tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9721761.post5890499128883711867..comments2024-03-19T07:27:06.216-04:00Comments on VOTARIES OF HORROR: Romance ProblemsKatherine Woodburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14364517253667798449noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9721761.post-22937113792364270192017-01-06T22:59:07.435-05:002017-01-06T22:59:07.435-05:00I think Rochester's women don't see the ob...I think Rochester's women don't see the obvious about Rochester because they perceive him first and foremost as an alpha, self-confident guy. And I don't think they are the only ones! So many writers/directors leave out the fortune-telling scene because they perceive Rochester as manipulating Jane while instead, rather, he is trying to wheedle some kind of confession from her (Timothy Dalton doesn't match Rochester's persona but he does capture this scene fairly well). <br /><br />Because Rochester is so much older and more outgoing, his behavior--such as forcing Jane to come downstairs while his guests are there--is perceived as domineering and mean. How can this confident, worldly man not realize that he is hurting/pressuring this sweet, quiet young woman? <br /><br />At one point, for instance, he says to Jane, "Why didn't you come and speak to me in the parlor?" Every woman who reads that passage thinks, "Are you some kind of idiot? She would never have the hutzpah, indifference that comes with age, or social prestige to go up to you in front of your rich, uppity friends and start a conversation!" <br /><br />But Rochester isn't trying to "punish" Jane. He honestly considers her more self-assured than he (her reserve adds to his perception). It's a little daft, but totally in keeping with Rochester's idealistic personality. He always puts the women he loves on pedestals. <br /><br />In fact, if one stops seeing Rochester as confident and more importantly, realizes that HE doesn't see himself as confident, then <b>all</b> his behavior falls into place. <br /><br />(And he is right about Jane being tougher--he just needed to give her a few more years and space to mull.)<br /><br />I agree about St. John, with an emphasis on the "affection" part of "love." Jane wants love in the form of a big, loud, physically affectionate guy. She knows for a fact that St. John can't offer her warmth and affection (however "scrupulous" he is in the "forms of love") and can't bear the idea--this is why she offers to go with him to India as his "sister/cousin," not his wife. She can admire the "frowning giant of a rock" (her description of St. John during his proposal) from afar--she doesn't want to sleep with it. (For Jane, enduring "every endearment St. John bestows [as] a sacrifice made on principle," i.e. being "tolerated" would be utterly humiliating and soul-destroying.) <br /><br />I think it is probably this aspect of the book that made it somewhat scandalous at the time. Well, that, and the fact that Jane clearly thinks being a missionary is noble but not so much fun. Jane ends the book by praising St. John but she does so after going out of her way to mention that she has a kid and lots of happy friends (my personal feeling is that in her ending, Bronte, knowing her Victorian audience, was trying to temper her celebration of the physical, mundane [old meaning] experience--eh, she only sort of succeeded). Katherine Woodburyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14364517253667798449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9721761.post-84958803768334569932017-01-06T21:09:01.998-05:002017-01-06T21:09:01.998-05:00And though all the movies make a hash of him, St. ...And though all the movies make a hash of him, St. John is really just Rochester though wanting loyalty instead of love. Unlike Rochester, St. John would give back every much as he sought, but, to me at least, Jane preferred what little love Rochester could give back rather than no love, but an infinite amount of loyalty.<br /><br />That's my take anyway.Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04450897654318345683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9721761.post-20332628590890349862017-01-06T21:01:34.444-05:002017-01-06T21:01:34.444-05:00The problem with Rochester is that he desperately ...The problem with Rochester is that he desperately wants to be loved. So do I. The difference is that introverts like me just wallow in our self-pity while super-extroverts, like Rochester, annoy everyone, especially the introverts.<br /><br />On the other hand, nobody sits around wondering what Rochester really wants. Yet, somehow the women in his life don't see it, which mystified me about the book. (BTW, it is this aspect of Rochester's personality that Orson Welles absolutely nails.)Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04450897654318345683noreply@blogger.com