tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post3594514850323539398..comments2024-03-22T17:51:15.887-04:00Comments on The Edge of the Precipice: Jane Eyre Read-Along: Chapter 15Hamlette (Rachel)http://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-75558079763042217102016-08-20T19:16:02.924-04:002016-08-20T19:16:02.924-04:00Cleopatra, I do think some people are too hard on ...Cleopatra, I do think some people are too hard on him. Like you said, his mistakes make him feel very real and human. And I pity him a great deal.<br /><br />I think that he's supposed to be a picture of the dangers of gullibility and doing what others tell you to do instead of thinking for yourself. And yet... he basically tries to do the same thing to Jane that his father did to him -- trick her into marrying someone with a dark secret kept carefully hidden until it's (almost, for Jane) too late. <br /><br />But I fully agree that what is most tragic about Rochester is that he has given up on goodness and happiness. Or he had, until Jane arrived.Hamlette (Rachel)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-29312855342631013132016-08-19T01:35:41.823-04:002016-08-19T01:35:41.823-04:00I always think people are too hard on Rochester. ...I always think people are too hard on Rochester. He tried to act well as a youth, and circumstances came up where he felt that he was force to act contrary to how he would have liked. Yes, he made some poor choices, but I think that makes him very human. How many people would like to have some of their bad choices back to make over again? I almost think that when we condemn him, we condemn ourselves. Perhaps when held up against Jane's purity, he looks worse, but if I really compare them, I find Rochester more human and Jane more unrealistic. What is rather tragic is that it's almost like Rochester has given up trying to find good, and now is simply searching for pleasure. Not a road to happiness, but again, understandable, I think. Cleohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13152128642971612433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-38257267181962875272016-07-20T16:07:57.030-04:002016-07-20T16:07:57.030-04:00Birdie, yes, it's quite sudden. Almost love a...Birdie, yes, it's quite sudden. Almost love at first sight, but not quite.Hamlette (Rachel)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-80650857999528826072016-07-20T16:07:33.182-04:002016-07-20T16:07:33.182-04:00Natalie, I think you're right -- Jane realizes...Natalie, I think you're right -- Jane realizes that badness rubs off on goodness more often than the reverse. I'm careful about what I watch and read for the same reason you are -- once it's in your brain, it's pretty impossible to scrub out.Hamlette (Rachel)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-71725735711563351082016-07-15T18:01:21.125-04:002016-07-15T18:01:21.125-04:00If you read the book like this, chapter by chapter...If you read the book like this, chapter by chapter, you realize much more how quickly the relationship actually develops between Jane and Mr. Rochester. Indeed, in this moment, the way they think and speak about each other, they are already deeply in love, even though they (Jane?) might not realize it yet.Birdiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09240886179336298463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587150608901957801.post-75846505884600355052016-07-15T15:59:20.150-04:002016-07-15T15:59:20.150-04:00Hahaha, yes. Mr. Rochester is waaay too blind to h...Hahaha, yes. Mr. Rochester is waaay too blind to his own faults and then expects people to pity him.<br /><br />I never realized he dueled with the other guy until I re-read this. I vote they put that into the next movie. It would be an interesting scene. :)<br /><br />Hmm, that first question is interesting. While Jane is very strong and unwavering in her moral convictions, there is the saying that "bad company corrupts good morals". And doesn't Jane later say in the book that if she had not left Rochester (after the marriage fiasco) she felt she might have eventually given in to his entreaties? I would say then that, no, Mr. Rochester is wrong. Too much exposure to sin could certainly affect someone with a purer mind. I would not go so far to say they would be corrupted, but whatever they saw or heard or experience could certainly stay in their mind forever. That's one reason my mom has always encouraged staying away from movies or books that have cruddy stuff in them. Once you see or read something, you can't un-see or un-read it.<br /><br />Your second question is also interesting, but I'm afraid I don't have an answer for it. I have a feeling Mrs. Fairfax has not noticed yet...but I may be wrong!<br />Nataliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00315660089925645214noreply@blogger.com