoping to go unnoticed, notice I sat in a dark corner and hoped...........................................me. 8 When the ladies spoke to Mr Rochester, they seemed unaffected by his presence. not When the ladies spoke to Mr Rochester he........................................... them. 9 He intended to marry her. was He...........................................her. 62 63