‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Bronte: The Relationship of Jane and Rochester

'Jane Eyre' is one of the most famous and well-read romantic novels in English literature. The novel has been translated into a number of different languages and adapted many times for dramatized productions. 'Jane Eyre' focuses on several kinds of love: the love of sisterly relationships (Jane's love for Helen Burns and other civilians at Lowood, for Miss Temple, and for the Rivers family), compassionate love (Jane's love for Miss Temple, and others who are downtrodden), and the type of love associated with family (Jane's love for Diane, Mary, and St. John Rivers and those of ancestry relationship).

However, the love of romantic relationships between the two main characters, Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester, is the central theme of the novel. Charlotte Bronte makes use of a simple yet familiar story line: boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy and girl are reunited after some hardship and then live happily ever after. 'Jane Eyre' contains most of the classic features of a love story.For example, real or imagined barriers between the two characters, misunderstandings, sudden separations, warm reunions, shared dangers, jealousy and helping or consoling the other character. We first encounter this relationship between Jane and Rochester during their first dramatic meeting. She encounters him when he falls off his horse and she is required to give him assistance.

Jane's first impression of his face is that 'He had a dark face, with stern features and a heavy brow'.This may portray the dimness in his face awaiting to be enlightened by a woman which, in this case Jane. Further on in this chapter, unaware of who he is, on her return home, Jane is amazed to discover that the gentleman she assisted in the road was her employer, Mr. Edward Rochester.

Jane's future relationship with Rochester is most clearly set out in their first meeting. Although without any money, reserved and socially dependent, Jane is not afraid of this rather stern-looking man and approaches him confidently to offer her help.Rochester is given physical assistance and support, which is a target for the relationship that they may hold. In spite of her noticeable poor standard, Jane maintains the strength and power in relation to Rochester, the refusal to be dominated, which shows that she will always be the most dominating participant in this relationship. Jane is initially intrigued by Mr. Rochester; the morning after his arrival, she asks Mrs.

Fairfax for more information about him.She becomes increasingly attracted to him, even though he is often rude with her and, as some readers may believe, harsh. Rochester's romantic behaviour transforms Jane, as once she states, "So happy, so gratified did I become with this new interest added to life, that I ceased to pine after kindred; my thin crescent-destiny seemed to enlarge; the blanks of existence were filled up; my bodily health improved; I gathered flesh and strength," showing to the readers that Rochester has healed Jane of her dreary life of which she was imprisoned and now released with strength to fight.She is finally in love with him that he displaces God and becomes "an idol" to her. Rochester brings a sense of life and of excitement to the inactive life Jane feels she is living at Thornfield. Also in helping him with his horse, she has a sense of usefulness and he brings her his experience of the world, which she does not know about because of her youth and her sheltered life.

She says, "He liked to open to a mind unacquainted with the world, glimpses of its scenes and ways... nd I had a keen delight in receiving the new ideas he offered, in imagining the new pictures he portrayed, or followed him in thought through the new regions he disclosed.

"In the case of Rochester, the characteristics of Jane which attracts her to him is her purity and innocence. As stated in the novel, Rochester has encountered many unfaithful relationships with women who only love him for his money and status. When Rochester looks at Jane, he sees the woman of his dreams, a woman who truly loves him not his wealth.Rochester is also attracted to Jane as he is able to talk to her as an equal without having to be respected and left alone due to his status. Jane and Rochester's relationship develops from a small relationship such as employer and employee to a large and committed relationship such as love and eventually marriage.

Although the reader only comes to acknowledgement of Jane's love in Chapter 17 after Jane meets Rochester's supposedly bride-to be, Miss Blanche Ingram.As readers recall, during their first meeting, Jane gave a vague and brief description of Rochester however, after a while of becoming acquainted with Rochester and falling in love with the unique man she had now met, Jane explains his appearance to be 'colourless, olive face, square, massive brow, broad and jetty eyebrows, deep eyes, strong features, firm, grim mouth - all energy, decision, will - were not beautiful, according to rule; but they were more than beautiful to me.This shows that the way Jane's sees Rochester's physical structure has developed during the development of their relationship as she sees him more attractive than their first meeting in which their relationship were strangers. As well as the development of Jane and Rochester's relationship, the way their relationship grows is also an impact on the reader. As we know in the first few chapters, their relationship from employer and employee becomes a trustworthy friendship and after a few chapters after the entrance of Miss Blanche Ingram, we come to acknowledgement of Jane's secretive love for Rochester.

