Essay Example on A conversation with Mrs Fairfax about Mr Rochester’s soon to be guests

In Chapter 16 of the novel Jane has a conversation with Mrs Fairfax about Mr Rochester s soon to be guests She specifically takes an interest in Blanche Ingram the most beautiful women according to Mrs Fairfax After hearing about the beauty and talent of Blanche Jane grows curious and wonders if there is anything going on between Ms Ingram and Mr Rochester Once alone she recollects the information she obtained earlier examines her thoughts and feelings and then decides she has ventured away from reality and common sense She tells herself there is no chance for her and Rochester and that she is being foolish To remind her of this and to suppress her feelings she creates two portraits one of her plain self and another of the astonishing Ms Ingram Jane s tone and diction along with sentence structure connect the passage to the emerging theme of appearance and beauty Charlotte Bronte s choice of words establishes a certain tone which exemplifies Jane s thoughts and feelings about not only herself but Blanche and Rochester as well The way the two portraits are described signifies how Jane sees herself and how she pictures Blanche They remind Jane of her plainness and Blanche s good looks while also helping her resist hoping there is a possibility of her gaining Rochester s love First off Mrs Fairfax puts Ms Ingram on a pedestal before Jane even lays eyes on her She says out of all the well dresses women at the Christmas Ball Rochester had years ago Blanche was considered the bell of the evening and certainly the queen page 158 

Mrs Fairfax informs Jane that Blanche was greatly admired not only for her looks but for her accomplishments as well Jane asks numerous questions about her including what she looks like Tall fine bust sloping shoulders long graceful neck olive complexion dark and clear noble features eyes large and black as brilliant as her jewels such a fine head of hair raven black and so becomingly arranged the glossiest curls I ever saw page 159 Mrs Fairfax provides a vivid depiction of Blanche and even goes on to describe the amber scarf and pure white dress she wore that night Such an image and choice of words strongly creates an image of Ingram s appearance and why she is so admirable The way Bronte sets up this description really provides the audience and Jane with an idea of this pleasing appearance Jane then uses these details to design her own ideal of Blanche based strictly on what Mrs Fairfax provided The two pieces mirror one another showing the differences of appearance and even class for these women Jane claimed to be a lady but that is nothing compared to the status of Blanche being that she is the daughter of a nobleman Moreover this means Blanche is a possible match for Rochester since they are from similar classes All of these aspects make Blanche appear majestic and absolute making Jane feel more like a plain Jane than she already did Jane paints her own self portrait in an hour two hour tops only using crayons 

She tells herself listen Jane Eyre draw in chalk your own picture faithfully without softening one defect omit no harsh line smooth away no displeasing irregularity write under it Portrait of a Governess disconnected poor and plain page 161 The way this sentence is structured shows how rapidly she s thinking considering the fact that there are only one sentence and several commas colons and semicolons Additionally she goes on to make Blanche s piece with a smooth piece of ivory her drawing box a pallet of fresh tints and the most delicate pencils spending almost a fortnight 2 weeks on it Jane gives her the most beautiful face she can think of with sweet shades and hues and recalls the precise details of Mrs Fairfax s description Right after all of this occurs and the party arrive Jane observes the guests particularly Blanche and how Rochester interacts with them This is when she declares that she loves him and she can t help it the way she says it and the words she uses leaves a powerful effect on the audience She takes on an innocent and helpless tone when admitting to this Her eyes were involuntarily drawn to his face and she comments beauty is in the eye of the gazer Jane describes her Master s olive face eyes mouth and brow and how they were not beautiful according to rule but they were beautiful to me They were full of interest that took my feelings from my own power and fettered them in his I had not intended to love him page 175 Despite not falling under the obvious definition of beautiful Jane found Rochester s character attractive This takes a different perspective because beauty is appreciated of someone who is not strikingly beautiful The reader truly connects this passage to the theme with the help of tone sentence structure and the author s diction