I knew there would be pleasure in meeting my master again, even though broken by the fear that he was so soon to cease to be my master, and by the knowledge that I was nothing to him; but there was ever in Mr. Rochester (so, at least, I thought) such a wealth of the power of communicating happiness, that to taste but of the crumbs he scattered to stray and stranger birds like me, was to feast genially. His last words were balm. They seemed to imply that it imported something to him whether I forget him or not. And he had spoken of Thornfield as my home – would that it were my home!
– Charlotte Bronte
Jane Eyre, Chapter 22. On returning to Thornfield after a month’s absense in Gateshead Hall, Jane is greeted by Rochester. She is full of the joy of meeting him again. But she still calls him “master,” emphasizing their social class differences. To Jane, the love that she feels for Rochester is seemingly impossible and unrequited. She is happy with the metaphorical “crumbs” of friendship that he scatters to “stranger birds” like her. Yet while there is talk of marriage between him and Blanche Ingram, Jane notes that Rochester has referred to Thornfield as “your home.” This reveals Rochester’s desire that Jane should stay.