Question 1

SOURCE TEXT:
Read the following extract from Chapter 38 of Jane Eyre and then answer the question that follows.

In this extract, Jane reflects on her married life with Rochester.

I have now been married ten years. I know what it is to live entirely for and with what I love best on earth. I hold myself supremely blest – blest beyond what language can express; because I am my husband's life as fully as he is mine. No woman was ever nearer to her mate than I am: ever more absolutely bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. I know no weariness of my Edward's society: he knows none of mine, any more than we each do of the pulsation of the heart that beats in our separate bosoms; consequently, we are ever together. To be together is for us to be at once as free as in solitude, as gay as in company. We talk, I believe, all day long: to talk to each other is but a more animated and an audible thinking. All my confidence is bestowed on him, all his confidence is devoted to me; we are precisely suited in character – perfect concord is the result.
Mr Rochester continued blind the first two years of our union: perhaps it was that circumstance that drew us so very near – that knit us so very close: for I was then his vision, as I am still his right hand. Literally, I was (what he often called me) the apple of his eye. He saw nature – he saw books through me; and never did I weary of gazing for his behalf, and of putting into words the effect of field, tree, town, river, cloud, sunbeam – of the landscape before us; of the weather round us and impressing by sound on his ear what light could no longer stamp on his eye. Never did I weary of reading to him; never did I weary of conducting him where he wished to go: of doing for him what he wished to be done. And there was a pleasure in my services, most full, most exquisite, even though sad – because he claimed these services without painful shame or damping humiliation. He loved me so truly, that he knew no reluctance in profiting by my attendance: he felt I loved him so fondly, that to yield that attendance was to indulge my sweetest wishes.

QUESTION:
'Jane Eyre is a novel about Jane's search for happiness.'

Starting with this extract, explore how far you agree with this view.

Write about:
• how Brontë presents Jane in this extract
• how far Brontë presents Jane's search for happiness in the novel as a whole.

Accepted Answer

1. Analyse the extract to define the nature of Jane's happiness with Rochester. Focus on the language of equality, partnership, and mutual dependence.
2. Formulate a thesis that agrees with the statement but qualifies it by explaining that Jane's search is for a specific kind of happiness that includes independence and self-respect.
3. Structure your essay chronologically, following Jane's journey. Discuss her experiences at Gateshead, Lowood, Thornfield, Moor House, and her return to Ferndean.
4. In each section, explain what Jane is searching for and what obstacles she faces.
5. Pay particular attention to the two key moments she rejects marriage proposals (from Rochester and St. John) and explain why these choices are crucial to her search for authentic happiness.
6. Conclude by affirming that the novel's ending represents the successful completion of her quest for a happiness that satisfies both her heart and her conscience.

Question 2

What mistakes do candidates make on this AQA GCSE question?

Accepted Answer

A common mistake is to see the novel as a simple romance, focusing only on the love story with Rochester. It's crucial to include Jane's struggle for independence and self-respect as integral parts of her search for happiness. Another error is to not give enough attention to the Moor House section of the novel, where Jane finds family and financial independence, which is a critical step in her journey.

How to approach this question

Full Answer

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