An example of the Byronic hero, Rochester is a passionate man, guided more by emotions than by reason.įor instance, when he first met Bertha Mason, his immediate attraction to her lavish qualities resulted in their tragic marriage.

This is found to be true for Rochester’s trip to Jamaica and the consequences that came of his meeting Bertha Mason there.

He is usually well travelled, and has often come into conflict during his journeys. The Byronic hero tends to be unsociable and isolated from the society, either voluntarily or due to impositions placed by some other influence. Her description agrees with the traits usually related to a Byronic hero. Fairfax establishes him as a sort of wanderer. Fairfax replies, “He is rather peculiar, perhaps: he has travelled a great deal, and seen a great deal of the world, I should think. Fairfax, “What, in short, is his character?” To this Mrs. In Chapter 11 of Jane Eyre, Jane asks of Mrs. Know that I dote on Corsairs and for that reason, sing it ‘con spirito’” (ch.17). We see the influence Byron’s poetry had on Bronte’s writing when in Jane Eyre, Bronte makes a reference to one of his works, The Corsair, “Here then is a Corsair-song. However, with the gothic atmosphere of Jane Eyre, it seems almost suiting for the hero to embody many such attributes of a Byronic hero One of the most prominent literary character types of the Romantic period, the Byronic hero is not conventionally “heroic” and his dark qualities tend to reject the image of a “traditional” hero. Rochester is stern, rude, and demanding and has a dark and somewhat mysterious personality. He has an abrupt, selfish and arrogant nature, and is far from handsome. Rochester is clearly an unusual love interest for a romantic novel.

Rochester as a byronic hero