Elizabeth Bellalouna

Edward Rochester is a landed gentleman, that is, he is of the gentry. The gentry consists of the class of people who own land, and are of a social status ranking just below the nobility. He inherited Thornfield Hall as well as other property (such as Ferndean), upon his older brother's death, as is generally the custom in England among the gentry (Habakkuk 32).
  
Edward and Bertha Rochester's union results from a typical marriage arrangement between families in Victorian England. Rochester's father entailed all of his land to his oldest son, Rowland, as was typical among the upper and middle classes in England (Habakkuk 36). An entailment consists of an inheritance of usually both land and money that is limited to "a specific line or class of heirs" (Guralnik 251). In the upper and middle class, property and wealth were generally entailed to the oldest son in order to preserve family estates intact (Habakkuk 36). Rochester's father had to ensure that Rochester was provided for, but Rochester says that he "could not bear the idea of dividing his estate and leaving me a fair potion" (332; ch. 27). Instead Rochester's father did what was commonplace among the upper class in regard to younger sons: he meant to have Rochester "provided for by a wealthy marriage" (332; ch. 27).

In securing a marriage to Bertha Mason, Rochester's father provided his son with a fortune and the Masons in return received a rise in social standing. Rochester met his bride and was "dazzled, stimulated: my senses were excited. . . I thought I loved her" (332; ch. 27). Bertha's family "wished to secure [Rochester], because [he] was of a good race" (332; ch. 27). In exchange, Rochester would receive Bertha's dowry of thirty thousand pounds. This was a very typical situation; Bertha's family made their fortune in trade, which was not considered respectable in upper class society, and they wanted to belong to one of the upper tiers of English society. Rochester, although he had a good name, needed money to survive. Rowland died while Rochester was married to Bertha; leaving Edward with his fortune and estates because Rowland had no sons to entail his property to. Nonetheless, Rochester is now in a predicament that he cannot extract himself from.
  
It would have been very difficult and expensive for Rochester to get a divorce in the Victorian period. In addition Rochester married Bertha before she was insane, which was the grounds that he would have used if he had attempted divorce proceedings. So it was not possible to get a divorce because Bertha only became insane after they were married. When Rochester informs Jane of his past with Bertha, he is rather callous and cruel in describing his feelings for his wife. He refers to Bertha as "a hideous demon," "a filthy burden," and a "maniac" (336, 342; ch. 27). He does not consider her to be a person.
   
Yet with the knowledge that he has a failed, hellish marriage, Rochester then proceeds to court Blanche Ingram (or at least so it appears), whom he describes as "a fine woman. . . tall, dark, and majestic" (332; ch. 27). Blanche is in somewhat of the same predicament that Rochester was in before he married Berth. She is of the nobility, while Rochester is at the upper end of the middle class. Many of the upper class were land rich but cash poor like the Ingrams. Blanche needs to marry for money and is willing to marry beneath her in exchange for it, providing Rochester with a rise in society had they married. He does not appear to care for Blanche, yet he uses her to tease Jane. In fact he seems to be very cold towards Miss Ingram, evading her probing questions about his wealth. This is best exemplified by Rochester's trick on his guests, when he dresses like a gypsy, and tells them their fortunes. Rochester as the gypsy informs Jane that he is aware that Blanche is looking for a fortune: "He must love such a handsome, noble, witty, accomplished lady; and probably she loves him, or, if not his person, at least his purse. I know she considers the Rochester estate eligible to the last degree. . . I would advise her blackavisedsuitor to look out: if another comes, with a longer or clearer rent-roll -- he's dished" (229; ch. 19).
   
Rochester uses the gypsy disguise as a test, and it proves to Rochester how superficial and similar Blanche is to Bertha. Blanche comes out from her reading quite upset by what the gypsy has told her: "her face grew momentarily darker, more dissatisfied, and more sourly expressive of disappointment. She had obviously not heard anything to her advantage" (223; ch. 18). Once Rochester starts the rumor that his fortune was not nearly as large as people might believe, the Ingrams are no longer interested in Rochester courting Blanche (283; ch. 23). Perhaps Rochester sees himself in Blanche, for she, like him, "is compromised in her choice of a mate by an elder brother's precedence in the family economy and is, in addition, excluded because of her sex from ever inheriting entailed family land" (Pell 413). Jane is happy when Rochester tells her that he does not love Blanche, but she is disturbed to hear of Rochester's exploitation of Blanche's feelings in order to determine Jane's: "now you are small--not one whit bigger than the end of my little finger. It was a burning shame and a scandalous disgrace to act in that way. Did you think nothing of Miss Ingram's feelings, sir?" (291; ch. 24). While Jane chastises Rochester for his treatment of Blanche, she has hardly anything to say about the more serious injustices that he has inflicted on Bertha.
   
The plot of Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester falling in love and marrying, while highly romantic, is also highly improbable. Jane is without land, money, or rank. She must support herself in the world by serving others, like Rochester, in the capacity of governess. In Victorian times it was unheard of for a governess to marry her employer. It was also very unlikely for him to marry very much beneath himself. There was always something to be gained on both sides, whether it be land, money, power, a good name, or social standing. It violated the code of society to marry someone who was not of the same basic class.
   
