Volume 2, Chapter 3 / 18

Synopsis of Volume 2, Chapter 3 / 18

The house-party continues and the visitors enjoy evenings spent playing charades. One evening, while Rochester is away on business, Mr Mason arrives; he has travelled from the West Indies and describes himself as an old friend of Rochester's. Soon afterwards, the arrival is announced of a strange old woman who insists on staying in the house and reading everyone's fortunes. One by one the guests go to see the old woman and come back disturbed, because she seems to know a great deal about them. A message comes from the old woman, saying there is one person she has not yet seen: it is Jane herself.

Commentary on Volume 2, Chapter 3 / 18

playing charades A game in which one team acts out the syllables of a word which the other team has to guess.

Paynim features … some Israelitish princess of the patriarchal days The term Paynim was used to indicate a pagan, a heathen or a non-Christian, usually a Muslim. Rochester and Blanche wear costumes suggesting the Middle East. The patriarchs were the ancestors of the Israelites in the early part of the Old Testament, such as Abraham and Jacob: see Genesis chapters 12-50.

‘She hasted … to drink' See Genesis 24:18, where Isaac woos Rebekah at her father Nahor's well.

Bridewell! An ancient prison in London; also a generic name for any building used for punishment or correction.

gentleman-highwayman … Italian bandit … Levantine pirate See the notes on corsairs in Volume 2, Chapter 2 / 17.

Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town Spanish Town was the capital of Jamaica until 1872, when it was replaced by Kingston. The island was under British rule from 1655 and was a huge exporter of sugar, on plantations owned by the British and worked by slaves from Africa. See Post-colonial criticism.

old Mother Bunches A generalised name for disreputable and gossipy old women.

the old gentleman the Devil.

Sybil A prophetess or fortune-teller.

Investigating Volume 2, Chapter 3 / 18

What do we learn from the party's discussion of the gypsies?
- See Themes and significant ideas: Education; Class, wealth and power.
In view of subsequent events in the novel what is the significance of the charade acted by Rochester and Blanche?
What strikes Jane about Mason's appearance that is significant for the later development of the plot?
- See Narrative: Development of the narrative.

