John Duigan’s film, Wide Sargasso Sea, a movie adaptation of the Jean Rhys novel superficially contains steamy sex scenes, a troubled romance, and conflicting cultures. However, if one looks beyond initial appearances, one can see an interesting character development that importantly directs the story. Duigan manages to highlight this character quite well. He portrayed him well enough that I begin to notice a development that otherwise I would have not seen. It is easy to get lost in this story by looking only at the character of Antoinette because it is she that gets the most focus. However, it is important to direct your focus on Rochester. The character of Rochester in the film demonstrates one’s journey to manhood and control. It is my interest in this paper to examine the qualities of his characters and the progressive transformation that he goes through. The character development of Antoinette that I see as regressive is dependent on the direct progression of Rochester. She is an instrument for his own formation of an identity. His character seems rather parasitic; as he gains power and strength, she becomes weak and fragile.
The audience is introduced to Rochester when he journeys from England to Jamaica on a ship. He questions about the kelp hat had engulfed a man. Mason notes that the Wide Sargasso Sea is a graveyard. On Rochester’s face we can see worry about the upcoming culture and environment that he is about to face. He is not confident and conquering like other Englishman that have come before him. One can recognize this when he talks to himself about what expectations the woman he was meeting would have of him. He can only hope to not get sucked in by the lush environment.
Rochester is an Eng...
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...tory of Jane Eyre depicts. It has the potential to be that her “craziness” was at stake for Rochester to become his vision of himself. The complex character of Rochester should not be in the distance when analyzing these stories, but rather one in the spotlight. His identity, masculinity, strength, and presence was at the cost of a woman.
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Jane Eyre is born into a world where she is left bereft of the love of parents, family, or friends, but instead surrounded by hateful relatives. She resolves to attend school to begin her quest for independence. This theme is seen through Jane’s behavior when she renounces her relation to her aunt Mrs. Reed, ignoring the nurse’s orders and leaving her room to see Helen again, and when she acquires the courage to speak her opinion to Mr. Rochester.
...ment and realization that he has lost Jane to another man in the following dialogue between them, “’I know where your heart turns, and to what it clings. The interest you cherish is lawless and unconsecrated. Long since you ought to have crushed it: now you should blush to allude to it. You think of Mr. Rochester?’ It was true. I confessed it by silence. ‘Are you going t seek Mr. Rochester?’ ‘I must find out what is become of him.’ ‘It remains for me, then,’ he said, ‘to remember you in my prayers; and to entreat God for you, in all earnestness, that you may not indeed become a castaway. I had thought I recognized in you one of the chose. But God sees not as man sees: His will be done.’” (Bronte 436) Though Jane Eyre’s stay at Moor House and Morton were crucial for her recovery to stability of her life, she yearned to be at Thornfield and wedded to Mr. Rochester.
Antoinette’s initial exposure to exile with her mother and brother forces her to grow up assuming all men are dishonest. Throughout Wide Sargasso Sea, Antoinette clearly has some trust issues. While she initially feels Rochester drawing her in like a moth to the flame, she has second thoughts about marrying him and almost cancels their wedding. Without giving much of a reason, she simply says, “I’m afraid of what may happen” if she were to marry him (Rhys 46). Readers, not left with much context, can easily infer that she is untrusting by Rochester’s next line.
By Rochester calling Antoinette Bertha he has effectively created a new person, one he wants to control and rule. Jean Rhys asserts the theme of control through the structure in Wide Sargasso Sea which is very unconventional due to its three part structure. This structure could represent the unconventional ideas that are presented in the novel, women were seen as weak and men often dominated so the era the novel was written the question of where control lies between the two characters would have ultimately been seen as eccentric by many. Rhys also uses a chronological structure to shows the differing points of power in each of the characters’ lives. It could be argued that surroundings could be considered a character as it has so much influence over Antoinette’s life. The one place that Antoinette feels comfort is her home, this was shown in the start of the novel when she shows affection for where she lives but she soon hates the place which she once loved “But I loved this place and you have made it into a place I hate” Rochester has so much control he can change love into hate, he has destroyed her
Rochester’s lies are, there wouldn’t be much of a story without them. His lies set up pivotal conflicts in the story. In fact, he helps Bronte set up a plotline for the first half of the story by pursuing Jane in his strange ways. Making her jealous causes the first conflict in the story, moving the book along with the romance to keep you roped in. The second half of the story is where the major conflict starts. It causes a change of scenery, the new characters, and a new possible love conflict. Most importantly, it sets up the biggest plot twist at the end, with the fire, Bertha’s death and Mr. Rochester’s own loss of sight. Leaving Jane with difficult choices to make, which keeps the reader entertained. Without all of Mr. Rochester’s drama and lies, Jane Eyre wouldn’t be the classic love story it’s known
In conclusion, Jane Eyre’s painstaking journey to find a sense of acceptance, affection, and family was finally completed, attaining the things she yearned. She eventually discovered everything she was searching for through Mr. Rochester, forgetting her agonizing past and looking to what was ahead. As Jane looked for many different alternatives to make her feel as if she was complete, she found that Mr. Rochester was the only one who could make her feel
Charlotte Bronte presents Rochester in many different ways. He comes from a rich family, and has a sophisticated personality. His attitude and behavior from the start of the book and the end of it has a dramatic change. Rochester corresponds to the mould of a Byronic Hero however, with his brave and humble actions, he starts to become less attractive as a hero. Moreover, one could argue although he is an unconventional hero he is appealing in both physical and mental ways. However, another could argue against this and find no attractive views of Rochester.