The readers are not told Rochester's feelings for Jane since he never confesses until after the return of Jane from her visit to her aunt. Here Rochester proposes and this may astonish the reader due to the fact that a friendship/love became a marriage proposal without even the slightest confession of their feelings. Jane and Rochester may feel that they can relate and understand each other's situations as their own; on the other hand, one major situation that shows a real difference in their relationship is their social and financial situations.In the case of Jane's social and financial position, Bronte portrays her as an penniless yet moderately educated orphan from a good family.

Although Jane is educated, well-mannered, and relatively sophisticated, she is still a governess, a paid servant of low social status, and therefore powerless. However, Jane does not allow her social status to overthrow her in the way she socialises with others, for instance when Rochester asks Jane question, she continues to answer them despite her status; Jane is independent and strong-willed in comparison to her status.In the contrast with this, Edward Rochester's status is the complete opposite; Rochester is higher in wealth and status in comparison to Jane. Rochester has more money than Jane and is more respected socially due to family inheritance of wealth and the fact that Rochester is a man and in the Victorian era men were considered higher in status than women. Jane is not reliant on Rochester however, many times in the novel Rochester allows him to believe she is.One example of this would be when Jane requests a leave from work to visit her ailing aunt and Rochester imposes that she takes the money he provides on her travels emphasizing on her low amount of money; 'Well, you must have some money; you can't travel without money, and I daresay you have not much.

' This portrays Jane's financial status and Rochester's awareness of it.Another case in point would be when Rochester proposes to Jane and tries to shower Jane with luxurious clothes and jewellery on the other hand Jane feels that their relationship should not be transformed into a social and financial match by such trappings and eventually Jane manages to successfully steer him away from this particular behavior. Rochester's behavior in this part of the novel portrays that he is aware of Jane's status and wishes to neutralize their relationship which Jane feels will weaken their relationship as they may argue which of them is higher in currency in future relations.During the novel, the reader acknowledges many times after Jane's acquaintance with Rochester, the love and passion she holds for him and how it increases day by day. After Rochester expresses his love and proposes to Jane, Bronte uses setting to portray upcoming disasters in their relationship.

The sudden break in the weather results in a storm, which creates 'the great horse-chestnut at the bottom of the orchard had been struck by lightning in the night, and half of it split away. ' This is a clear omen, signifying that this approaching union is not right.Rochester's manner and language also hints towards all not going to be well; the cruelty which he holds to Jane and his defiance of the world presents a cause of concern by the reader. However, Jane is oblivious to all of this, so is mesmerized by these changes in her fortunes. Jane soon receives symbolic messages on the day before the marriage and on the day of the wedding.

Jane has a dream which involved the idea of having a child and showed Jane and Rochester being separated far apart. From awaking from this dream, Jane discovers a strange, fearful woman in her room who tears her wedding veil apart before leaving the bedroom.On the day of the wedding Rochester hurries Jane to the ceremony to be completed quickly and to allow them to descend to their honeymoon. This unusual behavior from Rochester worries Jane curiously and although she does not show it, she believes there must be a reason for this behavior. During the wedding Jane finds out that Rochester already has a wife currently living in Thornfield and although Jane forgives him for his secret about Bertha, she feels that she should not be in his presence, since it would have been seen as wrong in society in the Victorian era to be a man's mistress.

