Power and Manipulation free essay sample

He broke the medieval trance that Jane was in, â€Å"The man, the human being, broke the spell at once† she was expecting a Gytrash, a mystical creature that lies in wait of lonely travellers to lead them astray, a metaphor for Mr Rochester, he may not be a gytrash but he is a mystical man that attempts to lead Jane into a world of secrecy and manipulates her feelings for him. Charlotte Bronte describes Rochester for the first time as being â€Å"middle height and considerable breadth of chest†, he has a well built figure which makes him appear strong and authoritative. Rochester plays a game with Jane on their first meeting; he does not unveil who he is when Jane indicated that she has come from Thornfield Hall, instead he quizzes her about what she knows of him ands what her position is within the house, she openly tells him that she is the governess. He then spends two minutes analysing her while he is sat and Jane is stood before him. This is a trait of power, she allows him to scrutinise her and judge her without hesitation, two minutes is a long time to be dissected by a man she has never met before. Jane has no fear of Mr Rochester, therefore continues to try and help him, however she does express that â€Å"Had he been a handsome, heroic-looking young gentleman, I should have dared to stand thus questioning him against his will†. This shows that although he is asserting power over her, she is not threatened by him nor is he flustered by him. Up to this point in the book, we have learnt that Jane has had no interaction with men, the only men she has known have been her uncle Mr Reed and Mr Brocklehurst who is the head of Lowood and he showed injustice to Jane by humiliating her when she first arrived at the school. Her meeting with Mr Rochester is her first meeting with a man who, as far as she is aware, is not an authority figure in her life but she still feels as if she needs to obey him. This is shown when he requests her to fetch his horse, â€Å"I should have been afraid to touch a horse alone, but when told to do it, I was disposed to obey† Hi final statement to Jane seems like an order that he would give to a servant â€Å"now make haste with the letter to Hay, and return as fast as you can. He wants Jane back at Thornfield quickly so he can act out the rest of his game, which is soon realised by Jane when she returns to see the same dog, Pilot and to be told that the master, Mr Rochester has returned to Thornfield with a sprained ankle after a fall. When Mr Rochester requests that Jane and Adele join him in the dining room the next evening, he seems to have done so to try and humiliate Jane further. He has requested her company but ignores her presence when she enters, furthermo re he asserts his authority by adding â€Å"What the deuce is it to me whether Miss Eyre be there or not? At this moment I am not disposed to accost her. † This statement alone is enough to make anyone feel unwanted and unwelcomed, Jane however is quite â€Å"disembarrassed†, she has experienced a similar scenario in the past with Mr Brocklehurst. When Rochester does acknowledge Jane he asks her if she expects a present from him, which of course she does not, this may be an attempt to try and tongue tie Jane, although she knows very little of gift receiving she is aware that this social situation is not warranted for a gift and expressed this, â€Å"since I am a stranger, and have done nothing to entitle me to an acknowledgment†. Jane does not give Rochester the satisfaction of degrading her by accepting a gift of a compliment of her achievement with Adele. This reaction causes Rochester to continue his tea in silence. The game continues; Mr Rochester wants the upper hand back, he quizzes Jane on her situation and her past, she freely gives him the information he requires even though the information is personal and he plays on the misfortunes of Jane’s previous life. He also accuses her of bewitching his orse, he recognized that Jane was day dreaming of another world when they met. He is quick to respond to Mrs Fairfax’s appreciation of Jane’s presence, â€Å"Don’t trouble yourself to give her a character†, â€Å"eulogiums will not bias me; I shall judge for myself. She began by felling my horse. † Mr Rochester continues to manipulate the conversation to his advantage, he wants to know all about Jane and in a small conversation he learns she is an orphan with no other family, she was shunned by her Aunt Reed and since has lived a life of an nun. He also requests that she proves her accomplishments, when she states that she can a little piano he orders her to play, although he does recognize that he is ordering her about, but states that he cannot treat her differently from the other â€Å"inmates† of Thornhill. He continued to question her abilities when he views her sketches, presuming that she is not capable of such work on her own. He keeps her in conversation for some time but very quickly turns it round on her when he recognizes that Jane has allowed Adele to stay up later than usual, â€Å"what are you about, Miss Eyre, to let Adele sit up so long? Take her to bed. † The two above meetings show that Mr Rochester will use his position of the house to assert his power over Jane, she has clearly caught his attention but he will not show it as he is unsure what it is about her that seems appealing. He suggests at one point that he wants to speak to her on a more equal footing but he cannot be seen as treating her differently to other staff in his household. They both see each other as a mystical creature, Jane saw him originally as a Gytrash, whereas he believes Jane bewitched his horse. When Rochester asks Jane if she finds him handsome, she initially rejects his ego by simply answering â€Å"No, sir†, a response that Mr Rochester does not take lightly. Later in the conversation he repays the insult that she too quickly passed him â€Å"and though you are not pretty any more than I am handsome† It almost seems that he wants to control the conversation and the situation where Jane is involved but her conversational skills for her position are quisitive to Rochester. He starts