This brought into question Jane’s grand need for independence. Jane’s equality in a relationship is derived from her desire for independence. Jane reveals her need for independence in her relationship with Mr. Rochester when she told him she would always call him master but she would not be inferior to him. Haiyan Gao asserts in her article “Reflection On feminism in Jane Eyre,” “Jane loves Rochester with all her heart and Rochester’s status and wealth make him so high above for Jane to approach, yet she never feels herself inferior to Rochester though she is a humble family teacher.” It is also notable that Jane does not pursue a relationship with Mr. Rochester with the intention of gaining money.
When reading Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, I find myself cheering for Rochester. After finishing the book, I ask myself why Jane chooses Rochester over St. John. After all, Rochester has a "mad" wife, Bertha Mason, locked in the attic of Thornfield Hall at the same time that he is proposing marriage to Jane. He has a ward living with him, possibly the offspring of an illicit affair with a French dancer. He is arrogant, pushy, and basically ill-tempered. St. John, on the other hand, is well mannered, respected, and has a promising future. To answer my own question, then, it is essential to look at how each man fits the idea of masculinity in Victorian society, at how each man relates to Jane, and at why Bronte creates her two leading men to be such extreme opposites.
...ing novels of their time. They both revise aspects of their era, that would rarely, if ever, have been touched on. Wide Sargasso Sea having the double revision of challenging Jane Eyre, as well as social beliefs. “The devices that connect the two texts also rupture the boundary between them. Although this rupture completes Rhys’ text, it results in a breakdown of the integrity of Bronte’s.” As much as Bronte’s text was revolutionary of her time, so too was Rhys’. Time changed and what was once revolutionary became simplified and unbelievable. The fact remains, that without Jane Eyre, there would be no Wide Sargasso Sea, the two text’s are mutually exclusive, and just as revolutionary now as when they were written.
In Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys confronts the possibility of another side to Jane Eyre. The story of Bertha, the first Mrs Rochester, Wide Sargasso Sea is not only a brilliant deconstruction of Brontë's legacy, but is also a damning history of colonialism in the Caribbean.
Despite Rochester’s stern manner and unhandsome appearance, Jane still finds herself falling in love with him. During her first encounter with Rochester Jane describes him
The realistic novel places greater emphasis on its characters, rather than its plot, and explores the relationships between these characters. The selected passage shows both the servant-master aspect of Jane and Mr. Rochester’s relationship, as well as its romantic nature. At the beginning of the selected passage, Jane affectionately describes Mr. Rochester as a “kind master,” which is indicative that even after his proposal, she is unable to separate herself from her position as a servant. This is further emphasized when Jane states that “he would send for [her] in the morning,” whic...
Women, in all classes, were still living in a world which was misogynistic and male-dominated. Their purpose in life was to produce male heirs and maintain the home by hiring and overseeing servants. It was also taboo for one to marry significantly below one’s social class. This is one reason that Jane is not a conventional heroine for the society of her time. Although, as a governess, she is not considered to be as low as a housemaid, she is still part of the hired help in the house. This is why it is unconventional for her and Mr Rochester to be in a relationship. Yet this is not as peculiar as how Jane Eyre ends their relationship due to her sense of betrayal. It would have been considered extremely foolish for a working-woman’s sense of betrayal to end and turn down a man of great wealth.
In the novel, we are presented with the tale of Jane Eyre and her travels around the English countryside. What she has seen and done are not considered extraordinary but rather common to a woman of her social standing. On the other hand, Rochester as a man of wealth and land has traveled the world and seen the sights of many nations. He has been to the new world and has also completed the Grand Tour of Europe that so many aristocrats before him have done. Yet when he returns home jaded, he finds in the plainest of women something that he had not found in his countless expeditions. When Jane is betrayed by Rochester, she leaves on her own tour with only a hope of survival without him. She eventually returns from her trek and has learned what she truly desires is to be with Rochester. Rochester’s advantageous trip abroad does not deliver the hope and satisfaction that the Grand Tour promises. On the other hand, Jane’s inconvenient journey around her homeland proves revealing to her independent nature. These details closely mirror the questions that arise when the value of travel as a learning experience is considered. Ultimately, Jane learns that where one goes is less important than how one spends the time.