When Polly reads Jane Eyre in Julie Dorsey’s The Peacemaker’s Wife, she finds more than an entertaining story. She recognises a woman struggling to preserve her identity in a world that expects obedience.
Polly receives the novel from Sam Edney, the man she loved before marrying John. The book therefore carries an emotional connection to the life she might have chosen. Reading it allows her to remember Sam while imagining possibilities beyond her isolated cabin.
At first, Jane Eyre also serves a practical purpose. Polly is teaching herself to read and write, studying each unfamiliar word until she understands it. Jane’s story becomes part of the education Polly was denied. Every new word increases her confidence and brings her closer to the medical knowledge she wants.
Her attachment to Jane is also personal. Both women refuse to believe that poverty or limited social standing makes them less worthy. Jane wants love, but she does not want to lose herself to obtain it. Polly faces a similar struggle as she tries to become a healer while living with a husband who demands obedience.
John’s cruelty makes Polly’s connection to the novel even stronger. She sees similarities between him and Mr. Rochester, describing both men through the new words she learns. Yet the comparison carries irony. Rochester may be secretive and controlling, but John’s violence turns Polly’s home into a place of fear.
Like Jane, Polly longs to be recognised as intelligent, capable, and morally independent. She does not want to exist merely as someone’s wife. Her work as a healer gives her an identity that John cannot completely control.
The two women also wrestle with forbidden love. Jane must decide whether love justifies violating her conscience. Polly remains in love with Sam while married to John. For both women, desire clashes with duty, faith, and self respect.
There is, however, an important difference. Jane can leave and build a life elsewhere. Polly lives in nineteenth century Appalachia, where a married woman has few legal or financial protections. Her escape must come through knowledge, friendship, work, and the courage to accept help.
In The Peacemaker’s Wife, Jane Eyre becomes a quiet companion to Polly’s growth. It strengthens her literacy, reflects her emotional conflicts, and shows her that a woman may endure hardship without surrendering her inner life.
Loosely inspired by Dorsey’s great great grandmother, Doctor Polly King Justice, Julie Dorsey’s novel follows a woman who learns to read, heal, resist, and finally choose where she belongs.