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Sierra McManus

Mrs. Anthony

English IV Honors

4 January 2021

Jane Eyre Analysis Essay

Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Bronte, is a very well-known story that has been loved

by many for years. It is loved for its enchanting love story between the main character, Jane

Eyre, and her dashing employer Mr. Rochester. The novel serves almost as a diary for young

Jane and follows her up into her young adult life. She begins the story by telling a little a bit

about her early life before she was brought in by her uncle. Jane gets enrolled into an all girl’s

school and stays there for eight years until she decides that she wants to start her life. She

becomes employed by Mr. Rochester as a governess for Adele, a little girl that he is the legal

guardian of. In Jane Eyre, the character of Mr. Rochester serves as a mature, masculine figure to

Jane, that delights us with her beautiful and emotional telling of their notorious love story.

To begin, as the reader goes along in the novel, they see how Jane’s childhood and

mannerisms caused her to grow into the young woman that she was. Jane was a shy and almost

“prudish” girl into her adult years, so being around Mr. Rochester was a huge revelation for her.

It allowed her to truly feel feminine and care about things that she never even thought about

before. Although this novel was published in 1847, Bronte was able to establish a certain

language and mindset that could still be rendered true in today’s society. In the novel, Mr.
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Rochester is described as a rather rugged and unconventionally attractive man. He is older and

doesn’t have the exact physique or personality traits that most people would consider attractive.

However, his inquisitive nature and mannerisms make him appear masculine and attractive to

people like Jane and Blanche. Mr. Rochester has a very masculine energy that draws women to

him even if his personal looks never will.

To continue, as a reader reading this novel, I definitely understood the appeal of Mr.

Rochester and saw why his character could be seen as masculine and attractive. Bronte did an

excellent job at establishing the bizarre energy and off-putting mindset of Mr. Rochester. By

creating him to have this personality, it allows the reader and the characters in the story to be

even more interested in his character. Mr. Rochester is very blunt and sometimes doesn’t know

how to correctly express his feelings to others, so he is sometimes seen as heartless and cold.

Although this can be very frustrating to readers, it makes the story more exciting because they

are able to see his character develop as the story continues. Once Mr. Rochester finally admits

his feelings to Jane, readers finally see how respectful and sweet he is. Jane is attracted to Mr.

Rochester for his appearance but also his mind and delightful personality. He is a very

intellectual person, so this keeps Jane on her toes at all times.

Furthermore, in society men are only seen as masculine if they radiate a certain energy or

have an appearance that shows strength and aggression. So, to say that one man is more

masculine than another one is completely biased. Mr. Rochester is described as a very rugged,

and stern-faced man with a not so masculine body, as he described as being “pigeon-chested.”

Hearing this description doesn’t necessarily dictate whether he is masculine or not. Men who are

outspoken and respectful to people, especially women, are typically seen as more masculine in
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society’s standards. In this case, Mr. Rochester could be seen as very masculine to others. There

is not a definite definition of masculinity, as it can be defined differently by everybody. Mr.

Rochester’s character says a lot more about how masculine he is rather than his appearance.
When talking to people, he is quick to quiet them if they bore him or even just tell them that he

isn’t interested. To be this assertive, you must have a very confident and controlled personality,

which Mr. Rochester ultimately has.

In conclusion, masculinity is not something that can be defined literally but rather by

personal opinion. Mr. Rochester was seen as a mature and intellectual individual by Jane which

made him very attractive to her. It is important to note that Jane very much could be just as

attracted to Mr. Rochester if he wasn’t as bold as he is. So, I don’t think that his masculinity had

a lot to do with why she loved him. But, society’s definition of masculinity definitely could be

used to describe Mr. Rochester.

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Works Cited

Brontë, Charlotte, 1816-1855. Jane Eyre. Peterborough, Ont. :Broadview Press, 1999