Jane Eyre Quote Analysis

Jane protests Rochester's plan to dress her in fine silks and jewels, saying that in such clothing she will no longer be herself but a ridiculous impostor.

The paired animal metaphors—'ape in a harlequin's jacket' and 'jay in borrowed plumes'—both figure fine clothing as a disguise that exposes rather than conceals the wearer's true nature. The alliteration in 'jay...borrowed plumes' gives the phrase a proverbial quality, anchoring Jane's objection in folk wisdom about knowing one's place, while 'ape' carries the sting of something not-quite-human mimicking its betters.

Support a thesis that Jane's resistance to Rochester's gifts is about authenticity, not modesty—she fears that accepting the trappings of his class will reveal her as a fraud, turning her visible poverty into visible pretension, which would be far more shameful.