‘The past comes back to haunt Mr Rochester on his wedding day. Does the reader sympathise with him or do we sympathise with Jane?’
In Chapter 26 Jane and Mr Rochester were planning to get married. During the service we are told that Mr Rochester is actually already married. This comes as a big surprise to everyone including Jane. At that exact moment in time we feel most sorry for Jane. Jane has had a terrible life and this really was the first good thing that had happened to her. The build up to the wedding was slow and although it did seem to be leading up to something we couldn’t be sure of what. Since Mr Rochester knew that he was married, I think that he might have had an idea that something like this could happen, but Jane really did have a big shock to deal with. At that precise moment in time, we sympathise most with Jane. We have no idea who the wife is or any background to the issues surrounding the first wedding. Although it does appear to be Jane who is in the worst position, soon enough Bronte is able to change our views completely.
We sympathise most with Jane in many ways. I feel that the main reason is because of her past life and experiences. She grew up in house where everyone seemed to hate her. She was told she had no living relatives. They treated her badly and gave her no respect. They then sent her to a dreadful boarding school. She wasn’t given enough food and drink and her clothing was poor. Many people died including her best friend. The teachers were mean and cruel, except for one. They humiliated her in front of the whole school when she really hadn’t done any thing wrong. She then became a teacher at that same school and when the clothing and food was seen by people outside of the school, alterations were made for both students and teachers. She then moved to Thornfield Hall which she described it as the best time of her life. She taught Adele and whilst doing so met Mr Rochester. He noticed something and Jane really did start to enjoy life. All of that seemed to be building up to the huge difficulties that she then had to contend with the wedding and Mr Rochester. All of these things are enough to arouse the sympathy of the reader. When we hear that the wedding is not going to go ahead, in some ways we are not surprised. All of Jane’s past has been horrific and we never really expect her to find true happiness. It is a shame that it didn’t work out, but it just adds to her sadness. Bronte created her character and made her a lonely, badly treated character. All of these things put together really do make us as a reader sympathise with Jane. Before meeting Bertha, we know that Mr Rochester has had a good life and putting Jane through this makes him seem like a bad character. Despite this Jane does not completely breakdown, and this is another point that I think Charlotte Bronte uses to make the reader see how extremely upset she really is. When Mr Mason tells the vicar about Mr Rochester already being married, and it is all confirmed, Jane does not suddenly break down and weep. She just looks startled and shocked. This is just like when a person finds out some really bad news, then sits for days on end in complete silence thinking and considering solemnly what has happened. It can be any time after that you would breakdown and cry. This is clever of Bronte and really makes the reader think harder about what has happened and how the character reacts.
