She tried to figure out a way of doing this without becoming a mother.".
She wants a baby which means that she has developed. Compared to other people maturing Jane's maturity is the other way around. Because she has been influenced by her mother her dream of having a family has been shattered. She has become afraid of the responsibility and that's the reason for saying that she does not want to be a mother, but would like to have a baby. .
But when Vincent is in the hospital, with an illness the doctors do not know of, the consequences have caught up with them. .
"It was what they both wanted: freedom from the world of mothers, the world of precautions, the world of burdens and fate. They wanted a life without consequences." .
Now Vincent is not free. He is in a hospital bed and he does not know what has made him ill. He has been living without taking precautions and maybe this is the reason why he is now in this situation. I think they have been a bit naive when they say they want freedom from the world of burdens and fate. One cannot escape fate or change it no matter how hard the struggle. Jane realises this, when she sees that her best friend is dying, but Vincent is still the joker. .
The TV-programme affects Jane because in John Torrington she sees Vincent. They are both packed in ice, they don't know what is wrong with them and both have been on a journey without a definitive goal, John travelling over land and ocean and Vincent travelling in life. The unknown cause of death of John Torrington and the unknown disease of Vincent can be related. Vincent's disease could be the consequence of him living his life without taking precautions. The cause of death of the people on the Franklin expedition is somewhat mentioned as being the tin cans. The tin cans are soldered together with lead and the food is affected because food that comes in contact with lead becomes poisonous. When people invented and consumers bought this new item they had no idea what the outcome might be.