Success in Equal Companionship: A "Jane Eyre" Discussion

The ending has caused much consternation over the years amongst critics and readers; in your estimation, is Jane’s return to Rochester a success or a failure

The ending of Jane Eyre is an absolute success in my estimation. The only contention for the match was that of Mr. Rochester’s marriage, which after the house fire, was dissolved. In a technical capacity, their match could have been deemed unsuitable due to Jane’s standing, but even that is rectified by her heir-hood being realized. In Jane and Mr. Rochester’s time apart, they had some lessons to learn.

For Jane’s part, she had to learn a great deal of self-sufficiency and independence, and I think it’s important she learned what it is she wanted. By having the space and by enduring the advances of Sinjin, she could truly understand what it was that she had with Mr. Rochester. Had the initial attempt of the marriage gone through, she might not have truly appreciated what she had and taken it for granted. However, after her encounter with her cousin, Sinjin, she learned that what she cares about is true affection, understanding, and mental rapport. She could never have had that with Sinjin, so she made the right call in quashing that relationship. In addition, she learned she had family, something she’d been yearning for the entire novel. She was able to heal some wounds and trauma in her time with family, and I think filling that hole was a necessary step before going into the relationship with Mr. Rochester. Not that her financial situation was problematic to Mr. Rochester, but that is also rectified with her learning her heritage.

For Mr. Rochester’s part, he had to reconcile himself again with God, and there was also that pesky problem with his mad wife. Jane and Mr. Rochester were not at an equal level when the first attempt at marriage was made, and it wasn’t balanced. They were kin in the mind, but the playing field was not level so to speak – not in economic, political, or social terms. When Mr. Rochester loses his sight from the fire, he breaks off his connections that don’t serve him, and you see the superficiality of the company he’d been keeping. He had to choose what mattered.

In a sense, I can see how the situation can seem like a fail: Jane becomes her lover’s nurse, and she has to take care of him for the rest of her life. However, they have not lost what matters; they care about the mental connection far more than any other aspect. They feel understood in each other’s presence, and sight or no, the companionship they gain far outweighs the acts of service. It’s far more balanced in economic, political, and social terms, and now Jane truly feels like an equal counterpart to him. They balance each other out.