And I am a hard woman,—impossible to put off.
Chapter 33 · Jane Eyre
Context
St. John tries to evade Jane's demand to know why Mr. Briggs contacted him. Jane positions herself physically in front of the door and insists he explain, echoing his earlier claim that he is a 'hard man, difficult to persuade.'
Analysis
Jane's parallelism ('hard man' / 'hard woman') claims equality by mirroring his syntax exactly, asserting that whatever qualities he uses to justify stubbornness apply to her too. The phrase 'impossible to put off' uses the idiom literally—she will not be physically dismissed or deflected—but also figuratively, meaning her will cannot be postponed. This moment of verbal sparring shows Jane weaponizing St. John's own rhetoric, a skill she'll need when resisting his later proposal.
Essay Tip
Use this to argue that Jane establishes her authority through language as much as action—by appropriating St. John's self-description, she refuses the gender hierarchy his words assumed, demonstrating that rhetorical skill is a form of power in the novel.