Towards the end of spring, as summer nears, St. John proposes marriage to Jane, in hopes that she will join him and become a missionary's wife in India. This event is estimated to take place in early May, because in Chapter 34 St. John says to Jane, “Jane, I go in six weeks; I have taken my berth in an East Indiaman which sails on the 20th of June” (Bronte). Six weeks prior to June 20th would place the conversation in approximately early May.

This moment is pivotal in the novel, as Jane is pressured to live a moral and selfless life by undertaking missionary work, but only if she marries someone whom she doesn’t love. This places her in an opposite situation than when she rejected Rochester—when her choice was to marry someone whom she loved, but in doing so, would be living a life of sin.

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Service and Patton. 1847. Project Gutenberg,