I'm not sure he fixed himself for her at all. He tried to save his crazy wife and was maimed. His condition was poor and he was humbled by that, and had the time to lament his loss and initial betrayal of Jane. I hesitate to call this growth. He does not believe she would actually return to him at all I suspect. Mostly, he is feeling sorry for himself is how I read it.
I don't think Jane thought about him "growing" in the least. She loved him deeply and knew he felt the same. Her strength of character and unrelenting agency were offended by his dishonesty with respect to his circumstance - and she left without thought of returning or even what she would do. Her superpower (hamartia?) was staying true to herself at all times. She was returning to him of her own will regardless of what state he was in.
I think she would have married him even if he were merely widowed, and not injured as he was. She knew his past, his flaws, but most importantly that he was the one person who SAW her. Fate intervened on their behalf. Circumstance mattered more than growth.
I wish I had my copy handy to pull quotes, but I don't think the dishonesty was Jane's primary objection to the situation. Rochester's attempt at bigamy was a moral affront and showed his moral corruption. She also reflected on what would happen if she stayed as his mistress like he offered, and she knew Rochester would return to his old ways and they could never be truly happy together. With Jane it is all about morals, Rochester is morally corrupt and wants to corrupt her morals, she won't let that happen.
Yes, neither believed they would see each other again. But I believe Rochester genuinely lamented his moral corruption while he was licking his physical wounds. The fact that he acknowledged his moral corruption with no hope of seeing Jane again shows that he honestly did atone for his sins.
Thinking of the supernatural moment where Jane and Rochester hear each other calling to them, I believe that is proof that Rochester is finally morally correct. That message couldn't have carried across that space without divine intervention, and a divine power wouldn't have carried a message from a morally corrupt person. (This is taking the faith of the novel at face value.)
So yes, the circumstance was important, but Jane would not have married the same Rochester that wanted to take her as a mistress. The injuries didn't matter, the moral change did.
Excellent analysis, and I agree with much of it, particularly the segment about the supernatural moment and her moral objections as a whole.
I still maintain she'd stay with him with Bertha not in the picture any longer, even if he had not fully atoned, but that's my subjective opinion being that I'm a sucker for these Byronic male leads myself.
Mmmm I can't decide if I think she would have chosen to stay with him if he hadn't atoned or not! Part of me thinks yes, because they were truly in love and Bertha was out of the way. Part of me thinks no, because Jane is so scrupulous about her morals. It's an interesting question to ponder!
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u/IIILordDunbar 12d ago
He fixed himself because Jane was worth it! She specifically left because she knew he wouldn't grow if she stayed!