Edward Fairfax Rochester (often referred to as Mr Rochester) is a character in
Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë (, commonly ; 21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855) was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novels became classics of English literature.
She enlisted i ...
's 1847 novel ''
Jane Eyre
''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...
''. The brooding master of
Thornfield Hall
Thornfield Hall is a location in the 1847 novel ''Jane Eyre'' by Charlotte Brontë. It is the home of the male romantic lead, Edward Fairfax Rochester, where much of the action takes place.
Brontë uses the depiction of Thornfield in a manner co ...
, Rochester is the employer and eventual husband of the novel's titular protagonist
Jane Eyre
''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...
. He is regarded as an archetypal
Byronic hero
The Byronic hero is a variant of the Romantic hero as a type of character, named after the English Romantic poet Lord Byron. Both Byron's own persona as well as characters from his writings are considered to provide defining features to the char ...
.
In ''Jane Eyre''
Edward Rochester is the oft-absent master of
Thornfield Hall
Thornfield Hall is a location in the 1847 novel ''Jane Eyre'' by Charlotte Brontë. It is the home of the male romantic lead, Edward Fairfax Rochester, where much of the action takes place.
Brontë uses the depiction of Thornfield in a manner co ...
, where
Jane Eyre
''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...
is employed as a governess to his young
ward
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
,
Adèle Varens. Jane first meets Rochester while on a walk, when his horse slips and he injures his foot. He does not reveal to Jane his identity and it is only that evening back at the house that Jane learns he is Mr Rochester.
![Walkereyre](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Walkereyre.jpg)
Rochester and Jane are immediately interested in each other. She is fascinated by his rough, dark appearance as well as his abrupt manner. Rochester is intrigued by Jane's strength of character, comparing her to an
elf
An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...
or
sprite and admiring her unusual strength and stubbornness. The two quickly become friends, often arguing and discussing topical matters. Rochester confides to Jane that Adèle is the daughter of his past lover, French opera dancer Céline Varens, who had run off with another man. Rochester does not claim paternity of Adèle but had brought the orphaned child to England.
Rochester quickly learns that he can rely on Jane in a crisis. On one evening, Jane finds Rochester asleep in his bed with all the curtains and bedclothes on fire; she puts out the flames and rescues him. Jane and Rochester grow closer and fall in love with each other.
While Jane is working at Thornfield, Rochester invites his acquaintances over for a week-long stay, including the beautiful socialite
Blanche Ingram. Rochester lets Blanche flirt with him constantly in front of Jane to make her jealous and encourages rumours that he is engaged to Blanche, which devastates Jane. Rochester tells Jane he is to be married, at which point Jane is prepared to leave Thornfield, believing Blanche is his bride. Eventually Rochester stops teasing Jane, admitting that he loves her and that he never intended to marry Blanche, especially as he had exposed Blanche's interest in him as solely mercenary when he caused a rumour that he is far less wealthy than she imagined. He asks Jane to marry him and she accepts.
During their wedding ceremony, two men arrive claiming that Rochester is
already married. Rochester admits to this, but believes he is justified in his attempt to marry Jane. He takes the wedding party to see his wife of fifteen years,
Bertha Antoinetta Mason, and explains the circumstances of his marriage. He claims he had been rushed into marrying Bertha by his father and the Mason family, and only after they were wed did he discover that Bertha is violently
insane
Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...
. Unable to live with Bertha due to her madness, Rochester tried to keep her existence a secret and kept her on the third floor of Thornfield Hall with a nursemaid,
Grace Poole. It was Bertha who had set Rochester's bedsheets on fire, along with a number of other disruptive incidents. Rochester confesses that he had travelled around Europe for ten years trying to forget his failed marriage and keeping various mistresses. Eventually he gave up on searching for a woman he could love, came home to England, and fell in love with Jane.
Rochester asks Jane to go to France with him, where they can pretend to be a married couple. Jane refuses to be his
mistress
Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to:
Romance and relationships
* Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a ...
and runs from Thornfield. Much later, she finds out that Rochester searched for her everywhere, and, when he couldn't find her, sent everyone else away from Thornfield and shut himself up alone. After this, Bertha set the house on fire one night and burned it to the ground. Rochester rescued all the servants and tried to save Bertha, too, but she committed suicide by jumping from the roof of the house and he was injured. Now Rochester has lost an eye and a hand and is blind in his remaining eye.
Jane returns to Mr Rochester and offers to take care of him as his nurse or housekeeper. He asks her to marry him and they have a quiet wedding. They adopt Adèle Varens, and after two years of marriage Rochester gradually gets his sight back – enough to see his and Jane's firstborn son.
Characteristics
![P435b](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/P435b.jpg)
Rochester is depicted as aloof, intelligent,
proud and
sardonic
To be sardonic is to be disdainfully or cynically humorous, or scornfully mocking.
A form of wit or humour, being sardonic often involves expressing an uncomfortable truth in a clever and not necessarily malicious way, often with a degree of sk ...
.
