Jane Eyre — CHAPTER XXV

As Jane finalizes her preparations to become “Mrs. Rochester,” she hesitates to label her trunks with the new name and seeks the windy orchard to calm anxious forebodings. She reflects on the riven chestnut tree and readies the library for Mr. Rochester’s late return, then goes to the gate to meet him amid rising storm and fear.

Mr. Rochester arrives and teases Jane’s anxiety, then notices her feverish restlessness. After supper, he confirms plans to marry in the morning and depart Thornfield soon after. Jane, unable to shake dread, promises to keep watch with him, and he urges her to confide the source of her unease.

Jane recounts two disturbing dreams: first, struggling through darkness with a frail child while Mr. Rochester recedes; second, wandering a ruined Thornfield and nearly falling as she clings to the child. She then describes a waking incident: a tall, savage-looking woman entered her room, tried on Jane’s wedding veil before a mirror, rent it in two, and glared at Jane before extinguishing the candle, causing Jane to faint.

Pressed for an explanation, Mr. Rochester dismisses the figure as a nightmare blended with reality and claims the intruder must have been Grace Poole, whose malice could explain the torn veil. He refuses to say more until after a year of marriage. Jane remains unconvinced but outwardly accepts his account, relieved that she herself was unharmed.

Insisting on precautions, Mr. Rochester directs Jane to sleep in the nursery with Adèle and to fasten the door. Jane keeps watch through the night without sleep, holding Adèle and weeping quietly at dawn, poised between her innocent past and the unknown future as the wedding morning arrives.