Rochester & Jane Relationship

Bronte describes a conversation between Jane and Mr. Rochester about Mr. Rochester's current state of sinfulness and weather or not he can redeem himself. Jane says that "repentance is said to be [remorse's] cure" and Rochester replies that "it is not its cure. Reformation may be its cure; and [he] could reform- [he has] strength yet for that...but where is the use of thinking of it, hampered, burdened, cursed as [he is]?" (Bronte 159-160). Perhaps Mr. Rochester feels guilty about imprisoning Bertha, and therefore feels it as his duty to take care of and marry Jane. He is humbling himself by doing so; it is his way of repenting/reforming. He was completely concerned with how society would treat him with an insane wife; essentially he was concerned with how society viewed him. By marrying Jane, he would be lowering himself in class, therefore defying society's opinions. When talking of his reformation, Mr. Rochester says that "unheard-of combinations of circumstances demand unheard-of rules" (Bronte 161), in his case, changing the marriage/class rules of society. Maybe Jane is just a way for Mr. Rochester to feel less guilty about his sins.

-Camille Turner