to enjoy and request the company of Jane to pass the evening time. Within these conversations Jane tries not to be submissive to Rochester. She respects his authority but does not yield to it too quickly, she challenges him, this is supported by her thoughts â€Å"If he expects me to talk for the mere sake of talking and showing off, he will find he has addressed himself to the wrong person,†. This for a short time gives Jane a little of the control that they have been battling over since they first met, he goes on to try and apologise in his own way to Jane for being â€Å"superiority†. They go on to have a conversation regarding Mr Rochester being masterful over Jane, this seems awkward as not many household masters would address their governess in this way, she denies him he right to command based on his age and travels but on the experiences that he has drawn from his travels and what he has learnt that Jane could never. It is in this chapter that the relationship seems to adjust, he asks Jane to receive his orders and demands occasionally without being hurt or offended by his tone. Again this is unusual for the situation they are in, Mr Rochester now appears to be putting Jane on an equal footing with the exception of keeping up appearances when other â€Å"inmates† are present. In Chapter 15, Rochester opens up to Jane by explaining how he came about having Adele as his ward. He explains that Adele’s mother, Celine Varens was once his mistress, who he was extremely fond of. He was flattered by her interest in him, â€Å"ugly as he was†, in appreciation of this Rochester showed his affection by showing her in gifts. Celine betrayed him by loving his rival, an instant end to their relationship. He later learnt that Celine had a child, of which he was the alleged father, a claim he has never stood by. Nevertheless, when Celine abandoned her daughter, Rochester took the responsibility of Adele and brought her to England as his ward. There are many ways to dissect the reason to why Rochester decided to share this information with Jane, one theory perhaps is to manipulate her feelings for him. So far in the story he has been a strong and powerful character, yet with this information you see a softer side to Rochester. He may also realise that Jane and Adele have similarities between them and plays on the act that Jane will see him as a saviour to Adele, to whom she has come to care for, he has prevented Adele from living the same life Jane has. The secrecy in their growing relationship grows when Mr Rochester’s bed is set alight. Jane goes to his rescue by waking him before the flames engulf him. This is the first scene where Jane doesn’t really understand what is going on around her, she can see no logical reason to why someone would want to hurt Rochester, her only presumption is that Grace Poole is responsible, Grace is only person in Thornfield that Jane is weary of, she is unsure of her position within the house. Rochester confirms her suspicions, although to the reader it is apparent that the suspensions are unwarranted. Jane later finds it strange that Rochester does not address the matter with Grace Poole. Also in this chapter, you see the first real signs of affection from Rochester towards Jane, as a reader we have already learnt that Jane’s feelings for Rochester have developed. In the same scene, when Rochester returns, he is surprised when Jane tries to take her exit, he appears hurt that she wants to leave him at this time. The shake hands and they experience a moment where neither one lets go and tensions are rising. This is Rochester’s and Jane’s confirmation that their relationship could develop. Once again a game is introduced, Rochester leaves the next morning, leaving Jane feeling confused and seeking his attention once more. When he returns with Blanche Ingram, his sole intention is to see Jane’s reaction towards her, although this is not apparent to the reader at first. Blanche Ingram is everything that Jane is not, she is described as being â€Å"as brilliant as her jewels†, tall, elegant and worthy. With this move Rochester shatters Jane causing her to suppress her feelings for him. When Jane keeps to her station and does not address Rochester during an evening reception he wants an explanation to why, the whole situation is to manipulate Jane, she is close to tears, Rochester knows why but insists on bringing the subject up anyway. He goes on to request Jane to attend each evening reception. From the readers view, this is a man that is purposely torturing Jane. He wants full control and to achieve his control he firstly has to break Jane down so she an be grateful when he does show her attention. However on the flip side, Rochester very nearly slips up when saying goodnight to Jane, â€Å"Good-night my-† this seems sincere enough, however it may be another manipulation tool that he uses against Jane. Overall, the relationship between Rochester and Jane is in constant motion. From the offset they are playing with each other, Jane continuously defies Rochester by refusing to be submissive to him and challenges him in conversation which is what sparks his initial attraction to Jane. Rochester does manipulate Jane in many ways. He is much older than she is, he is well travelled and has more experience in life than Jane could dream of. He uses the fact that Jane is young, naive and lead a sheltered life to his advantage. Jane has never experienced any sort of relationship with a man before, although she has a strong character she is not accustomed to dealing with feelings of the heart. I cannot say that i agree or disagree with the opening statement. I do believe that manipulation, power and secrecy are the foundation of their relationship but from both parties. Jane continuously fights for the control and keeps her own secrets from Rochester, especially regarding her feelings for him. I also believe that Jane does do well to escape Rochester in the end, so she can grow as a person but I disagree that love was not involved. I believe Rochester did fall in love with Jane but due to his past experience with Celine, he had to confirm that Jane’s feelings were true and honorable.