The town was first introduced in chapter 10 in the letter from Mrs. Fairfax responding to Jane’s listing in the Herald. She stated she was from Thornburg which was near Millcote—an industrialized town that Jane was moderately familiar with. Jane had said she “longed to go where there was life and movement: Millcote was a large manufacturing town on the banks of A-; a busy place enough, doubtless: so much better; it would be a complete change at least” (Brontë Ch. 10). This description is later significant in comparing the differences between what she had anticipated and what her new reality was. Jane arrived in Thornburg to find that it was much farther from this industrialized town than she had expected, and she was actually in a very isolated area. Had she been aware of the conditions of her accommodation, perhaps she would have made a different decision. It is interesting to note that in 1894, Milcotte was determined to be its own Parish from Warwik and its population was listed as 50 people (Parishes). While this is a bit after the time Jane would have been there, a population of 50 is surprisingly small in terms of a “manufacturing town”. 

In chapter 16 Jane learns that Mr. Rochester has gone to Mr. Eshton’s place in Leas, “10 miles on the otherside Milcotte” (Brontë ch. 16). This is quite the distance at that time. It previously took them nearly 3 hours to travel just 6 miles, so for Mr. Rochester to decide on a whim to travel so far as Leas is indicative of his impulsive nature as well as his wealth. Jane is unsure of when he will return until they receive word that Mr. Rochester would be coming back from Leas on Thursday, with company—an undisclosed number of guests—they are told they may need to go to the George Inn (now the George Hotel) in Millcote in order to find additional help with preparations. These must be important guests to warrant such preparations and a trip to this not-so-nearby town of Millcote. 

The continued references to Millcote serve to juxtapose Jane’s expectation and her reality. It is a reminder of what was supposed to be, what her intentions were when putting the ad in for another position, when she was hoping for change. Is she compromising her desires for Mr. Rochester? Is the love or infatuation for him causing her to fall into a sense of complacency where so no longer desires to grow as an individual, to explore the manufacturing town with more people and activity—where it there is “life and movement”? If Millcote is “life and movement” then what is Thornburg?  

"Parishes: Weston-upon-Avon with Milcote." A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 5, Kington Hundred. Ed. L F Salzman. London: Victoria County History, 1949. 198-202. British History Online. Web. 12 June 2022. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol5/pp198-202.