Authors Notes:
This chapter is like eating a whole pumpkin pie at once. The first bite is sweet and lovely, but the further we go in the more it will hurt. The illness arrives at Lowood and for some it is tragedy and for others it is a bettering of life. For Jane it is the latter – more food, more freedom and a friend. MaryAnn is now Maryam and I would love to write a whole story about her and her clockwork heart. I would love a poem about her. I imagine her as an orphan, a muslim, who is in love with women, dies of a broken heart. Lady of Shalot style. It would be a tragedy and brutal to write, but lovely.
They come upon a new addion to their world – Gouloka, the derelict yard where they reign and rummage. I would love to see more stories about what Jane builds and sees there, but perhaps another time.
But then we come to the point of the chapter – Helen Burns dies of consumption. I love how Jane understands mortality just in time to see Helen off to the other world. It is beautiful and I am grateful that she matures just in time.