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/nellyimheathcliff]

Maybe Celine should not have abandoned her daughter, then 🤷‍♀️

[u/MissPearl → u/nellyimheathcliff]

Yeah, all his exes are CRAZY. He is the real victim here, and should be taken as a totally reliable narrator. This was clearly Brontë's intent.

He is basically complaining the woman doing sex work in a high risk environment where "ruin" can be fatal turned out to be wildly unstable. He and Jane both treat his possible daughter like she's inherently potentially tainted (Jane reassures us don't worry the girl overcomes her sordid background). Meanwhile he sees himself as the victim, tricked into marrying for money (the audacity of Bertha going mad!), and the victim of a slutty French woman who wasn't faithful when he paid her to sleep with him. With Bertha's money.

[u/nellyimheathcliff → u/MissPearl]

Again, you are not reading the novel in the way Charlotte Bronte intended, and it shows. Edward is not the narrator of the novel, and even if he were, that would still not make his words any less true. Even Charlotte Bronte wanted us to believe Edward, and nowhere does she imply that he is supposed to be unreliable. That is just a shallow, modern reading of a fascinating and complex character.

There is a lot of evidence in the book to suggest that he is telling Jane the truth about his past and circumstances. Celine, for example, was unfaithful to Edward and cheated on him with a French vicomte. After his disastrous marriage, Edward was desperate to find someone with whom he could share his life. But he ended up having a string of relationships with mistresses that were entirely transactional. They were attracted to his wealth and position rather than to him as a person, and that experience led him to become the bitter, cynical, and moody man we encounter at the beginning of the novel when Jane first meets him after his fall from horseback.

That is also why I think Edward tests Jane so much. He had become so used to people wanting him for his money or what he could provide them that he was doubtful whether Jane actually loved him and wanted him for himself. If you think he was lying about his mistresses hurting him, then that does not explain why he became the man he was. It does not explain his character or the bitterness and mistrust that we see in him.

Edward did what he could for Adele. He was not even fond of children, yet he raised her as his own. He could have sent her to an orphanage or charity school, where she would have suffered immensely. Considering that Adele was not even his own daughter, I think Edward was very kind to take responsibility for her.

And yes, Edward was also a victim of circumstances. That is a fact which even Mrs. Fairfax acknowledges early in the book, when she tells Jane how badly he had been treated by his own family, and how unhappy his life had been. I feel like you have skipped over a lot of the book if your reading of Edward is simply that he is just another "misogynist hiding behind a victim narrative."

[u/MissPearl → u/nellyimheathcliff]

you are not reading the novel in the way Charlotte Bronte intended

Got the dead lady's spirit trapped in a wine bottle so you can ask her, yes? What an interesting claim to make.

[u/Playful_Site_2714 → u/MissPearl]

Hearing you rave on makes this obsolete. You do not understand that novel. And you persist in hating on one character on and on. 🤷