Jane Eyre XVII -- chapter 17: PARTY HARDY

1. After the first paragraph, Jane is clearly very much in love, but there is a problem, and a significant one, as much from her culture as for ours: "He is not of your order: keep to your caste, and be too self-respecting to lavish the love of the whole heart, soul, and strength, where such a gift is not wanted and would be despised."  Or do I overstep myself?  Are we not as susceptible to issues of caste as was those of Victorian England?
2. In the second paragraph, Jane considers leaving Thornfield.  If she indeed leaves, what then is her pattern?
3. Call me crazy, but I think I would actually prefer to be one of the permanent serving staff at a place like Thornwood than be a visiting Lord.  Thoughts (regarding the book, not me)?
4. I want to like Adele, but she's coming across more as a prop, less as a character--like a ventriloquist's dummy, which parallel I don't think is far off the mark considering that no matter how much she talks she doesn't really say anything.  (And indeed, "Oh what a little puppet!" from Miss Ingram, which comment in context of the situation which drew it causes me to draw up defensively in favor of Adele.  Perhaps she's not such a puppet after all!)
5. "...and all had a sweeping amplitude of array that seemed to magnify their persons as a mist magnifies the moon."  This is my favorite description of Bronte's yet.  It reminds me of Steinbeck's paisanos' foggy treasure hunt through the dark forest of Tortilla Flat, only here it's used as metaphor, and, perhaps surprisingly, Steinbeck intended to summon ghosts with his fog, while Bronte, otherwise wont to bring the phantoms, merely points out silvery, mysterious, and floating elegance.
6. I love the British "well preserved" to indicate what we call "aging well."  I can't help but think of pickles.
7. A stark grammatical shift!  Notice the change to present tense immediately after the introduction of Adele to the fancy ladies.  Certainly this lends a change of tone, but is it necessary (and by "necessary" I mean effectively serving Bronte's purpose, whatever that may be at this point)?
8. Finally Jane admits her love of the man; and, o, the final moments of the chapter!

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