Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre

There were two other people inside the church — two men. They were sitting in a dark corner. I could not see them very well.

The clergyman started to speak. At every marriage, the clergyman asks an important question. He asks the people in the church, 'Is there a problem about this marriage?'

The clergyman spoke loudly. He asked this question and he waited. There was silence for a moment. And then one of the men in the dark corner stood up. He spoke loudly.

'There is a problem. These two people must not be married!' he said.

'There is not a problem!' Mr Rochester said to the clergyman. 'Please go on with the marriage.'

'No, I cannot go on with the marriage,' the clergyman replied. He spoke to the man in the corner.

'What is the problem, sir?' he asked.

Mr Rochester turned and looked at the man. 'Who are you? What do you know about me?' he asked angrily.

'My name is Briggs, sir. I am a lawyer,' the man replied. 'I know many things about you. Fifteen years ago, you were married in the West Indies. Your wife's name is Bertha Mason. She is alive. She lives at Thornfield Hall.'

'How do you know that?' Mr Rochester shouted.

The other man in the dark corner stood up. He walked towards us. It was Richard Mason.

'Bertha Mason is my sister,' he said. 'I saw her at Thornfield Hall in April'

Mr Rochester's face was pale. For a minute he was silent. Then he spoke quietly.

'It is true,' he said. 'My wife is living at Thornfield Hall. She is mad. Come to the house — all of you! Come and see Mrs Rochester! Come and see the madwoman!'

We all left the church. Nobody spoke.

At Thornfield, Mrs Fairfax and Adele were waiting for us. They were smiling happily.

'Nobody will be happy today!' Mr Rochester said. 'We are not married!'

Briggs, Mr Mason, the clergyman and I followed Mr Rochester. We followed him up the stairs. He took us to the top corridor. He unlocked a door and we went into a small room. I had seen this room before!

We walked through the room to another door. Mr Rochester unlocked this door and we saw a larger room.

Grace Poole was sitting in the room. But another woman was there too. She was tall and heavy. Her dark hair was in front of her face. The woman turned and looked at us. I knew that terrible, mad face. I had seen it in my bedroom, two nights before.

The madwoman saw Mr Rochester. She screamed and she ran towards him.

'Be careful, sir!' Grace Poole said.

The madwoman was very strong. She screamed and she hit Mr Rochester. But Mr Rochester held her arms.

'This woman is my wife!' Mr Rochester said angrily. 'I wanted to forget about her. I wanted to marry this young girl, Jane Eyre. Was I wrong?'

He was silent for a few moments. Then he spoke quietly.

'Yes. I was wrong,' he said. 'I love Jane Eyre. But I was wrong. Now, go, all of you. I must take care of my mad wife!'

****

I went slowly downstairs. Mr Briggs, the lawyer, spoke to me.

'I am sorry for you, Miss Eyre,' he said. 'You did nothing wrong. Your uncle, John Eyre, is sorry for you too. He read your letter. And then he met Richard Mason in Madeira. Your uncle is dying, Miss Eyre. He could not come to England. He sent me here. He wanted me to stop this marriage.'

I did not answer. I went to my room and I locked the door. I took off my wedding dress. I put on a plain black dress. I lay down on my bed.

'I am Jane Eyre today,' I thought. 'I will be Jane Eyre tomorrow. I will never be Jane Rochester. I must leave Thornfield Hall. I must never see Mr Rochester again. My life here is finished.'

Many hours later, I got off the bed. I unlocked my door. Mr Rochester was waiting outside my room.

'You are unhappy, Jane,' he said. 'I am very, very sorry. Jane, we will leave Thornfield. We will go to another country. We will be happy again.'

'I cannot be your wife. I cannot live with you,' I said. 'I must leave you, Edward.'

'Listen, Jane,' Mr Rochester said. 'My father wanted me to marry Bertha Mason. Her family was very rich. I married her. My father was happy. But I was not happy. Bertha was mad, and she was a bad woman. Nobody told me about her. She was married to me, but she met other men. She was drunk every day. She tried to kill me many times.'

'After four years, I brought Bertha here to Thornfield Hall,' Mr Rochester said. 'Then I went away. Grace Poole took care of Bertha. I met other women. One of them was a French singer. She was Adele's mother. Adele is my daughter, Jane. But I did not love the French singer. I did not love anybody. I came home to Thornfield Hall. Then you came here and I loved you. I will always love you. Please stay with me, Jane.'

'No, Edward,' I said. 'I am going away. We will be unhappy. But we must not be together. Goodbye, Edward.'

'Oh, Jane! Jane, my love!' Mr Rochester said. 'Don't leave me!'

I kissed Mr Rochester. 'God will help you, Edward,' I said.

Quickly, I went into my room. I put some clothes into a bag. Later, I heard Mr Rochester go into his room. Very quietly, I went downstairs. I opened the small door at the side of the house. I left Thornfield Hall and I walked to the road. It was dark.

Soon, a coach came along the road. I gave all my money to the driver of the coach. I got into the coach.

****

Many hours later, the coach stopped. It was ten o'clock in the morning.

'You must give me more money now,' the driver said.

'I have no more money,' I said.

'You have no more money? Then you must get out of the coach,' the driver said.

I got down onto the road. The coach moved away quickly. But I had left my bag in the coach.

I looked around me. I was on a cold, empty moor. I was tired and hungry. I walked and walked. I had no money. I had no food. I walked until the evening came. At last, I lay down on the ground. I fell asleep immediately.

The next morning, I woke late. I walked along the road for many miles. It started to rain. Soon my clothes were wet. I saw no one. I walked on the moor all day. In the evening, I was very tired again.

'I must sleep soon,' I thought. 'Where shall I sleep?'

Then I saw a light. I walked slowly towards it. The rain was falling heavily. But I saw a house near the road. I walked up to the house. I knocked on the door. I waited, but nobody opened the door. I stood outside the house. I was very cold and very tired. I could not move.

'I am going to die here,' I said.

Then I heard a young man's voice. The man was standing behind me.

'No, you will not die at Moor House,' the man said. Then he unlocked the door of the house.

He took me into the house. He took me into a warm sitting-room.

'Please sit down,' he said.

Two pretty young women came into the room.

'Give this poor woman some food, Diana,' the young man said. 'Give her some dry clothes, Mary.'

Then he spoke to me again.

'My name is St John Rivers,' he said. 'These are my sisters, Diana and Mary. What is your name, young woman?'