Jane Eyre — CHAPTER XXVI

On the wedding morning, Sophie dresses Jane, and Mr. Rochester impatiently hurries her to the nearby church. Two unknown men slip inside ahead of them. The ceremony begins quietly until one stranger interrupts at the canonical pause, declaring an impediment to the marriage.

The solicitor, Mr. Briggs, states Rochester already has a living wife. He reads Richard Mason’s attested account of Rochester’s marriage to Bertha Antoinetta Mason in Jamaica fifteen years before. Mason steps forward, confirming Bertha is alive at Thornfield, which Mr. Rochester grimly acknowledges.

Resolving to reveal all, Rochester leads Jane, Mr. Wood the clergyman, Briggs, and Mason back to Thornfield. In the attic suite under Grace Poole’s watch, they confront Bertha Mason, who rages and physically attacks Rochester before he subdues and binds her. Rochester contrasts Bertha with Jane, insisting he meant to defy his bondage but is stopped.

Afterward, Briggs explains Jane’s uncle, Mr. Eyre of Madeira, learned of the engagement and, with Mason, acted to prevent the false marriage; Mr. Eyre is gravely ill. The lawyer and Mason leave; Mr. Wood departs after brief admonition. Rochester dismisses the carriage, and the house falls silent.

Alone, Jane changes from her wedding dress, reflects on the morning’s controlled revelations, and recognizes her hopes as destroyed. Her trust in Rochester broken, she feels spiritually desolate and concludes she must separate from him, though she does not yet know how or when.