I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.
Jane steels herself to walk away into uncertainty. The sentence admits loneliness outright; she does not pretend courage erases the ache. By repeating “the more,” she stacks the odds against herself and still chooses self-respect. The line defines self-care as moral survival, not luxury. It also shows how fear and dignity can coexist—she is scared and resolute at once. In the broader arc, this becomes the hinge that turns the story from romance to character study. The wording is plain, which keeps the courage believable. It speaks to anyone who has had to leave something beloved to keep their inner compass.