St. John was a good man; but I began to feel he had spoken truth of himself when he said he was hard and cold. The humanities and amenities of life had no attraction for him…he would never rest, nor approve of others resting round him. As I looked at his lofty forehead, still and pale as a white stone – at his fine lineaments fixed in study – I comprehended all at once that he would hardly make a good husband: that it would be a trying thing to be his wife.
– Charlotte Bronte
Jane Eyre, Chapter 34. While Jane accepts that St. John is a good man, she believes that he is not good husband material. She speaks of how hard and cold he is, using a a simile to compare his forehead to white stone. For St. John, the pleasures of life have no attraction, she observes. He never rests not does he wish others to rest. Jane’s reflections come after St. John shows a disappointing lack of interest in her improvements to Moor House.