Jane Eyre — CHAPTER XIII

With Rochester occupied by agents and tenants, Thornfield shifts from quiet to busy. Jane moves lessons upstairs as Adèle, excited by Rochester’s promises of gifts, proves difficult to teach. At dusk, Mrs. Fairfax invites Jane and Adèle to take tea with Rochester.

In the drawing-room, Rochester remains curt and distracted, scrutinizing Adèle and Pilot while barely acknowledging Jane. He rebuffs small talk, then engages Jane abruptly, pressing her about presents, her background, and Lowood. Jane answers plainly, criticizing Brocklehurst’s harshness and economy, which prompts Rochester’s sardonic interest.

Rochester orders a piano test, dismissing Jane’s playing as merely adequate, then examines her sketches. He verifies their originality, probes her process and intentions, and calls the images peculiar and elfish, both praising their conception and noting her technical limits. His tone suggests curiosity masked by severity.

When the clock strikes nine, Rochester ends the meeting, sending Adèle to bed and dismissing the women. Later, Jane tells Mrs. Fairfax she finds Rochester changeful. Mrs. Fairfax attributes his uneven spirits to painful family troubles: an unjust scheme by his father and brother, a later break with his family, and an unsettled life since inheriting Thornfield, which he often avoids.