Question

Read the excerpt from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. Here, Mrs. Fairfax is talking to Jane.

I’m sure last winter (it was a very severe one, if you recollect, and when it did not snow, it rained and blew), not a creature but the butcher and postman came to the house, from November till February; and I really got quite melancholy with sitting night after night alone; I had Leah in to read to me sometimes; but I don’t think the poor girl liked the task much: she felt it confining. In spring and summer one got on better: sunshine and long days make such a difference; and then, just at the commencement of this autumn, little Adela Varens came and her nurse: a child makes a house alive all at once.

What is Mrs. Fairfax’s perspective about those around her?

She believes that she cannot be happy without them.
She thinks they should put her comfort above their own.
She prefers spending time with younger people.
She is aware of and concerned about their feelings.

Answer 1

She is aware of and concerned about their feelings.

Evidence: she notices Leah “didn’t like the task” and “felt it confining,” and she comments on how the presence of Adela and the nurse livens the house—showing she pays attention to and cares about how others feel and affect the household.