LOTESSE. What a great post. I love your take on Rochester...and not just because it's similar to mine. :D I have always loved how Charlotte's male characters have these elements of stereotypical femaleness (if that's the right way to put it)--even when they are not literally dressing up as nuns and gypsies, they have these other trappings, they're vain and hysterical, etc. The thing about Rochester being like a badly-married woman is so true and an awesome observation.
And yes, he is a complete flailer--that is a lot of what makes him lovable to me even though he is such a jerk. What an idea that he didn't really intend to propose to Jane!!! Wow. I will have to think about that. I can see it, though.
(How much do I love that I have to seriously examine my beliefs about Jane Eyre now?)
And yes again to how Rochester/the book would be so comic if the stakes weren't so high. I have gotten a lot of funny looks when I tell people how funny I think JE is--but I genuinely do think it's one of the funniest books I've ever read. It's just that it's so painful, too. Yet another reason why Charlotte is the absolute best of the best (and I am definitely not biased or anything here).
Argh, dammit...there is a ton more interesting stuff I want to say in response, but I am in the middle of a lot of tumult at work and home and as a result I barely have the time/energy to think critically, much less write coherently. Also I have to go to bed. I am just going to memory this post and (probably forget to) come back to it later. But know that it made me genuinely happy to read it!
What specifically are you studying (unless that is a secret from the internet)? Also, I am wondering if you've read Martineau's Deerbrook. I read it a couple years ago and was dying to discuss it at the time, but I couldn't convince anyone around me to read it.
PS I imagined your post title was some Brontë poem quote or similar and I was distressed that I couldn't place it...so I was relieved to find, on googling it, that it was lyrics from the song you were listening to. :D
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Date: 2012-06-28 02:53 am (UTC)And yes, he is a complete flailer--that is a lot of what makes him lovable to me even though he is such a jerk. What an idea that he didn't really intend to propose to Jane!!! Wow. I will have to think about that. I can see it, though.
(How much do I love that I have to seriously examine my beliefs about Jane Eyre now?)
And yes again to how Rochester/the book would be so comic if the stakes weren't so high. I have gotten a lot of funny looks when I tell people how funny I think JE is--but I genuinely do think it's one of the funniest books I've ever read. It's just that it's so painful, too. Yet another reason why Charlotte is the absolute best of the best (and I am definitely not biased or anything here).
Argh, dammit...there is a ton more interesting stuff I want to say in response, but I am in the middle of a lot of tumult at work and home and as a result I barely have the time/energy to think critically, much less write coherently. Also I have to go to bed. I am just going to memory this post and (probably forget to) come back to it later. But know that it made me genuinely happy to read it!
What specifically are you studying (unless that is a secret from the internet)? Also, I am wondering if you've read Martineau's Deerbrook. I read it a couple years ago and was dying to discuss it at the time, but I couldn't convince anyone around me to read it.
PS I imagined your post title was some Brontë poem quote or similar and I was distressed that I couldn't place it...so I was relieved to find, on googling it, that it was lyrics from the song you were listening to. :D