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Jane Eyre: We are truly devoted, my Edward and I; our hearts beat as one; our happiness is complete.
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Mr. Brocklehurst: And what is hell? Can you tell me that?
Young Jane: A pit full of fire.
Mr. Brocklehurst: And should you like to fall into that pit, and to be burning there forever?
Young Jane: No sir.
Mr. Brocklehurst: What must you do to avoid it?
Young Jane: Keep well and and not die, sir.
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Jane Eyre: Remember, the shadows are just as important as the light.
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Young Jane: I am not deceitful! And I am not a liar. For if I were, I should say that I loved you. I do not love you. I dislike you more than anyone in the world, except your son.
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Mr. Rochester: Do you think me handsome?
Jane Eyre: No sir.
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Young Jane: My parents died when I was very young. I went to stay with my Aunt who didn't love me.
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Adele Varens: Mademoiselle, will we be very happy?
Jane Eyre: We will work hard, and we will be content.
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Mr. Rochester: Are you fond of presents?
Jane Eyre: I hardly know. I have little experience of them.
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Mr. Rochester: Jane, you're a strange and almost unearthly thing.
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Mr. Rochester: This is my wife. Your sister, Mason. Look at her. She is mad! So was her mother. So was her grandmother. Three generations of violent lunacy. I wasn't told about that, was I, Mason? All I was told about was that my father had made a suitable match, one that would prop up his dwindling fortune and give your family the Rochester name! I did what I was TOLD! And Bertha was kept away from me, until the wedding was cleverly done. Everyone got what they wanted... except me. Even she is better off here than she would be in a lunatic asylum, but I have spent the last fifteen years in TORMENT!
[looks at Jane]
Mr. Rochester: And this what I, what I wished to have. This young girl who stands so grave and quiet at the mouth of hell. Look at the difference. Then judge me, priest on the gospel and man of the law, and remember with what judgment ye judge, ye... Off with you now.
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Mr. Rochester: Sometimes I have the strangest feeling about you. Especially when you are near me as you are now. It feels as though I had a string tied here under my left rib where my heart is, tightly knotted to you in a similar fashion. And when you go to Ireland, with all that distance between us, I am afraid that this cord will be snapped, and I shall bleed inwardly.
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Mr. Rochester: I love you as my own flesh. I beg of you to marry me. Say "Edward, give me my name." Say "Edward, I will marry you."
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Jane Eyre: I received a letter this morning. If you please, sir, I want leave of absence.
Mr. Rochester: Why?
Jane Eyre: Because of an old lady who is sick.
Mr. Rochester: What old lady?
Jane Eyre: Her name is Mrs. Reed. She is my aunt.
Mr. Rochester: I thought you said you didn't have any relatives.
Jane Eyre: None that would own me, sir. Mrs. Reed cast me off when I was a child.
Mr. Rochester: Then why must you go rushing off to see her?
Jane Eyre: She's dying. I can't ignore her dying wish.
Mr. Rochester: [pause] You won't be persuaded to stay?
Jane Eyre: No, sir. I will return to Thornfield.
Mr. Rochester: So you and I must say goodbye?
Jane Eyre: Yes, sir.
Mr. Rochester: And how does one perform that ceremony? Teach me, I am not quite up to it.
Jane Eyre: They say "farewell," or any other form they prefer.
Mr. Rochester: Farewell, Miss Eyre. At the present. Is that all?
Jane Eyre: Yes, sir.
Mr. Rochester: Then we shake hands.
[shakes her hand]
Mr. Rochester: Remember your promise.
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Jane Eyre: [angry at Rochester] How can you be so stupid? How can you be so cruel? Just because I'm poor and plain, I'm not without feelings.
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Mr. Rochester: Just one last kiss before you leave.
Jane Eyre: I shall never leave. You will never be alone for as long as I shall live.
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Mr. Rochester: It feels as though I had a string, tied here under my left rib where my heart is, tightly knotted to you.
Jane Eyre Quotes
Extended Reading
