I can live alone, if self-respect, and circumstances require me so to do. I need not sell my soul to buy bliss. I have an inward treasure born with me, which can keep me alive if all extraneous delights should be withheld, or offered only at a price I cannot afford to give.
Chapter 19 · Edward Rochester
Context
The disguised Rochester, reading Jane's forehead as part of his fortune-telling act, voices what he claims to see written there: her declaration of self-sufficiency and refusal to compromise her integrity for happiness.
Analysis
Rochester puts his own reading of Jane into her mouth—'I can live alone'—but the commercial metaphor 'sell my soul to buy bliss' reveals what he fears most: that Jane will reject him if the price is too high. The phrase 'inward treasure born with me' grants Jane an autonomous, innate source of value independent of external relationships, which directly threatens Rochester's attempt to position himself as her necessary completion. He is essentially staging Jane's resistance so he can rehearse overcoming it.
Essay Tip
Use this to argue that even when Rochester appears to celebrate Jane's independence, he is actually testing whether it will block his plans—the fact that he voices this 'declaration' himself shows he is trying to predict and circumvent her self-sufficiency rather than genuinely respecting it.