Re Jane is the first Jane-figure encountered in this timeline that makes a radical diversion from the hypotext by breaking up with the Rochester-figure (Ed Farley) rather than marrying him. This comes as a result of her refusal to move in with him; she feels as though he's rushing their relationship and narrates, "I was only twenty-five. Sometimes it seemed unfair how Ed had already amassed a fortune of life experiences before he ever met [her]" (Park 318). Over the course of their argument, it becomes apparent that the age difference between her and her love interest is a source of significant strain on their relationship, one which regularly disadvantages Jane. She goes on to say, "'You're always 'been there, done that,' aren't you, Ed? Well, I haven't. Maybe I want to try new things. And I don't want to have to feel guilty or apologize for that either'" (Park 319). Even during this significant departure from the plot of Jane Eyre, Park alludes to the hypotext when the narration reads, "Reader, I left him," paying homage to Jane Eyre's frequent addresses to the reader in the hypotext (Park 321).

This is the only modern interpretation of Jane Eyre that doesn’t conclude with the Jane-figure agreeing to marry the Rochester-figure. This is the first time that the age difference (which wouldn’t have seemed problematic to Bronte’s contemporary audience) is modernized enough to catch up with the expectations and taboos of modern society. It’s the first hypertext to question whether the Rochester-figure is actually a suitable partner for Jane.

Rather then ending with Jane and Ed marrying as one might expect having read the hypotext, Park decided to end Re Jane’s story with her being single, a successful CFO of a business she runs with her best friend, reunited emotionally with the surrogate family that raised her, and in healthy friendships with both Beth (the Bertha-figure) and Devon (the Adela-figure). All of which make for a far “happier” and more feminist-friendly ending than the hypotext’s instance on Jane marrying a wife-entrapping, emotionally abusive older man and living out her life in service to him.

Kaplan, Carla. “Girl Talk: ‘Jane Eyre’ and the Romance of Women’s Narration.” NOVEL: A Forum on Fiction, vol. 30, no. 1, 1996, p. 5. EBSCOhost, doi:10.2307/1345845.

Park, Patricia. Re Jane: New York, Penguin Books, 2016.