Quotation:
“Whitcross is no Town, nor even a hamlet; it is but a stone pillar set up where four roads meet: white-washed, I suppose, to be more obvious at a distance and in darkness. Four arms spring from its summit: the nearest town to which these point is, according to the inscription, distant ten miles; the farthest, above twenty. From the well-known names of these towns I learned in what county I have lighted; a north-midland shire, dusk with moorland, ridged with mountain: this I see. There are great moors behind and on each hand of me; there waves of mountains far beyond that deep valley at my feet. The population here must be thin, and I see no passengers on these roads: they stretch out east, west, north and south – white, broad, lonely; they are all cut in the moor, and the heather grows deep and wild to their very verge.” (414)
Comment:
Whitcross is an interesting location because it acts as a literal crossroads for Jane. On one hand, she could return the way she came and give in to the love she still has for Mr. Rochester despite the news of Bertha Mason, or she can take any of the other paths which will take her to new places where she can start over again. Whitcross seems to be a reflection of Jane: the mountains around her represent how she is closing herself off from her past and the lack of people shows how alone she is in the world. Despite these qualities, both in herself and the landscape, Jane persists, which I think may demonstrate how much she thrives on adventure, even if it was forced upon her by the unhappy circumstances at Thornfield. Even though it pained her to leave Mr. Rochester and her other friends, she determined it had to be done, and I think that fact that this was a new experience for Jane made the decision bearable.
Question:
Jane decides not to go back to Thornfield, but she left so quickly that the tension there doesn’t seem resolved. Is there going to be a resolution, and how will it fit in with the new life Jane chose for herself?
