Chapters 29 and 30

Summary

It takes Jane a few days to recover and regain her strength. She is made at home in the Rivers household, and St. John soon discovers that she is an educated person. Not wishing to reveal her past, Jane calls herself ‘Jane Elliott’. 

St. John is a parson and very handsome, but he is on a mission to do God’s work and he hopes eventually to travel to India in order to be a servant of God and a Missionary. 

The Rivers are mourning the loss of their father, who died of a stroke three weeks ago.

After a while, Jane advises her benefactors that she would like to obtain employment and St. John says that he will make enquiries for her.  She soon becomes very close to the sisters, Mary and Diana.  They are both well educated, and Diana teaches German to Jane while Jane gives Mary art instruction. Soon Diana and Mary prepare to travel down south in order to return to their jobs as Governesses.

St. John plans to open a school at Morton Village for local girls, and would like Jane to be its Mistress at a rate of '30 per year.  She agrees. She will have her own furnished cottage adjacent to the school.

More sadness afflicts the Rivers family when they receive a letter that their Uncle John has died. They have been disinherited from their Uncle’s estate due to a family quarrel. There is only one other relative who stands to inherit a fortune of '20,000.

Interpretation

We are provided with clear details regarding the personalities of the Rivers household. St. John is fair-haired and handsome and receives great respect from his sisters.  He is a parson to a small parish in Morton, but is dedicated to his duties, and exercises great pastoral care over his flock. His life is intrinsically linked with God. However, we suspect that he is not obtaining full satisfaction from his work. He feels he can do more, and eventually plans to become a missionary in India.

Jane, meantime, sees hope in her future as a teacher as she considers this to be an advance on her previous role as a governess.  Normally governesses were treated like any other servant, but as a teacher she will enjoy independence.