jane eyre characters analysis

mr rochester:

how he is presented:

at the beginning of the novel rochester is described as a well-liked but a 'peculiar character' as described by fairfax. he is very average looking and not traditionally heroic or handsome like the usual byronic hero used frequently in victorian literature which allows him to be more approachable.

however first meeting jane he is irritable and judges people without taking opinions from others first. he is also known to have a troubled past full of violence and sin and a sinful man while travelling suggesting his too passionate nature. 

throughout the novel rochester is associated with fire and light imagery for example the fire in his bed could symbolise his internal conflict or his sexual desire for jane which is sinful due to his marriage with bertha. however jane 'baptized the couch afresh' and the word 'baptized' has references to salvation foreshadowing rochester's salvation from sin by jane.

as rochester and jane's relationship strengthens there is a lot of supernatural or fairytale references used in their intellectual conversations suggesting jane is leading rochester away from his earthly sins to a more spiritual calm as she as a woman helps him reconnect with god through forgiveness when she returns to him after thornfield is destroyed.

after rochester's dark and too passionate secret of bertha is revealed it is known that jane is morally superior to rochester. jane is economically and socially inferior to him but after becoming rich she comes back to rochester to forgive him and restore his morality so they become true equals and can marry.

st john:

in contrast with rochester who is always associated with fire and light imagery st john is associated with rock and ice suggesting his passionless and heartless nature. marrying rochester would mean that their marriage would be an overload of passion while marrying st john would mean sacrificing her passion. 

when st john offers her the opportunity to have a meaningful contribution to society by going to india with him to evangelise jane realises that a life with st john would be without true love. st john would ***** her of her passion and love and independence would come with loneliness. her consideration of his proposal leads her to realise that a large part of her freedom would be found in a relationship of mutual emotional dependence.

bronte could also be using st john to criticise his christianity that means him having a strict life of following gods rules and excluding all passion. st john says 'Reason, not Feeling is my guide' in response to jane telling him that he and rosamond oliver should marry. st johns rejection of jane eyres painting of rosamond oliver symbolising his love for her highlights the main difference between jane and him-jane does not reject her feelings.

st johns obsessiveness with following the rules of christianity also *****s him of his personality although he describes himself as a 'cold, hard and ambitious man'. this suggests he does not know his…