I know what sort of a mind I have placed in communication with my own: I know it is one not liable to take infection: it is a peculiar mind: it is a unique one.
Chapter 15 · Edward Rochester
Context
Rochester tells Jane why he feels comfortable confiding in her. He describes her mind as distinct from others—one that will not be corrupted by his stories.
Analysis
Rochester's metaphor of a mind 'not liable to take infection' medicalizes moral influence, as though other women's minds are weak tissue that absorbs vice on contact. The repetition—'peculiar mind...unique one'—performs his fascination, but also his need to set Jane apart from other women in order to justify desiring someone he employs. He is constructing Jane as the exception that permits the relationship.
Essay Tip
Support a thesis that Rochester's attraction to Jane depends on seeing her as 'not like other women'—which flatters her but also traps her in a role where she must continually prove her exceptionalism to remain worthy of his regard, a dynamic that becomes unsustainable.