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I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.

Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, 1847

Literature

The story behind the card

Jane says these words to herself in chapter 27 of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre (1847). Her wedding to Mr Rochester has just been stopped in church: he already has a wife, Bertha, hidden at Thornfield Hall. Rochester begs Jane to go abroad and live with him as his wife in all but law. She loves him, and an inner voice asks who would be hurt if she agreed. This is her answer. She leaves Thornfield before dawn with almost nothing and nearly starves before strangers take her in.

Türkçe oku
Ben kendimi önemsiyorum. Ne kadar yalnız, ne kadar kimsesiz, ne kadar desteksiz kalırsam, kendime o kadar saygı duyacağım.
Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, 1847

Jane bu sözleri, Charlotte Brontë'nin Jane Eyre (1847) romanının 27. bölümünde içinden geçirir. Bay Rochester'la nikâhı kilisede yarıda kesilmiştir, çünkü Rochester zaten evlidir: Karısı Bertha'yı Thornfield Konağı'nda saklamaktadır. Rochester, Jane'e kendisiyle yurt dışına gitmesi ve nikâhsız da olsa karısı gibi yaşaması için yalvarır. Jane onu sever; içinden bir ses, kabul etse kimin zarar göreceğini sorar. Bu sözler o sese verdiği cevaptır. Jane şafak sökmeden, yanına neredeyse hiçbir şey almadan Thornfield'den ayrılır ve yabancılar onu evlerine alana dek açlıktan ölmenin eşiğine gelir.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Charlotte Brontë
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