How Does Rochester Change Throughout The Novel

In Charlotte Brontë’s novel Jane Eyre, a man named Edward Rochester is the master of Thornfield Hall, where Jane Eyre is hired as a governess to the young Adèle. When Jane first meets Mr. Rochester, she sees him as a cold and forbidding man. Through the influence of Jane Eyre, Rochester goes through a dramatic change in both his body and his mind. Physically, he has suffered debilitating injuries, while mentally, he is more open and has learned the true meaning of love. The most obvious transformation of Mr. Rochester is in his physical appearance. When his wife Bertha sets Thornfield Hall on fire, he still goes to try and save her. However, as the innkeeper describes, “[…] but one eye was knocked out, and one hand so crushed that Mr. Carter, the surgeon, had to amputate it
However, near the end of the book, it is stated that, “he eventually recovered the sight of that one eye” (Brontë 523). Throughout the book, Rochester’s way of thinking and emotions have also changed. When he was a young man, it is stated that, “[…] would give the latter a fortune of thirty thousand pounds; that sufficed. When I left college, I was sent out to Jamaica, to espouse a bride already courted for me” (Brontë 355). From a young age, Rochester was conditioned to do things to get ahead, not because he wanted to, as shown when he was forced by his father to marry a woman he did not have any feelings for in order to gain money. This experience turned him into a disappointed and jaded man, a man who stated, “I began to regard the notion of an intellectual, faithful, loving woman as a mere dream” (Brontë 364). When he and Jane first meet, she describes him as a stiff and irate man. As the story progresses, Mr. Rochester develops feelings for Jane. He asks to marry her, and pledges to “[…] guard, and cherish, and solace her” (Brontë 299). Unfortunately, when Jane runs off, he goes through a negative