Man Crush Monday: Mr. Edward Rochester

Alison Michalak ’20 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

It’s Monday, which means it’s back to school with a whole week ahead of it being the weekend again. But the positive side to Monday is that anyone can post a picture of their man crush—and go wild over —under the pretense that it is Man Crush Monday. This month’s man crush is Mr. Edward Rochester, the protagonist from Charlotte Brontë’s novel, Jane Eyre.

Upon first reading, Mr. Rochester somewhat comes off as one of the worst sort of guys out there. But upon talking a closer look, it’s easier to see why Jane Eyre is so attracted to this man—he’s simply misunderstood. Here are ten reasons Mr. Rochester is the perfect Man Crush Monday.

1. He’s a good-looking guy!

Mr. Rochester is definitely not a pretty boy; he’s ruggedly handsome, a real man’s man. Jane describes him as having “strong features,” and a “firm grim mouth.” She tells the reader that his features “were not beautiful, according to rule; but they were more than beautiful to me; they were full of interest, and influence that quite mastered me” (Chapter 17). Rochester is less of a Channing Tatum, and more of a Michael Fassbender (who actually plays Mr. Rochester in the 2011 film Jane Eyre).

2. He doesn’t care about looks, because it’s what is on the inside that counts!

It is no secret that the main character of Jane Eyre, Jane, is “plain.” Jane, along with other characters, love to constantly remind the reader that she is in no way beautiful. But the ruggedly handsome Edward Rochester falls in love with her anyway. This is because it doesn’t matter to Mr. Rochester whether or not a woman is gorgeous, because if she can’t hold an intelligent conversation, he won’t waste his time on her.

3. He’s a bad boy!

Mr. Rochester is the definition of dark and mysterious. Note the French love child he has living in his house, to whom Jane is the governess. Also, note the mysterious secret he is hiding in his attic.

4. He’s a popular guy!

The most beautiful girl in the county, Blanche Ingram, is after Mr. Rochester, but mostly because he’s so rich. That is what is called a “double whammy.”

5. Punctuality is a big deal for him!

It’s the worst manners when a guy shows up late for a date, but according to Jane, that’s never a problem with Mr. Rochester. She notes, “He continued to send for me punctually the moment the clock struck seven” (Chapter 9).

6. He tries hard!

Compliments do not come easy to a man like Edward Rochester, but he’ll try for the sake of love, as seen when he compliments Jane for being such a great governess. Rochester insists, “Oh, don’t fall back on over-modesty! I have examined Adele, and find you have taken great pains with her: she is not bright, has no talents; yet in a short time she has made much improvement” (Chapter 13).

7. He likes to make Jane feel like a princess!

Michael Fassbender in Jane Eyre. Photo Credit: BBC Films
Michael Fassbender in Jane Eyre. Photo Credit: BBC Films

Remember all that money Rochester has? Well, he enjoys spending it on nice things for the women he dates, especially Jane. He tells her, “I will myself put the diamond chain around your neck, and the circlet on your forehead, — which it will become: for nature, at least, has stamped her patent of nobility on this brow, Jane; and I will clasp the bracelets on these fine wrists, and load these fairy-like fingers with rings” (Chapter 25).

8. He knows how to apologize!

He’s a great apologizer, and can do so in style: “I did wrong: I would have sullied my innocent flower — breathed guilt on its purity: the Omnipotent snatched it from me. . . . Divine Justice pursued its course; disasters came thick on me: I was forced to pass through the valley of the shadow of death. . . . You know I was proud of my strength: but what is it now, when I must give it over to foreign guidance, as a child does its weakness? Of late, Jane — only — only of late — I began to see acknowledge the hands of God in my doom. I began to experience remorse, repentance; the wish for reconcilement to my Maker. I began sometimes to pray: very brief prayers they were, but very sincere” (Chapter 38).

9. He’s actually a very kind man!

What other person would continue to take care of both an orphaned love child and a maniac ex(ish) wife?

10. He’s a true romantic!

Mr. Rochester has such a way with words that his proclamations of love are enough to make anyone swoon: “I’ve a strange feeling with regard to you, as if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs, tightly and inextricably knotted to a similar string situated in the corresponding quarter of your little frame. I am afraid that cord of communication will be snapped and then I’ve a nervous notion that I should take to bleeding inwardly” (Chapter 22).

Show More

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button