The Memoirs of Edward Rochester
Edward Rochester is not your common hero in a novel. In fact he is hardly a hero at all.
Rochester is rude and obnoxious to all people who cross his path. The idea that he could woo a poor young orphan girl is quite ridiculous. He is prepared to throw away common morality and custom in his quest to win over Jane Eyre.
This is very hard to understand, even for many modern readers. Despite this, Charlotte Bronte manages to achieve this feat smoothly and cleverly through strong characters and a great story. Bronte was quite brilliant in her writing of her original and unique, classic novel.
But the story is told in the first person of Jane Eyre herself. This works very well and the book is completely coherent as it stands. But many readers are left wondering about the thoughts of the mysterious and strange Edward Rochester. How did he become the man we find in the pages of Jane Eyre? Further, how can he justify his behaviour?
Some of the dialogue In Jane Eyre is hard to comprehend for some readers, because you can’t imagine Rochester’s point of view and his frame of reference. How could he say some of the things he says and yet still profess to love Jane? The Memoirs of Edward Rochester attempts to answer these questions by writing in the first person from his point of view.
You can see into his mind and know what he is thinking. Many scenes have Rochester giving a running commentary to the major conversations with Jane.
This book is written mainly in diary form. It explains the backdrop of Rochester’s life and how he came to be as he is in the story. There are numerous new scenes that help to explain how he thinks and behaves as a person. Many of Bronte’s original scenes are re-written but with a new twist.
For fans of the original novel, Jane Eyre, this book will fill in many of the gaps that Charlotte Bronte left in the story. You will see why Edward Rochester said the words he said and why he said them. More than this you will believe in the original story even more. It will make more sense to you.
For casual readers and literature students alike, this is a valuable resource to better understanding Charlotte Bronte’s original work. You will understand the sweep of the story and the changes in Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester more.
