Because I have less confidence in my deserts than Adèle has: she can prefer the claim of old acquaintance, and the right too of custom; for she says you have always been in the habit of giving her playthings; but if I had to make out a case I should be puzzled, since I am a stranger, and have done nothing to entitle me to an acknowledgment.
Chapter 13 · Jane Eyre
Context
Continuing their exchange about gifts, Jane explains why she cannot claim to deserve one. She contrasts her position as a new stranger with Adèle's established relationship with Rochester.
Analysis
Jane's phrase 'less confidence in my deserts' is deliberately ambiguous—'deserts' means 'what one deserves,' but its rarity as a noun makes the sentence feel formal, almost legalistic, as though she's arguing a case in court. The extended parallelism ('the claim of old acquaintance, and the right too of custom') builds a logical structure that sounds like rational argument but actually performs humility. Yet the entire speech is a quiet refusal: by saying she has no case, she avoids having to beg for anything, preserving her dignity while seeming self-effacing.
Essay Tip
Support a thesis that Jane's 'modesty' is often a rhetorical tactic rather than genuine self-doubt—here she uses the language of inadequacy to avoid the dependence that accepting gifts would create.