Never," said he, as he ground his teeth,"never was anything at once so frail and soindomitable. A mere reed she feels in myhand!" (And he shook me with the force of hishold.) "I could bend her with my finger andthumb: and what good would it do if I bent, if Iuptore, if I crushed her? Consider that eye:consider the resolute, wild, free thing lookingout of it, defying me, with more than courage-with a stern triumph. Whatever I do with it'scage, I cannot get at it-the savage, beautifulcreature! If I tear, if I rend the slight prison, myoutrage will only let the captive loose.Conquered I might be of the house; but theinmate would escape to heaven before I couldcall myself possessor of its clay-dwellingplace. And it is you, spirit, with will andenergy, and virtue and purity-that I want: notalone your brittle frame. Of yourself you couldcome with soft flight and nestle against myheart, if you would: seized against your will,you will elide the grasp like an essence-youwill vanish ere I inhale your fragrance. Jane Eyre: The Original 1847 Edition With Illustrations