Jane Eyre

My home, then, when I at last find a home,—is a cottage; a little room with whitewashed walls and a sanded floor, containing four painted chairs and a table, a clock, a cupboard, with two or three plates and dishes, and a set of tea-things in delf. Above, a chamber of the same dimensions as the kitchen, with a deal bedstead and chest of drawers; small, yet too large to be filled with my scanty wardrobe: though the kindness of my gentle and generous friends has increased that, by a modest stock o Jane has settled into her new life as a village schoolmistress in Morton, living in a simple cottage provided by St. John Rivers. She describes her modest accommodations and reflects on her first day teaching twenty pupils, most of whom cannot read or write. Despite the humble circumstances, Jane acknowledges that her students possess the same potential for excellence as those of higher birth. However, she struggles with feelings of degradation and desolation, admitting that she feels she has descended in social status. In a moment of profound self-reflection, Jane weighs her current situation against what might have been had she stayed with Rochester as his mistress. She imagines the luxury and passion she would have experienced in France, but ultimately reaffirms that she made the right choice in adhering to her moral principles. The chapter concludes with a visit from St. John Rivers, who brings her art supplies from his sisters and observes her emotional state. Their conversation reveals Jane's determination to make the best of her circumstances while St. John offers philosophical counsel about controlling one's inclinations and finding alternative paths when blocked by circumstance.