t. On the day of the wedding when Jane and Rochester are on the altar, Mr. Mason enters the church claiming that Mr. Rochester is married. He admits to this accusation and brings Jane up to the attic to show her his wife, who is insane and has been kept in the attic for years. Upon this discovery, Jane goes to her room and stays there for hours reflecting on what had happened. When she comes out, Mr. Rochester begs for her forgiveness and pleads with her to stay with him. Jane refuses him not because she no longer loves him or that she hates him for what he’s done, but it goes against the morals that she believes in and she gives him this explanation:I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself. I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man. I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mad-as I am now. Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: They are for such moments as this when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigour; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth? They have a worth-so I have always believed; and if I cannot believe it now, it is because I am insane-quite insane: with my veins running fire, and my heart beating faster than I can count its throbs. Preconceived opinions, foregone determinations, are all I have at this hour to stand by: there I plant my foot (p. 319).Jane does not let her feelings for Rochester clouds her judgment. She knows that staying with him though she loves him and would be supported in life is wrong in the eyes of God and would go against her beliefs. So without any money, job, or anywhere to stay and not a friend to turn to, Jane leaves Thornfield.After leaving Thornfield, Jane ran out of money and had to wander the streets. She had to resort to knocking on ...