English Standard Version
King James Version

¹Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. ²And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, Put your hand under my thigh, ³that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, ⁴but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac. ⁵The servant said to him, Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came? ⁶Abraham said to him, See to it that you do not take my son back there. ⁷The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, To your offspring I will give this land, he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. ⁸But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there. ⁹So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter. ¹⁰Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor. ¹¹And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when women go out to draw water. ¹²And he said, O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. ¹³Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. ¹⁴Let the young woman to whom I shall say, Please let down your jar that I may drink, and who shall say, Drink, and I will water your camels - let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master. ¹⁵Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder. ¹⁶The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. ¹⁷Then the servant ran to meet her and said, Please give me a little water to drink from your jar. ¹⁸She said, Drink, my lord. And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. ¹⁹When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking. ²⁰So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels. ²¹The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the Lord had prospered his journey or not. ²²When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel, and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels, ²³and said, Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night? ²⁴She said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor. ²⁵She added, We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night. ²⁶The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord ²⁷and said, Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me in the way to the house of my master's kinsmen. ²⁸Then the young woman ran and told her mother's household about these things. ²⁹Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out toward the man, to the spring. ³⁰As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and heard the words of Rebekah his sister, Thus the man spoke to me, he went to the man. And behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. ³¹He said, Come in, O blessed of the Lord. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels. ³²So the man came to the house and unharnessed the camels, and gave straw and fodder to the camels, and there was water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. ³³Then food was set before him to eat. But he said, I will not eat until I have said what I have to say. He said, Speak on. ³⁴So he said, I am Abraham's servant. ³⁵The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys. ³⁶And Sarah my master's wife bore a son to my master when she was old, and to him he has given all that he has. ³⁷My master made me swear, saying, You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell, ³⁸but you shall go to my father's house and to my clan and take a wife for my son. ³⁹I said to my master, Perhaps the woman will not follow me. ⁴⁰But he said to me, The Lord, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and prosper your way. You shall take a wife for my son from my clan and from my father's house. ⁴¹Then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my clan. And if they will not give her to you, you will be free from my oath. ⁴²I came today to the spring and said, O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if now you are prospering the way that I go, ⁴³behold, I am standing by the spring of water. Let the virgin who comes out to draw water, to whom I shall say, Please give me a little water from your jar to drink, ⁴⁴and who will say to me, Drink, and I will draw for your camels also, let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master's son. ⁴⁵Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. I said to her, Please let me drink. ⁴⁶She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder and said, Drink, and I will give your camels drink also. So I drank, and she gave the camels drink also. ⁴⁷Then I asked her, Whose daughter are you? She said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him. So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms. ⁴⁸Then I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to take the daughter of my master's kinsman for his son. ⁴⁹Now then, if you are going to show steadfast love and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left. ⁵⁰Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing has come from the Lord; we cannot speak to you bad or good. ⁵¹Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master's son, as the Lord has spoken. ⁵²When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the earth before the Lord. ⁵³And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments. ⁵⁴And he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they arose in the morning, he said, Send me away to my master. ⁵⁵Her brother and her mother said, Let the young woman remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go. ⁵⁶But he said to them, Do not delay me, since the Lord has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master. ⁵⁷They said, Let us call the young woman and ask her. ⁵⁸And they called Rebekah and said to her, Will you go with this man? She said, I will go. ⁵⁹So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham's servant and his men. ⁶⁰And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, Our sister, may you become thousands of ten thousands, and may your offspring possess the gate of those who hate him! ⁶¹Then Rebekah and her young women arose and rode on the camels and followed the man. Thus the servant took Rebekah and went his way. ⁶²Now Isaac had returned from Beer-lahai-roi and was dwelling in the Negeb. ⁶³And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming. ⁶⁴And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel ⁶⁵and said to the servant, Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us? The servant said, It is my master. So she took her veil and covered herself. ⁶⁶And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. ⁶⁷Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

¹And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. ²And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: ³And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: ⁴But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. ⁵And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? ⁶And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. ⁷The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. ⁸And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again. ⁹And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter. ¹⁰And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor. ¹¹And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water. ¹²And he said O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and show kindness unto my master Abraham. ¹³Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: ¹⁴And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast showed kindness unto my master. ¹⁵And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. ¹⁶And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. ¹⁷And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. ¹⁸And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. ¹⁹And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking. ²⁰And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. ²¹And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not. ²²And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold; ²³And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in? ²⁴And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor. ²⁵She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in. ²⁶And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD. ²⁷And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren. ²⁸And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these things. ²⁹And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well. ³⁰And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well. ³¹And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels. ³²And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that were with him. ³³And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on. ³⁴And he said, I am Abraham's servant. ³⁵And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses. ³⁶And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath. ³⁷And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: ³⁸But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son. ³⁹And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me. ⁴⁰And he said unto me, The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house: ⁴¹Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath. ⁴²And I came this day unto the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go: ⁴³Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink; ⁴⁴And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my master's son. ⁴⁵And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee. ⁴⁶And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also. ⁴⁷And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, the daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands. ⁴⁸And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son. ⁴⁹And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left. ⁵⁰Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. ⁵¹Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD hath spoken. ⁵²And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth. ⁵³And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things. ⁵⁴And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master. ⁵⁵And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go. ⁵⁶And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master. ⁵⁷And they said, We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth. ⁵⁸And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. ⁵⁹And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men. ⁶⁰And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them. ⁶¹And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way. ⁶²And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country. ⁶³And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. ⁶⁴And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. ⁶⁵For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself. ⁶⁶And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. ⁶⁷And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

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Volume 2, Chapter 3 / 18

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