Jane Eyre: Chapter 29

The color-coded bars in this section make it easy to track the themes throughout the work. Each color corresponds to one of the themes explained in the Themes section of this LitChart. For instance, indicates that all six themes apply to that part of the summary.

Summary Analysis Themes

Jane is semi-conscious for three days. On waking on the fourth day, she finds her clothes cleaned and gets a hot meal. She criticizes Hannah for turning her away the night before. Hannah apologizes, then tells Jane about the Rivers family. Their father lost his fortune in a business deal and died just three weeks ago. Mary and Diana are still in school and afterwards will look for governess jobs. St. John is a poor parson.

There’s a Christian allegory in Jane rising again after three days, just as Christ did after the crucifixion. And just as Christ was in a sense reborn, Jane is metaphorically born into a new family. The family also seems to be of her class, with two sisters in school and a parson who, like her father, works with the poor.

Later, Jane gives the Rivers a brief personal history, but refuses to reveal her real name or any details about her former employer. She claims to have no ties and no connections in England, and asks for help looking for work of any kind. St. John is firm but charitable, and promises to help. Mary and Diana, much warmer personalities than their brother, assure Jane that she can stay with them.

Like Rochester, Jane disguises her own identity and hides her past, as if she could make a new start. She wants to be self-supporting and free of her previous life, but this is an illusion. St. John, like Rochester, is a commanding male character.