How Does Rochester Change Throughout The Novel

A character we see change a lot during the film Jane Eyre directed by Cary Fukunaga is Edward Rochester. He changes from being a cold, unfriendly and mysterious person to a kinder and more desperate person. He learns that he needs to stop being selfish to get the love he is looking for and deserves, and to respect other people’s morals in order to be respected.

Jane and Mr. Rochester have been growing closer since Mr. Rochester requested that Jane come help him with Mr. Mason, but their differences also pull them apart. Jane focuses her idea of redemption on God, seeing him as salvation. Conversely, Mr. Rochester does not go to God for his problems. Instead he focuses on mankind and seeks redemption through others. He is focused on the worldly aspects of human nature and believes his life can be saved if he marries the right woman. His life is now focused on marrying the right woman in order to redeem himself and seem worthy in God’s eyes. Mr. Rochester wants to dare the world’s opinion by saying that those who have done wrong can find salvation through others. While Mr. Rochester seeks regeneration

Furthermore, Jane says “I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself” (Chapter 27, Bronte.) This statement greatly represents the growth that Jane has undergone. She no longer dreads the solitude that once haunted her because she respects herself enough to realize that she did not deserve to experience such great dismay. Through independence and self-recognition, Jane has discovered the importance of loving oneself. Without the reliance on the thoughts of others, the once extremely troubled girl found bliss through a lack of outside control. In regards to her relationship with Mr. Rochester, Jane understands that she must leave him behind to maintain her own well-being. She does not allow the wealth or proclaimed love from Rochester to skew her decisions and she does not linger to dominate the life of her lover. Instead, she moves forward to continue her endless pursuit of happiness and independence.

When Jane enters Thornfield she thinks she is going to work for a woman named Mrs. Fairfax, but she does not. She works for a mysterious man name Mr. Rochester. This man is going to be an import aspect of Jane’s life. Jane works as a governess to a young girl named Adele. Jane encounters Mr. Rochester when she goes for a walk and runs into Rochester, whose horse is injured. After the encounter Jane and Rochester start to gain interest into each other. Mr. Rochester is a man with a large amount of money and Jane is a woman with very little money, the fact that she works for Mr. Rochester defies their unprofessional relationship. “Like governesses, these marriages between older men and younger women were viewed with great ambivalence during the Victorian period”(Godfrey). Both characters develop strong feelings for one another and become close to getting married but a discovery of a secret puts the marriage to a halt. After

Jane finally makes the decision based on her own basic values that because of reason she should not marry Mr. Rochester.

The novel Jane Eyre is predominantly a bildungsroman, Jane’s development throughout the novel is one of the most important aspects of the narrative. During Jane’s time at Thornfield she makes huge emotional progress through her relationship with Rochester and the discovery of Bertha Mason, eventually resulting in her departure from Thornfield.

Jane finds a job as a governess at Thornfield Hall. She teaches a young French girl named Adele, to whom she grows a fondness for. As a lover, Jane was a neophyte, but she soon found the love that she had always craved for. She fell in love with the master of the home, Mr. Rochester, and after some time, he asked her to marry him. “I think you good, gifted, lovely: a fervent, a solemn passion is conceived in my heart, it leans to you. . . It was because I felt and knew this that I resolved to marry you” (Bronte 383). Jane soon finds out though, that Mr. Rochester already has a wife – Bertha Mason. Bertha has gone mad though, and is locked in a room for the safety of others. Jane is unable to accept Mr. Rochester’s marriage proposal because, as Rochester was a married man,

When the pair first meets, Mr. Rochester has hurt himself on a sheet of ice. This instances foreshadows the nature of the couple’s relationship when Jane leaves Thornfield. Though Mr. Rochester was not considered handsome, the passion within him fascinated Jane, drawing her closer to him over time. As Eric Solomon states in his article, “Jane Eyre: Fire and Water,” “It is Rochester who is all-fire” (216). The fire that consumes Mr. Rochester draws Jane in, because she knows there is another soul that relates and feels things the way that she does. Her superior in both age and class, it is surprising that Mr. Rochester chooses Jane as his romantic partner. During this century, as Caroline Levine articulates in her article “‘Harmless Pleasure’: Gender, Suspense, and ‘Jane Eyre,’” “men in superior positions cannot intend to marry their inferiors” (282). Because Jane is straightforward and sensible, in contrast to Blanche Ingram who primarily desires him for his wealth, Mr. Rochester sees past Jane’s simple appearance and gradually falls for her. Yet Mr. Rochester’s legal wife, Bertha Mason, keeps him from wholly being with Jane. Representing suppressed sexual passion and insanity, Bertha is the antithesis of Jane. Despite loving Mr. Rochester, Jane fears marrying him because she does not want to lose her freedom. While Jane never acts upon these feelings, Bertha does. She

