Guestbook

Site Map

Dramatic Interp
Dramatic Reading
from chapter 26 of Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Bronte`

The cutting begins as Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester enter the chapel to be married. The simple service begins, and the clergyman comes to the part in the service where he is required to ask ". . . that if either of you know any impediment why ye may not lawfully be joined together in matrimony, ye do now confess it." Pausing, as is custom, they hear a voice objecting to the union. The man has papers and a witness proving that Jane's dear Mr. Rochester was married 15 years ago, and that his wife is still alive. The poor man denies the accusations, and then finally admits it to be true. He commands them all to go to his home at once and see his wife. In an eerie scene, they all see the woman, kept in a far part of the mansion and guarded by a paid care giver, for it is clear that the poor woman is completely insane. She lunges at Mr. Rochester, and tries to bite him and choke him. Once she is restrained, Mr. Rochester pleads for them to understand that his beloved Jane had no idea of his wife's existence, for he had desired to marry her so much. Stunned, they all leave, and Jane proceeds to her room, where she mechanically takes off her wedding dress, and puts on her plain, every-day dress. A very dramatic and pitiful cutting from this classic tale. Excellent!

approx. 7-8 min.