I've decided it's time for me to voice my opinion on the character that has spawned the most heated division in our class discussions since the discussion of Brett in The Sun Also Rises. I feel no internal conflict in saying this: I despise Mr. Rochester. To me, he simply appears to be an all around deplorable human being. The way he treats Antoinette is inexcusable, despite what some might say to the contrary.
I find no sympathy for this character, which may surprise some of you. Many have said that Rochester is sympathetic because although he is surly, that's mainly because of the "unfair" situation he is put in. How exactly is his situation in any way "unfair"? If Rochester didn't want to be a part of this new culture then why did he come here? Why did he marry Antoinette if he didn't love her? How exactly is he "forced" to marry for money? Does he have some sort of debilitating aristocrat disease that keeps him for actually earning his own goddamn money? If Jake is an example in making the privileged seem likable then Rochester is the exact opposite.
And on to the whole love potion/rape debate. I would totally side with Rochester in this situation if Antoinette was doing it out of malice or if Rochester had felt genuinely violated, but as it stands, Rochester barely lingers on that aspect of it, instead focusing on the side effects brought on by the drug. And here I would side with him if not for his childish and sadistic act of revenge. If there weren't a section in which Rochester gets royally chewed out I would be a lot more upset with this novel as a whole, but as it stands I'll just reserve all y hate for Rochester.
2 comments:
I totally understand where you are coming from, but in my interpretation of the book, Rochester was sort of tricked into marrying Antoinette. True, when she tries to back out, he fights to keep them together early on, but I believe he was manipulated while he was sick with fever.
Yes, happily the Rochester-haters are given powerful voice through Christophine. (And, for me, I at least admire Rochester's willingness to admit, if only to himself, that she has a point.)
It's true that the "unfairness" he suffers would fall under the category of what's known these days as a "First World Problem"--the second son who doesn't merely inherit a fortune (although he will eventually) but must slog off to the colonies to "make" it for himself. He does feel manipulated--and we often do things because we know people who are important to us want us to do them, and/or because it seems necessary, or easy, or whatever. To his credit (I suppose), he actually does become open to the idea of happiness in this new environment, and there is a brief "honeymoon" period where he seems to be softening. But even here, he's clear that it's never *love* but only *desire*. Christophine implies that he deliberately clouds Antoinette's judgment here; I'd at least give him the benefit of the doubt. He does try to love Antoinette.
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