Edward Rochester and Henry Crawford have a ton in common, which I could not help but notice as I read Jane Eyre. Jane and Fanny are also similar but I’ll leave them for later. Here are some strong similarities:
Physically unattractive but charming/valuable in company
Disdain for women who are beautiful but superficial
See no problem with flirting with said women because of their mercenary ways
Attraction towards women with a strong moral character
Justification of their misdeeds by “making up for it” (Henry pardons himself for flirting with Fanny because he will marry her, Rochester pardons himself for bigamy because he will treat Jane right)
Don’t spend any time at home (though for wildly different reasons)
“Love language” includes giving lavish gifts (necklace and brother promotion/silk gowns and pearl necklace) and making very moving speeches
Both are very jaded when it comes to women and marriage, but think that the woman they fall for will fix everything/is a very unique sort of woman
Ch 27 of Jane Eyre and Ch 30 of Mansfield Park are so romantic in what Rochester and Henry say that I just want to pitch a tent and live in them forever.
Now I ended up having far more sympathy for Rochester’s sin than Henry’s, mostly because it seems far more justifiable for me. Sorry Henry Crawford, but once you sleep with your crush’s cousin, you are beyond redemption (at least with Fanny). But Rochester I’m like, “You have been trapped for twenty years in a terrible marriage to a madwoman, I’m going to give you a pass on bigamy.” I’m also not very mad about the mistresses. What is he supposed to do? He longs for a meaningful relationship and going to visit your Attic wife and maybe getting stabbed or bitten doesn’t seem like a great option. So I will give you a French mistress or two, as a treat.
Rochester is also significantly older than Henry and shows far more ability to be responsible. He adequately cares for Adele and Bertha. He is well-respected by his servants and tenants as far as we can tell. That is a big point in his favour. Henry seems capable of this, but has not demonstrated it.
But here is the big thing that I cannot forgive: Mr. Rochester, you do not keep a kid and an arsonist in the same house! Once the bed was set on fire, it was time to either move Bertha or Adele and the eighteen-year-old non-consenting governess. And yes, Bertha never attacks Jane or Adele, but as we see later, fire can easily spread through an entire house and Bertha does go into Jane’s room once and rip the veil. Then Rochester is just like, “Oh, thank God that’s all she did.” Um, dude! It is just irresponsible to have someone who is murderussly violent and an EIGHT YEAR OLD CHILD together in a house. Fix up your other house, find a second guard like Grace Poole, put Adele in school, put Bertha in a cottage, do SOMETHING in the name of safety PLEASE.
I do wonder what Charlotte would have thought about Mansfield Park. Why didn’t they send her that one instead of P&P?
