You have nothing to do with the master of Thornfield, further than to receive the salary he gives you for teaching his protégée, and to be grateful for such respectful and kind treatment as, if you do your duty, you have a right to expect at his hands. Be sure that is the only tie he seriously acknowledges between you and him; so don't make him the object of your fine feelings, your raptures, agonies, and so forth. 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.
Chapter 17 · Jane Eyre
Context
After Mr. Rochester leaves Thornfield for over a week, Jane begins to feel disappointment at his absence. She catches herself caring too much and scolds herself internally, reminding herself of the strict class boundary between them.
Analysis
Jane addresses herself using the formal second person 'you'—a technique that splits her into both disciplinarian and pupil. This creates distance from her own feelings, as if she is viewing herself from outside, and reveals her effort to suppress emotion through self-command. The accumulation of negatives ('nothing to do,' 'not wanted,' 'would be despised') builds a wall of renunciation, yet the intensity of the language betrays exactly how much she does feel.
Essay Tip
Support a thesis that Jane's self-discipline is both her strength and her psychological prison—this quote shows her policing her own desires using the very class logic that oppresses her, internalizing society's judgment before anyone else can deliver it.