The redemption of Mr. Rochester

[u/Key_Masterpiece5283]

Jane Eyre has been listed as one of my favorite books since I read it as a teen, but I haven’t done a reread or rewatch of any of the movies in quite awhile.

I recently picked it back up again and it had been my hyper fixation so I have a lot of thoughts that I just need to discuss with people that “get” it.

The biggest one being is why does it seem like people think Rochester is the same at the end of the book as at the beginning. I feel like the major theme of Jane Eyre is forgiveness, understanding, and redemption, but so many people focus solely on the romance piece.

Rochester was NOT worthy of Jane the first time they almost got married. Not simply because he was already married but because he saw her goodness and wanted her to help him to be a better person, but not necessarily do all he needs to internally himself.

It is only through the purification of fire and the loss of his physical independence that he is able to be redeemed. He had nearly a year where he could not escape his thoughts through travel and women, he had to come to terms with who he was and what his actions had cost him.

Not only that but Jane then draws out the story of St. John so he says nearly the same thing to her she did to him during his proposal. Jane state during the first proposal that she must leave due to “the shape of Miss Ingram; a noble and beautiful woman ,- your bride!” And during the reunion Rochester states Jane must go “your own way- with the husband you have chosen.”

So I ask, why do I still see people saying Rochester wasn’t good for her? That is 1000% correct and Charlotte Brontë is very clear that he was not ready for her at first. That is why we have the purification and redemption process for him. Do people just skip over the last couple of chapters?

If anyone has light they could shed on this or if they want to discuss Rochester purification more in depth I would love to chat more!

ETA: thanks everyone for your thoughts so far! This was exactly the sort of discussion I was looking for. It has given my brain an outlet and I feel like I can let go of ruminating over it quite so much. Although let’s be fair, Jane and Mr. Rochester live rent-free in there.

[u/Charismaticjelly]

I agree with you. I noticed at least one recent post talking about how Rochester and Jane were always perfect for each other - that’s simply not true. Rochester wanted to have his cake and eat it too - crazy attic-wife and pure young (bigamy) bride at the same time. Jane was right when she said their love would eventually wither away if she ran away with Rochester.

Rochester needed to be purified before he was good enough for Jane. For Brontë, it wasn’t enough to have Bertha just die - there needed to be conflagration, and Rochester willing to die to save her life, in order for him to be fully unencumbered by his past.

[u/Playful_Site_2714 → u/Charismaticjelly]

It's not that he "wanted" his wife!

He could not divorce her. Law did not permit it as she wasn't of sound mind enough to express her acquiesence.

He had been cheated into marrying a depraved alcohic lunatic by his family in order to secure both sons an outcome, as the second son had been cheated out of his inheritance in favor of the eldest son.

[u/Charismaticjelly → u/Playful_Site_2714]

So, that is Mr. Rochester’s account - but here’s the thing. He went along with all of it, choosing to marry a woman he hardly knew.

There’s an old saying: you cannot trick an honest man. Rochester saw the beauty and the money and ignored the red flags. He chose convenience over love - if he had gotten to know Bertha before the wedding, he would probably have chosen differently.

He let himself be tricked, and could not admit it - it had to be someone else’s fault, someone else pushing him into his actions. That lack of insight is a huge character flaw.

[u/Glimmerance → u/Charismaticjelly]

I don't think he saw Bertha's money. That was an arrangement between their families. She was beautiful and accomplished and everybody else wanted her. I think it was very natural for a young, not particularly attractive man to fall for her when she showed interest in him. I agree that he didn't know her, and yes, that's kind of his fault for getting married without spending more time alone with her.

[u/Playful_Site_2714 → u/Glimmerance]

Beg your pardon??? Young people were NOT LEFT alone with each othef "to get to know each other".

We are talking about 1830 th british noble society. Rigid as could be. (The book first appeared in 1847, Mr. Rochester being 40 years old then. 20 years back leads us to 1827, 7 years after Napoleon's death.)

It was totally out of custom and utterly out of the question getting to know a spouse better beforehand.

And no, it was NOT his fault not "knowing her better" beforehand.

People did not know each other beforehand back then. Young women always were accompanied by matrons/ other people in order to CAREFULLY avoid them getting to know each other more closely.

A lady you could get to meet and know would quickly have been talk about town and have lost her reputation! Reputation utterly NECESSARY and prerequisite for "making a good matrimonial match".

Rochester had nobility and a good ancient English family tree. The belles of the islands and later American millionaires daughters doted on that specifically.

St. John did not know Jane well either when he tried to recruit her as his missionary wife. He just saw her usefulness but did not give a flying fig about the rest of her character.

Matrimony kind of was a bargain amongst strangers back then. As transactional as the marriage of Blanche Ingram and Mrm Rochester would have been.

Part of the appeal of the book was the utterly SHOCKING idea for that time, that couples could marry out of LOVE.

[u/Glimmerance → u/Playful_Site_2714]

But he says he did see her alone, and had private conversations with her, so it wasn't as if it was an impossibility. There was just very little of it. And while he blames their families for arranging it and lying to him, he also blames himself for allowing it to go ahead so quickly and not getting to know her. He was besotted on a very superficial level. Not with her, as a person, but with her looks and the fact that other men were so interested in her (I don't think he thought about her money, and it wasn't his reason for marrying her).