Flawed Hero
The term Byronic hero originated from the life and writings of Lord Byron of the early 1800s. A Byronic hero is defined as a person as perfect as a hero but flawed like a human. Edward Rochester, a Byronic hero, is capable of loving an outspoken feminist like Jane Eyre, because Rochester's imperfect attributes make the two equal. Rochester imperfections that make him a Byronic hero primarily revolves around his troubled past, outcast like personality, and complexity as a character. It is Rochester’s past that pushed him toward the lonely life of a Byronic hero.
Mr. Rochester’s troubled past sets the basis of his imperfect life. In the story told by him, he is tricked into marrying an insane woman to whom he does not even love. With Bertha as his wife Rochester is tied down by marriage, and unable to seek eternal happiness. To further ruin Rochester’s past, he learns of the lies and deceits made by the bride’s family and his very own. “My bride’s mother I had never seen: I understood she was dead. The honeymoon over, I learned my mistake; she was only mad, and shut up in a lunatic asylum… My father and my brother Rowland knew all this; but they thought only of the thirty thousand pounds, and joined in the plot against me”(330) All the lies Rochester believed would soon form a sense of distrust, as he grows more and more distant from society--shunning himself from society.
Although at a high social status, amongst them Rochester is an outcast. Through a large portion of the novel, Rochester remains a mysterious figure to the reader. He conceals a great portion of his life to Jane, such as Bertha. Rochester has a great distaste for normal society and lifestyle. Rochester does not marry another wealthy and beautiful female such as Lady Ingram, but instead confesses his love toward the penniless plain Jane. Both he and Jane think differently than others during the era. Jane’s feminism and Rochester‘s indifference separate them from the rest of society. Rochester
Mr. Rochester’s troubled past sets the basis of his imperfect life. In the story told by him, he is tricked into marrying an insane woman to whom he does not even love. With Bertha as his wife Rochester is tied down by marriage, and unable to seek eternal happiness. To further ruin Rochester’s past, he learns of the lies and deceits made by the bride’s family and his very own. “My bride’s mother I had never seen: I understood she was dead. The honeymoon over, I learned my mistake; she was only mad, and shut up in a lunatic asylum… My father and my brother Rowland knew all this; but they thought only of the thirty thousand pounds, and joined in the plot against me”(330) All the lies Rochester believed would soon form a sense of distrust, as he grows more and more distant from society--shunning himself from society.
Although at a high social status, amongst them Rochester is an outcast. Through a large portion of the novel, Rochester remains a mysterious figure to the reader. He conceals a great portion of his life to Jane, such as Bertha. Rochester has a great distaste for normal society and lifestyle. Rochester does not marry another wealthy and beautiful female such as Lady Ingram, but instead confesses his love toward the penniless plain Jane. Both he and Jane think differently than others during the era. Jane’s feminism and Rochester‘s indifference separate them from the rest of society. Rochester