Is Rochester a Sympathetic Character?

One topic we have discussed quite a lot in class is whether Rochester is a sympathetic character. While Rochester does many despicable things, there are many reasons for him doing so.


Why Rochester is a sympathetic character:
Much like Antoinette, Rochester is in a difficult position in his family. Because he is not the oldest son, he gets none of his father's inheritance. Thus, when Mr. Mason gives him the opportunity to gain an entire estate in the West Indies, he is basically forced to accept because it is far too good an option to pass up, and the chances of him getting a similar offer are very low. 
The Caribbean is a completely alien world to Rochester, both with the people and the environment. Because of this, he is also quite insecure and paranoid. A quote on page 172 summarizes this perfectly: "I was tired of these people. I disliked their laughter and their tears, their flattery and envy, conceit and deceit. And I hated the place". Rochester is very much the outsider here, and because of this and his paranoia, we can sympathize with him.
Another result of Rochester moving to the Caribbean is that he becomes horribly sick for three weeks straight. While we could be meant to sympathize with him because he was sick, I think this detail was meant to further show that Rochester is not a particularly strong person. He's paranoid, insecure, and his sickness suggests that he could be weak. These are all traits that we can pity him for.
Lastly, Rochester is effectively raped by Antoinette when she uses the Obeah potion on him. The potion also has other effects on him, as he wakes up the next day in pain: "I was cold too, deathly cold and sick and in pain".

Why Rochester is not a sympathetic character:
 While we can pity Rochester for his complicated and difficult situation, that does not justify his actions or make them understandable. It is not his environment that determines what kind of person he is, but the actions he takes in response. In Rochester's case, those actions are evil. Firstly, while he feels out of control and insecure in his environment, he responds by going out of his way to be aggressively dominant towards Antoinette. He pities himself for the situation he is in, but takes out his anger on someone with a similar situation. Furthermore, while Antoinette's use of the Obeah potion was incredibly malicious, he tries to hurt her even more in response by cheating on her with Amelie. Finally, his attempts to hurt Antoinette culminate in him bringing her to England and trapping her in his attic until she dies. This is the most evil action he took in the novel, as he went so far out of his way to hurt Antoinette. Bringing her with to England hurt him as he had a dangerous secret to keep.

What do you think? Comment below!




Comments

  1. Max E.November 17, 2017 at 5:29 PM

    The problem with Rochester isn't that he is an unsympathetic character, but that he is depicted as one. Wherever he is present, Rochester looks like he is just taking advantage of Antoinette, and he is. However, he is an Englishman from a wealthy family who won't get any inheritance. It was common and almost expected of people in his financial situation to marry into money. The only problem is the cultural gap between him and Antoinette and the way the book only points out that he takes advantage of her.

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  2. Aidan GarrettNovember 18, 2017 at 9:36 AM

    I feel like you summed up the entirety of Rochester's story pretty well. And give what makes him seem like a sympathetic character compared to what makes him not a sympathetic character he seems more like a sympathetic character. This especially holds true when you consider Antoinette's use of the love potion could have been the cause of his later and most atrocious actions. However, in the context of the story he seems less sympathetic because people sympathize with Antoinette more because she is in a worse spot.

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  3. Cedric SwearingenNovember 18, 2017 at 10:19 AM

    I personally have a hard time liking Rochester. He got roped into the marriage without really knowing what he was getting in to, which I think is very weak of him. If he had been a stronger or more upstanding character, much of this would not have happened. Also, once he was in this bewildering marriage, he ends up desecrating it pretty quickly, later lashing out at, well, just about everyone. I sympathize more with Antoinette since she was trying to make the best out of a situation that really wasn't under her control at all, and wasn't expected to be under her control given the culture of the time.

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  4. Matthew JinNovember 18, 2017 at 3:35 PM

    I personally think Rochester is a sympathetic character. While doing a lot of unreasonable things, he is in a position that he is very tough to handle. Imagine being thrown into marriage and not knowing why you're in the marriage. You barely know who you're married to, and the whole setting is unfamiliar to you. If you understand where Rochester is coming from, I think we can, to some extent, see Rochester as a sympathetic character.

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  5. Tim ChoNovember 18, 2017 at 6:47 PM

    Normally we view narrators in a sympathetic light because we can see where they come from and their motives behind their actions. I can't feel this way for Rochester, simply because of the presence of a second narrator, Antoinette. Given that the two narrators end up being in conflict with each other, I feel compelled to choose sides, and for me that means seeing Antoinette as the main protagonist and Rochester as a villain. I think you make good points about things that make Rochester a sympathetic character. In the end, I think Rochester incites less sympathy simply because of the presence of a more sympathetic narrator.

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  6. KatDecember 6, 2017 at 4:56 PM

    It's really hard for me to find Rochester sympathetic. Both he and Antoinette suffered during their lives, and they are both in a marriage that they don't really want to be in. Antoinette was forced to leave the comfort of her school and be married off, which is similar to Rochester coming to the Caribbean. Additionally, getting married means that Antoinette loses her wealth and power, while Rochester gains wealth and power from this arrangement. Although Antoinette shouldn't have used the potion on Rochester, she did so out of love not malice. She also wanted to gain back her standing in the relationship. Rochester, however, abuses his power to take total advantage of Antoinette. The marriage could have been better handled on both parts, but I think Rochester is definitely in the wrong for taking Antoinette to England, and for how he treats her there.

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  7. SamirDecember 11, 2017 at 8:10 AM

    Rochester could easily be sympathetic character if he hadn't treated Antoinette the way he did. His responses to being in a foreign place and Antoinette's actions surrounding the love potion would (out of context) make anyone sympathetic. However, Rochester gains a lot from their marriage simply by being there, while Antoinette loses everything, which makes it much more difficult to sympathize with him. On top of that, knowing how poorly he treats her, its hard to do anything but dislike Rochester.

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  8. Jessica ValeteDecember 17, 2017 at 3:12 PM

    It's difficult for me to view Rochester as being sympathetic in this story. I see and understand the arguments in favor of pitying him but I personally do not. His actions are unforgivable. Antoinette, however, is a very sympathetic character who is actually a victim.

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