Jane Eyre is a powerful novel with many secrets in the storyline between the characters. One of the most shocking secrets was finding out that Rochester has a wife. Since his older brother would inherit his father's fortune, Rochester needed to secure his own future with a marriage for the sake of money, not love. So, he married Bertha, who was both wealthy and beautiful.

We first encounter this relationship between Jane and Rochester during their first dramatic meeting. She encounters him when he falls off his horse and she is required to give him assistance. Jane’s first impression of his face is that ‘He had a dark face, with stern features and a heavy brow’. This may portray the dimness in his face awaiting to be enlightened by a woman which, in this case Jane. Further on in this chapter, unaware of who he is, on her return home, Jane is amazed to discover that the gentleman she assisted in the road was her employer, Mr. Edward Rochester. Jane’s future relationship with Rochester is most clearly set out in their first meeting. Although without any money, reserved and socially dependent, Jane is not

Edward Rochester's daughter, Adele, is a constant reminder of his ex-wife's affair. Mr. Rochester finds pleasure in parties and traveling. He has obtained his fortune through his deceased father. Gentlemen inherit money and land and are born into the upper class. This is Jane's beginning of a new life on her own.

Though Jane is well educated and possesses the etiquette and training of a person in upper class society, social prejudices limit her because she is simply a paid servant, in their eyes. While at Thornfield, Jane falls desperately in love with the owner of Thornfield Hall, Mr. Rochester. Jane is Mr. Rochester’s intellectual contemporary, but her social status prevents her from being his true equal. In the novel, Jane proclaims, “Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong!—I have as much soul as you,—and full as much heart!” (Bronte 637). After Mr. Rochester finally proposes, Jane is hesitant to marry him because she feels as if he would be lowering himself to marry her. This feeling greatly increases after Jane discovers he is married to Bertha Mason, and that he keeps her locked away in Thornfield’s attic due to her insanity. Mr. Rochester proposes that Jane becomes his mistress, which, according to Victorian society, would be more fitting since Jane is a plain governess. Jane realizes that she can never compromise her morals that way and leaves Thornfield. While on her own, Jane still strives to gain independence, discovers new kin, and learns she has a wealthy uncle who has left her a large inheritance. After her loneliness and longing for Mr. Rochester becomes too great, she returns to Thornfield. Jane is

Even though Mrs. Fairfax believes that Rochester will marry Blanche Ingram, Blanche is not the woman of his choice. Blanche’s family believes they are a great match, due to their equal social status. However, Rochester does not have the same plan in mind. Jane is not happy with herself, because she fell in love with a man out of her social reach, but Rochester is not concerned with social status. Both Jane and Blanche Ingram have positive and negative qualities. Rochester prefers Jane based on all of her positive

Edward Fairfax Rochester is an archetypal Byronic hero. He seems “moody” and unattainable and could often be seen as an antihero, however is capable of feeling and displaying strong emotions, as can be seen throughout Jane Eyre. Although perhaps the reader should view Mr Rochester as the malefactor in the novel due to his ill treatment of Bertha Mason primarily, along with the conflicted emotions he causes Jane and the heartbreak she suffers because of him, he does present a good case owing the fault of

The selection of words that Jane uses to describe Mr. Rochester all tend to have a positive undertone. When it comes to describing the type of person mr rochester is, jane considers him as “ imperious “ but continues by saying “ I don't mind that “. She understands that he has some faults but chooses to look over them further indicating that there is something special going on. Jane was always very interested in hearing what he had to say which is very common between two people who are fond of each other. She refers to having “ a keen delight in receiving the new ideas he offered “. Once again portraying a general interest in him. The inclusion of such words support a specific attitude towards Mr. Rochester. No one would have such kind words to say about Mr. Rochester making out that a large group of characters dislike him along with his characteristics.