Hate the sin, love the trig

1979. Choose a complex and important character in a novel or a play of recognized literary merit who might on the basis of the character's actions alone be considered evil or immoral. In a well-organized essay, explain both how and why the full presentation of the character in the work makes us react more sympathetically than we otherwise might. Avoid plot summary.

            He lies. He coerces a young girl into becoming his bride, without telling her he’s already married. He manipulates this girl, making her jealous by pretending to love another. He’s the only man this girl has ever known personally. He treats those that displease him with uniform scorn, he has lived a life of debauchery for several years, and he has mood swings. Yet, because we see him through the eyes of a woman who loves him with all her heart, we cannot despise Mr. Rochester from Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre.

Even as the woman who loves him, Jane is open about Rochester’s faults from the beginning. She notes his brusque nature from their first meeting as strangers, and goes on to describe him as sarcastic, secretive, and moody. Rochester for his part, is frank with his faults to Jane, telling her that he has not lived as purely as he would have liked, and about the truth of Adele Varens. This small honesty, despite how much it conceals, is still enough for him to earn a reader’s trust. Beyond even his admissions, though, Jane is perceptive enough to see that there is a dark secret somewhere in his past, and yet as a narrator she only expresses the desire to delve deeper into Rochester’s past. She transforms his negative qualities into a mystery that intrigues the reader, rather than the repellant forces they could be. In Jane’s eyes, his faults and foibles are mere ‘seasonings’ that make him more appealing, and this carries through beyond the pages.

Despite the interest he provides, Rochester’s treatment of Jane should make him the villain of the story, but knowing Jane’s story from her beginnings as a timid young girl, the positive changes that he brings onto her are apparent. Even before their love is found to be mutual, Jane’s spirits heighten after befriending him. She laughs more, is freer to speak, and no longer feels trapped in a dull and pointless life—part of her personality that was proven to be subdued only by worthwhile friends. Once they become engaged, Jane blooms even further, and Rochester’s positive effects on her are cemented. Since the sympathy of the audience lies with Jane, it is impossible to dislike anyone who improves her emotional state, regardless of their moral neutrality.

All of the hinting and secrets lead up to the reveal of Bertha mason at Jane’s would-be wedding, and Rochester tells Jane his story from his marriage to meeting her. They key to Rochester’s absolution in the eyes of the audience then lies with Jane’s reaction; she doesn’t blame or fault him, so neither does the audience. Rather than anger at a treacherous man, Jane paints a picture of desolation, with herself dying to ease his pain and Rochester suffering the loss he knows is inevitable. This sympathy, through Jane’s eyes, allows the reader to understand Rochester’s seeming betrayal in his own words, and while he is still morally wrong, he is not meant to provoke hate.

            The most obvious reason for the balanced portrayal of Rochester as a character is, of course, that he is Jane’s soul mate, and a romance doesn’t work if one half of the couple is despicable. However, the sympathetic portrayal given to Rochester also represents the shedding of traditional dealings with those who do wrong. If Jane, with her ethics carved into her heart, can forgive this sinning deceitful man, can still love him entirely, then why should anyone else do otherwise? Jane Eyre is a character with the ability to love the sinner and hate the sin, the same doctrine that Helen Burns gave her so long ago. Being put in her shoes invites sympathy for sinners as a whole. Rochester isn’t inherently evil to Jane, he is a man that circumstances have worked against. Jane Eyre as a novel casts a sinning man as a victim, which challenges the entire morality of the time period and insists that that which is evil can still be redeemed.