Rochester is an outsider. While he is one of the upper middle class, he is also detached from his position because of his life experiences. He has seen the corruption and unhappiness that has grown out of his playing the part of the dutiful younger son (Roy 719). Rochester has met someone whom he thinks he wíll be happy with, Jane Eyre, only to have that chance at happiness destroyed by Bertha's brother. Rochester is disillusioned with society and his role in it. He hints at contempt of the system while at the same time maintaining the proper social etiquette.
   
Jane is also an outsider, but not necessarily by choice. From the time that she is born, she is looked down upon with hatred, and has had to stand up to bullies. By belonging to the low end of the middle class, society now pays her no attention (Moglen 119). She has endured society's scorn, starting with the Reeds, and through her education at Lowood, so that she feels almost insignificant when she finally reaches Thornfield Hall. At Thornfield she feels like she belongs until Rochester brings house guests back with him and insists that Jane remain in the room with them. She is continually insulted by the Ingrams. They assume that she is too stupid to play any sort of game and pretend only to see her if they look hard enough in her direction. Blanche treats her in a condescending manner: "She [Blanche] turned as I drew near, and looked at me haughtily; her eyes seemed to demand 'What can the creeping creature want now?' and when I said in a low voice, 'Mr. Rochester,' she made a movement as if tempted to order me away. . . 'Does that person want you?' she inquired of Mr. Rochester; and Mr. Rochester turned to see who the 'person' was" (251; ch. 21). Blanche makes Jane feel inferior in front of anyone and everyone, including Rochester. Blanche knows that Jane is Adele's governess, yet refuses to acknowledge her existence.
 
Once Jane meets Rochester, she begins to think that maybe she is not so unimportant, that in fact she and Rochester are equals. After returning from Gateshead after Mrs. Reed's death, Jane accuses Rochester of playing games with her because she is socially inferior, but stands her ground in the belief that they are equal: "I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom, conventionalities, nor even of mortal flesh: it is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave, and we stood at God's feet, equal--as we are!" (281; ch. 23). Rochester appears to believe that they are equal at first: "My bride is here. . . because my equal is here, and my likeness" (282; ch. 23). However, he soon proves to Jane that he really does not. Rochester tries to buy her all sorts of things: jewels, silks, satins, and starts to describe her as "blooming, and smiling, and pretty," "elf," and "fairy-like" (286-87; ch. 24). During their engagement, Rochester treats her as if she is now his possession, which is exactly how most wives were seen in Victorian England (Moglen 123). Jane has no property, no money, nothing to call her own, but she resents Rochester acting as if she is now something for him to dress up and play with (288, 297; ch. 24).
   
Mrs. Fairfax provides an example of the double standard of equality of the social classes in regard to governesses. When Jane arrives at Thornfield Hall she is met by Mrs. Fairfax, who is so happy that Jane has arrived and believes "it will be quite pleasant living here now with a companion" for although there are servants, "one can't converse with them on terms of equality" (128; ch. 11). However, Mrs. Fairfax does not think it is proper for Jane to marry Rochester, and once she is informed that they do intend to marry, she warns Jane that "gentlemen in [Rochester's] station are not accustomed to marry their governesses" (284; ch. 24). While Jane is thinking of intellectual and emotional equality, Mrs. Fairfax informs her that "equality of position and fortune is often advisable in such cases" (293; ch. 24). When Jane tells her that it does not matter, Mrs. Fairfax alludes to a secret, something that might happen unexpectedly, so Jane should be careful and be on her guard: "It is an old saying that 'all is not gold that glitters'; and in this case I do fear there will be something found to be different to what either you or I expect" (293, ch. 24). Mrs. Fairfax might not know the entire story concerning Bertha and Rochester, but she is aware that something is going on and is trying to protect Jane from disappointment.
   
It is precisely because Jane is so different from Blanche Ingram and Bertha Mason that Rochester is attracted to her. Unlike demonic, insane Berth or socially acceptable, condescending Blanche, Jane is fresh and new, not shackled by society's dictates. Rochester can love Jane for herself, not because of his duty to his family, or the thought of her dowry, but simply for her. After Rochester leads everyone to see Bertha, he tells them that Bertha was why he wanted to marry Jane: "And this [Jane] is what I wished to have. . . I wanted her just as a change after that fierce ragout" (322; ch. 26). Jane, in return, loves Rochester because she believes that they share a profound sympathy of mind and spirit (303; ch. 24, Moglen 119).
   
But it is very convenient that Jane inherits from her uncle and discovers that she is in fact from a family of wealth and respectability (Roy 724). With her inheritance of five thousand pounds Jane is now an heiress and is independent, having no need for a man now. The fact that she no longer needs Rochester means that she can go to him freely with no restrictions. His infirmities and her inheritance seem to bridge a gap made by society's rules and conventions between the classes. When Jane does find Rochester, he can no longer treat her as something to own or dress up but must accept her for who she is and is happy just to have her with him: "all I said or did seemed either to console or revive him" (461; ch. 37). It would have been easy for Jane to enter society now with her respectability and money however, she chooses to retreat instead with Rochester and lead a peaceful life at Ferndean. It would seem that Ferndean is the one place with no skeletons, and a place where Jane and Rochester can live equally and in peace with each other.