Is Rochester a Romantic Hero? (Jane Eyre Literary Analysis)

Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre, has gone through a multitude of generations of readers and analytics. It is considered to be one of the most revolutionary novels of its time for its romance and gothic elements. A governess falls in love with a man who conceals a big secret that forbids them from being together. This is the typical idea of a romance, where the characters must overcome said obstacle so they can live happily ever after. For a long time, Mr. Rochester, the main love interest in Jane Eyre, was considered to be a romantic hero for his deep devotion and love towards Jane, however, his actions, observed today, show that Rochester is not a romantic hero at all. He has shown multiple signs of treating Jane as a distraction as well as being extremely manipulative. Mr. Rochester should not be considered a romantic hero due to his actions that exhibit a multitude of signs that are highly concerning by today’s standards.

A romantic novel, defined by rwa.org (Romance Writers of America), is considered to be a story in which “The main plot centers around individuals falling in love and struggling to make the relationship work. A writer can include as many subplots as he/she wants as long as the love story is the main focus of the novel.” which, by definition, Jane Eyre can be considered as such. Jane, the protagonist, struggles with the relationship between herself and Rochester, a mysterious and passionate man. Due to his passion, many readers have described him as one of the most romantic characters in literature. For example, he views Jane as one of the most precious treasures in the world (“Jane, you look blooming, and smiling, and pretty” (Bronte, 277)), and exhibits strong devotion for her (“Every atom of your flesh is as dear to me as my own:...at least as fond as it would be restrictive” (Bronte, 325)). At first glance, the reader can understand that Bronte has written Rochester as a truly romantic character. His intended purpose as a character is to capture not only Jane’s interest but the reader’s interest as well. He is supposed to be observed as a mysterious, brooding man with the qualities of a hopeless romantic. His character was made with the idea that the reader should feel and sympathize with him, however, upon further inspection, some of the things Rochester does throughout the novel indicate strange and peculiar behavior that would be considered a red flag in today’s society. This different perspective of his character challenges the idea of Rochester as a romantic hero. 

From the moment of Jane and Rochester’s first encounter, Rochester has taken a strange approach to how he engages with Jane. For example, Rochester’s decision to disguise himself as a gypsy to get secrets out of Jane. During this scene, Jane is asked questions regarding her feelings toward Rochester instead of a telling of her future, as most of the other women had received. Once revealed as the gypsy, this encounter feels wrong to the reader. Rochester has disguised himself to purposefully pry at Jane’s feelings toward Rochester. This scene demonstrates how far Rochester is willing to go in order to know more about what Jane is thinking. To the reader, it gives off a creepy and stalker-like feeling to the reader which presents as Rochester playing mind games to acquire the information he wants without Jane particularly knowing. Another example of this is the comment “You must see the carriage, Jane, and tell me if you don’t think it will suit Mrs. Rochester exactly…” (Bronte, 263). This comment was analyzed by BenjaminBarber.org with the argument that this statement was intended to be a “romantic gesture” (BenjaminBarber.org, 7) because Rochester is judging Jane’s reaction. However, by this point, Jane has admitted her feelings toward Rochester and has developed insecurities because of this (her status and looks compared to that of Blanche Ingram), so, this comment now undermines Jane’s hopes of Rochester loving her which has the opposite effect Rochester, as a romantic character, should be going for. If this story is considered a romance in which both parties are in love with one another, why would Rochester remind her of her station in society compared to his?

During the discussion in chapter 27, Rochester comes clean about the truth concerning Bertha and his perspective of the situation. Rochester mentions that after locking up Bertha, he “sought the Continent, and went devious through all its lands” and that he had a “fixed desire to seek and find a good and intelligent woman, whom [Rochester] could love: a contrast to the furry [he] left at Thornfield” (Bronte, 335). Rochester blatantly mentions that he left Thornfield in order to find another woman, knowing that he, himself, was already married. This statement matches the exact situation Jane and Rochester are in. Rochester is treating their relationship as if it were a distraction from Bertha, similar to what he did traveling across Europe. Rochester then admits to having multiple mistresses while traveling, all of them he had eventually grown tired of. The use of this statement in the argument on why Jane should stay at Thornfield with him completely undermines the idea that Rochester is wholly in love with Jane. It leaves Jane questioning whether if Rochester would eventually grow tired of her. Rochester also demanded that the carriage was to “be ready the moment [Jane and Rochester] return” (Bronte, 310) from when he and Jane were married. Rochester’s plan was to leave the country immediately after they were married. This adds to the evidence that, instead of being concerned about how the marriage ceremony would go, Rochester is concerned with leaving Thornfield as quickly as possible. This entire ordeal adds to the idea that Rochester is marrying Jane in order to forget about Bertha. It raises the question of whether Rochester is fully in love with Jane, or if he is in love with the idea that he no longer has to be burdened with Bertha and her behavior, as it all reflects onto him, as his wife. 

In conclusion, Rochester can not be considered a romantic hero. He has shown multiple signs of manipulation and a general lack of full interest and devotion toward Jane. While it is still a romance novel, where the lovers overcome all obstacles and end up together, it still leaves a sense of unease on the readers. Rochester is constantly reminding Jane of her position in society compared to his by attempting to make her jealous with his wealth and status instead of treating her as his equal and is primarily concerned with leaving Thornfield in order to flee from Bertha. All of these signs make it hard for Rochester to be considered a romantic hero. A romantic hero is supposed to be a person who has complete love for their partner, which, while Rochester may still love Jane, his actions provide evidence that he may not be completely in love with her that would be the qualifications of a “romantic hero”. By today’s standards, a lot of these signs would be concerning in a relationship. So, the statement provided by BenjaminBarber.org, “Although [the relationship] is based on dishonesty and tricky in the beginning, they work their way through this to arrive at their true feelings and romantically live happily ever after” (BenjaminBarber.org, 13), can not be so easily overlooked. Their relationship was entirely based on dishonesty. Rochester lied to Jane throughout their relationship, from the first encounter to Jane fleeing Thornfield. This can not make Rochester a true romantic hero by today’s standards. Jane and Rochester’s relationship was built with the foundation of Rochesters lies and manipulation. 

Barber, Benjamin. “Charlotte Bronte Jane Eyre Romantic Novel Essay On.” Essay Examples, 21 Feb. 2019, benjaminbarber.org/charlotte-bronte-jane-eyre-romantic-novel.

“Romance Writers of America.” About the Romance Genre, Romance Writers of America, www.rwa.org/Online/Romance_Genre/About_Romance_Genre.aspx. Accessed 16 Dec. 2021.