Rochester's Personal Journey

Eroticism, romance, and a steamy landscape is at the forefront in John Duigan’s movie adaptation of the Jean Rhys novel, Wide Sargasso Sea. Behind these themes exists a power struggle between two of the main characters and their dependence on one another. Antoinette Cosway and arranged English spouse, Edward Rochester, begin their marriage and lives together. In this arrangement, initial lust and interest between the two soon begins to crumble with the introduction of revealed secrets and fears. Much focus is spent on the main character Antoinette’s personal journey throughout the story, however, it is my interest to look at the character Rochester. His own struggle with identity is not only interesting, but very powerful in how as his identity and strength changes, it directly affects that of his wife, Antoinette. His character development seems rather parasitic. As he gains strength and masculinity, she becomes weak and fragile.

We are first introduced to Edward Rochester in the conversation between that of Aunt Cora and Richard Mason, uncle to Antoinette. He is an Englishman and friend of the Mason’s who needs to be married into wealth due to his position as the second child. This is due to primogeniture where the first male inherits the estate, leaving the other children to look for other means. His unfortunate status is emasculating when one considers that it is more often required for women to look for wealth and not men. Without an estate and personal wealth, Rochester does not fit into the stereotypical mature whole male subject. He is not completely independent, but rather at the hands of a woman.

While Antoinette and Rochester’s first meeting was a comical one due to his weak knees and dramatic faint, ...

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...gets Thornfield Hall. He is now a mature whole male subject. However, he still wants to possess and “care for” his “lunatic.”

Rochester’s personal journey with his identity is very provoking. When we encounter his character in Jane Eyre, we see the hostile and confident man in front of us. It is not until the Duigan film that my personal attention was drawn to his transformation. It is necessary when evaluating the main characters in both stories surrounding Rochester to look at his identity. This discovery questions whether it was necessary for Antoinette to lose herself. 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, but rather one in the spotlight, for his identity, masculinity, strength, and presence was at the cost of a woman.