Rochester tries to force Jane to stay with him and travel as a companion in his trips around the world through emotional and violent ways, when Jane stays in her room after the discovery of Rochester's wife. Not only does Jane find this morally wrong but she feels that if indeed she was to become his mistress, then he would start to look down upon her after a while of continuing the affair due to the fact that Rochester began to disrespect the women he loved who had affairs with other men for example, Adele's mother and Bertha.Jane decides to leave Thornfield for the best when Rochester was asleep in order that he will not force her to stay and prevent her from leaving. Even when she leaves Thornfield and is degraded to a beggar with no money, food, support or advice, she feels that leaving Thornfield was the best option instead of staying and creating more grief and pain in her and Rochester's lives. During Jane's years separated from Rochester, she tries to forget him and move on with her life; even with the reunion of her unknown cousins, she still tries to forget Rochester but is helpless.When St John explains her history until the present day, Jane is mostly concerned about the life of Rochester and not how St John gathered this information.

'Just tell me this, and since you know so much, you surely can tell it me - what of Mr. Rochester? How and where is he? What is he doing? Is he well? ' This speech portrays that Jane tries to forget Rochester but a part of her compels her to find the occurrences in his life after she left which shows she may still have strong feelings of romance for Rochester.Also when Jane hears the calls of Rochester supposedly in her mind, Bronte tries to symbolize their passionate love for each other which some may say will allow them to communicate through telepathic ways. This is the reason why Jane was compelled to go to visit Rochester to inquire in his life after her departure and finds out about the fire of Thornfield Hall. The end of the novel is very crucial to the readers as it shows the way Jane's life ends up. When Jane returns to Thornfield Hall to see the well-being of Rochester, their reunion shows great difference in contrast to that of their first meeting.

During their first meeting, Rochester seemed of higher class and of more power in comparison to Jane. As the readers see in the first meeting, Rochester rides in on a horse which symbolically portrays the extended status he has over Jane as well as leaning on Jane physically for support. On the other hand, at the end of the novel, Rochester is 'now helpless, indeed - blind and a cripple' and needs Jane for support as he is unable to do that himself, which shows that Rochester is below Jane in status although they are now equal in financial terms.Throughout Jane's life she is placed in situations where she is dependent on others; however the last few chapters show that the people Jane was dependent on are now dependent on her. As readers, we also come to acknowledge that similar to Jane, Rochester also thinking of Jane every day thinking about her presence; 'It is a dream; such dreams as I have had at night when I clasped her once more to my heart, as I do now; and kissed her, as thus - and felt that she loved me and trusted that she would not leave me..

. - But I always woke up and found it an empty mockery.This portrays the idea that Rochester always loved Jane even after she left and even after the disastrous fire. Rochester always dreamt of Jane's presence and the love she shared with him when he proposed until he awoke to find it all a trick of the mind, a dream. We also see how Rochester regrets all his actions and creates gloomy thoughts around his surroundings which, Jane tries to convert the discontent into a more jealous atmosphere by discussing a marriage proposal which will catch Rochester's attention as he still loves her.In this part of the novel, when Rochester proposes for the second time, Jane accepts contentedly as the readers know that during this marriage there will be no problems which could disrupt their marriage.

Similar to the first wedding arrangements, Rochester tries to create a brighter Jane with glistening clothes and jewellery but Jane refuses and Rochester takes no notice due to the delight and excitement of marrying the woman of his dreams. At the end of the novel, we acknowledge that Rochester has 'recovered the sight of that one eye.This portrays that Rochester has paid for his past sins, so the partial regaining of his sight shows a sort of forgiveness. Although, Jane and Rochester's relationship is of a storyline which is commonly used there is a sense of the unique way in which their love and passion for each other has grown. In a normal relationship, it would take time for the lovers to fall in love and appreciate each other, however in this particular case from the Victorian era, Jane and Rochester's love has grown from employer and employee to a married couple in just a few years.

Also, despite all the obstacles that they had to overcome, Jane and Rochester still managed to follow their heart's content and get married. Although neither Jane nor Rochester are interested in looks they are brought together by their personality in which they appreciate finding someone they can freely talk to without any interruptions of their status. In conclusion, Jane and Rochester's relationship develops to a large extent in a small amount of time and although their love may not be shown at the beginning, their love for each other is what brought them together at the end of the novel.