Inspired by the Marvel series on Disney+, I’m starting a blog series of "What If” - that explores alternate timelines within the world of Jane Eyre. Throughout this series, I will discuss the possibilities of how different scenarios might have unfolded by grounding my assumptions in the characters’ original motivations as written by Charlotte Brontë, while occasionally allowing for a bit of personal wish fulfillment in my speculation.

The fourth scenario is:

What if… Mr. Rochester and Celine stayed together?

He then said that she was the daughter of a French opera-dancer, Céline Varens, towards whom he had once cherished what he called a “grande passion.” This passion Céline had professed to return with even superior ardour. He thought himself her idol, ugly as he was: he believed, as he said, that she preferred his “taille d’athlète” to the elegance of the Apollo Belvidere.

Spoiler alert: I don’t think the original story of Jane Eyre would have changed drastically. Mr. Rochester was enamored with Céline, but I’m sure things would have ended eventually.

First to establish why Céline might have been with Rochester for awhile longer, I want to compare Céline to the next two mistresses Mr. Rochester had:

“She had two successors: an Italian, Giacinta, and a German, Clara; both considered singularly handsome. What was their beauty to me in a few weeks? Giacinta was unprincipled and violent: I tired of her in three months. Clara was honest and quiet; but heavy, mindless, and unimpressible: not one whit to my taste.”

Both had personalities that Mr. Rochester did not find appealing - Giacinta unprincipled and violent, and Clara, I guess, boring? While Céline may have been unprincipled, I feel like she would have been very careful to continue sweet-talking Mr. Rochester. And her personality was probably lively and vivacious enough that she would have held Rochester’s attention for awhile.

So if that is the case, Rochester might not have carried on with two more mistresses, and stayed with Céline for the diversion, and when it came time, he might have actually believed that Adele was his child. I don’t think Céline would have changed - she would have had other dalliances because she had no real feelings for Mr. Rochester, so perhaps eventually she would find someone even richer to pursue, and leave Rochester. Or Mr. Rochester would eventually tire of being with a woman he could not make his wife.

But the idea that Rochester might think of Adele as his own child is intriguing, because I think he would have tried to be more of a father figure to her. As it is, Rochester has a fondness for Adele (because of Jane’s attentive care of her, and the fact that he buys her gifts), but I believe Rochester would have been more involved because he would see her as his legacy. It makes me a little sad for Adele though, because she missed out a little bit on truly feeling loved by Mr. Rochester - at least before Jane. But I also think it would have done some good for Rochester to care for a child and want to have her raised right.

What are your thoughts on the long-term effects of Mr. Rochester and Céline staying together?

Inspired by the Marvel series on Disney+, I’m starting a blog series of “What If” - that explores alternate timelines within the world of Jane Eyre. Throughout this series, I will discuss the possibilities of how different scenarios might have unfolded by grounding my assumptions in the characters’ original motivations as written by Charlotte Brontë, while occasionally allowing for a bit of personal wish fulfillment in my speculation.

The third scenario is:

What if… Jane had received Uncle John’s letter?

“MADAM,—
“Will you have the goodness to send me the address of my niece, Jane Eyre, and to tell me how she is? It is my intention to write shortly and desire her to come to me at Madeira. Providence has blessed my endeavours to secure a competency; and as I am unmarried and childless, I wish to adopt her during my life, and bequeath her at my death whatever I may have to leave.
I am, Madam, &c., &c.,
“JOHN EYRE, Madeira.”

Mrs. Reed received this letter from Jane’s Uncle John about three years earlier, so Jane would have possibly just been starting as a teacher at Lowood.

And following on my previous scenario of “What if Jane never left Lowood”, I think Jane does not really aspire to be a teacher, so she would have travelled to Madeira with all speed. I imagine it would have been so exciting for her to see a new country, and meet family who care about her. And she would also have known about her Rivers’ cousins sooner!

Of course, I doubt she would have met Mr. Rochester, but given that Mr. Mason knows John Eyre well enough to stay with him when he’s in the area, there is a possibility that Mr. Rochester would meet John Eyre and be introduced to his long lost niece Jane. And in that case, I still think Mr. Rochester would have been caught by Jane’s personality. A personality that might have developed more with her independence. This Jane would feel more free to speak her mind, and to make unexpected comments that would intrigue Mr. Rochester. It would be quite a different romance - especially since Mr. Mason might see the beginning of it and squash it - but I love the idea of Rochester and Jane meeting on more equal footing, and seeing how that would have played out.

Do you have any thoughts on how Jane’s story would have changed from learning about her Uncle John earlier?

Inspired by the Marvel series on Disney+, I’m starting a blog series of “What If” - that explores alternate timelines within the world of Jane Eyre. Throughout this series, I will discuss the possibilities of how different scenarios might have unfolded by grounding my assumptions in the characters’ original motivations as written by Charlotte Brontë, while occasionally allowing for a bit of personal wish fulfillment in my speculation.

This is a bonus scenario inspired by @gea-chan96 ’s comment on my last post:

What if… Jane never left Gateshead?

“If I had anywhere else to go, I should be glad to leave it; but I can never get away from Gateshead till I am a woman.”

This is very much a bonus scenario as I think Mrs. Reed would have done anything to get Jane out of the house, and sending her to school might have occurred to her at some point, if Mr. Lloyd hadn’t made the suggestion.

However, if Jane stayed, continuing to be bullied by her cousins, overlooked and trodden upon, I feel like it would have affected her mentality. She would have learned to be even smaller and meeker to avoid her Aunt’s wrath. Young Jane was like this before John Reed hit her with a book and she became fiery, but I feel like Jane’s rebellion would have been put down by Mrs. Reed eventually, and Jane would have been the worse for it.

With young Jane’s fire burned down so low that it might have been snuffed out, I think Jane would not have developed into as vivid a character as she became at Lowood. I imagine her education would have been stilted as well, so her intellect might not have been at the same level as it is because of her schooling.

It’s an interesting thought experiment though, because it comes down to nature vs. nurture - Jane’s nature is strong, bright, curious, and intellectual, but growing up in such a stifling environment might seriously damage the “excellent materials” in her. And those materials would have “hung together somewhat spoiled and tangled.”

What are your thoughts on how Jane’s personality might have changed if she was forced to stay at Gateshead?

Introducing The Eyre Arcana: A Literary Journey Through the Tarot

I am so excited to share a new project that has been a labor of love for me as both an Eyre-head and as someone who has recently been exploring thoughtful journaling and self-reflection. I reimagined the 22 Major Arcana archetypes through the characters, settings, and pivotal moments of Jane’s journey as a unique bridge between the world of tarot and Jane Eyre.

A Simplified, Narrative Approach to the Major Arcana

This deck was designed specifically with the Jane Eyre fan in mind. By viewing the traditional archetypes through a Jane Eyre lens, as a fan, this could enhance the fun and even your own subconscious views of the characters and settings of the novel.

Whether for a seasoned tarot reader or a beginner (like me!), associating these cards with familiar faces like Helen Burns, Mr. Rochester, and Mrs. Fairfax makes learning the archetypes an intuitive and engaging experience.

What’s Inside the Deck

Each deck is crafted to be a high-quality, portable companion for moments of reflection:

• 22 Premium Illustrated Cards: Sized at 2.16″ x 3.3″ and printed through Moo Cards.
• Note: This is a simplified tarot deck focusing exclusively on the Major Arcana.
• A Printed Interpretations Guide: A comprehensive breakdown of all 22 cards and their Jane Eyre counterparts. The guide includes meanings for every card in both the “upright” and “reversed” positions.

A Limited Edition Release

I created this, mostly because I wanted a portable, Eyre-themed tarot deck for my own self-reflection and entertainment. But I also wanted to share these with fellow fans as I think it helps fill the void of Jane Eyre related card games, but I only have a small quantity available. Once these are sold out, I may not carry them again.

If you would like to contemplate your connection to the novel through this tarot deck, I invite you to check out The Eyre Arcana in my Etsy shop, or watch this video on youtube: https://youtube.com/shorts/FS7g2EYpgbc

Inspired by the Marvel series on Disney+, I’m starting a blog series of “What If” - that explores alternate timelines within the world of Jane Eyre. Throughout this series, I will discuss the possibilities of how different scenarios might have unfolded by grounding my assumptions in the characters’ original motivations as written by Charlotte Brontë, while occasionally allowing for a bit of personal wish fulfillment in my speculation.

The second scenario is:

What if… Jane never left Lowood?

“Several wealthy and benevolent individuals in the county subscribed largely for the erection of a more convenient building in a better situation; new regulations were made; improvements in diet and clothing introduced; the funds of the school were intrusted to the management of a committee. Mr. Brocklehurst, who, from his wealth and family connections, could not be overlooked, still retained the post of treasurer; but he was aided in the discharge of his duties by gentlemen of rather more enlarged and sympathising minds: his office of inspector, too, was shared by those who knew how to combine reason with strictness, comfort with economy, compassion with uprightness. The school, thus improved, became in time a truly useful and noble institution.”

This scenario is a sad one to me. Because if Jane never leaves Lowood, I feel like she would grow stagnant as a teacher, and not have found life to be very happy or fulfilling. I also wonder if Jane would have had a little of Charlotte Brontë’s feelings when Charlotte was a teacher at Roe Head School. At the time, Charlotte once wrote in a diary:

The thought came over me am I to spend all the best part of my life in this wretched bondage, forcibly suppressing my rage at the idleness the apathy and the hyperbolical & most asinine stupidity of these fat headed oafs and on compulsion assuming an air of kindness, patience & assiduity? must I from day to day sit chained to this chair prisoned with in these four bare-walls, while these glorious summer suns are burning in heaven & the year is revolving in its richest glow & declaring at the close of every summer day the time I am losing will never come again?

Not really the most inspiring look at being a teacher. But I think Jane might have had a little more empathy towards her students, and wished to make their lives better, as opposed to the harsh upbringing she had. But it would have still been difficult for Jane, because she would live a stifled life, beholden to the students, and with very little independence. In my imagination, Jane would do her duty and be a good teacher, but gradually the tedium and the monotony might steal her spark, and she would give up on finding a new livelihood.

It is interesting though, that when Mr. Rochester (as the gypsy) asks Jane if she has some secret hope for her future, she says:

“Not I. The utmost I hope is, to save money enough out of my earnings to set up a school some day in a little house rented by myself.”

I feel like Jane would not be happy teaching children her whole life, but her dream is realistic for her circumstances and with her own school, she has some measurement of independence. And setting up her own school was also something that Charlotte Brontë wanted to do with her sisters.

And now you, gentle reader. How do you think Jane would have developed if she had stayed on at Lowood?