A
Romantic figure, he is passionate and impetuous, but tormented beneath his brusque manner.
Aged in his mid to late thirties, Rochester is described as being of average height
and an
athletic build, "broad-chested and thin-flanked, though neither tall nor graceful."
His face is described as not beautiful, but "harsh featured and melancholy looking".
He is described as having black hair, a "decisive nose",
a "colourless,
olive
The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...
face, square, massive brow, broad and jetty eyebrows, deep eyes, strong features," and a "firm, grim mouth".
In the novel, Jane often compares him to a wild bird, such as an
eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
,
falcon
Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene.
Adult falcons ...
and
cormorant
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...
. During the fire at Thornfield he loses a hand, one eye and his sight, which is only partially returned after he marries Jane.
Rochester is described to have a fine singing voice — "a mellow, powerful
bass"
— and acting skills which he displays during entertaintments for his guests. He is adept at disguise and deception; while his guests are staying, Rochester disguises himself as a
fortune-teller
Fortune telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. Melton, J. Gordon. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115-116. The scope of fortune telling is in principle identical w ...
gypsy
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
woman in order to spend time alone with Jane and interrogate her about how she feels about her employer.
Influences
Charlotte Brontë may have named the character after
John Wilmot
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (1 April 1647 – 26 July 1680) was an English poet and courtier of King Charles II's Restoration court. The Restoration reacted against the "spiritual authoritarianism" of the Puritan era. Rochester embodie ...
(1647-1680), the second Earl of Rochester.
Murray Pittock
Murray G. H. Pittock MAE FRSE (born 5 January 1962) is a Scottish historian, Bradley Professor of Literature at the University of Glasgow and Pro Vice Principal at the University, where he has served in senior roles including Dean and Vice Princip ...
argued that the Earl is not merely Rochester's namesake but that his "career as it was popularly recorded is the model for the rakehell and penitent phases underlying the development of Mr. Rochester's character." Robert Dingley argued that it is possible Brontë drew specifically upon Wilmot's depiction in
William Harrison Ainsworth
William Harrison Ainsworth (4 February 18053 January 1882) was an English historical novelist born at King Street in Manchester. He trained as a lawyer, but the legal profession held no attraction for him. While completing his legal studies in ...
's 1841 novel ''
Old St. Paul's'', wherein the Earl has a penchant for disguise and twice attempts to entrap the woman he loves in a spurious marriage.
Literary critics also note the influence of
Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
, of whom Brontë was a known admirer, on Rochester's development. The character's threads of Byronism evolved out of Brontë's intimate knowledge of Byron's works including ''
Cain
Cain ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl/Qāyīn is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He wa ...
'', ''
Childe Harold's Pilgrimage
''Childe Harold's Pilgrimage'' is a long narrative poem in four parts written by Lord Byron. The poem was published between 1812 and 1818. Dedicated to " Ianthe", it describes the travels and reflections of a world-weary young man, who is dis ...
'' and ''
Don Juan
Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni (Italian), is a legendary, fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. Famous versions of the story include a 17th-century play, '' El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra'' ...
'', as well as
Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852) was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist celebrated for his ''Irish Melodies''. Their setting of English-language verse to old Irish tunes marked the transition in popular Irish culture from Irish ...
's ''Life of Byron'', and
William Finden
William Finden (178720 September 1852) was an English engraver.
Life
He served his apprenticeship to James Mitan, but appears to have owed far more to the influence of James Heath, whose works he privately and earnestly studied. His first empl ...
's engravings illustrating Byron's poetry and life. Caroline Franklin specified the narrator of ''Don Juan'' as potentially a significant inspiration behind Rochester's mercurial and seductive mannerism.
The character was also influenced by the men in Brontë's personal life. Andrew McCarthy, the director of the
Brontë Parsonage Museum
The Brontë Parsonage Museum is a writer's house museum maintained by the Brontë Society in honour of the Brontë sisters – Charlotte, Emily and Anne. The museum is in the former Brontë family home, the parsonage in Haworth, West Yorks ...
, suggested that Rochester may have been inspired by
Constantin Héger
Constantin Georges Romain Héger (1809–1896) was a Belgian teacher of the Victorian era. He is best remembered today for his association with Emily and Charlotte Brontë during the 1840s.
Early life
Héger was born in Brussels and moved to ...
, a tutor whom Brontë fell in love with while studying in Brussels in 1842.
John Pfordresher, author of ''The Secret History of Jane Eyre'', argued that besides Heger, real-life influences on the character were Brontë's ill-tempered father,
Patrick Patrick may refer to:
* Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name
* Patrick (surname), list of people with this name
People
* Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint
*Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...
, and hedonistic brother,
Branwell. In Patrick, Pfordresher argued, Brontë "had observed Rochester’s physical vigor, determined will, passionate temper, and defiant courage." When Patrick began to suffer from
cataracts
A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble w ...
in his old age, Brontë nursed him, as Jane Eyre does the blinded Rochester. Pfordresher argued that Rochester's hedonistic tendencies were inspired by Branwell — who was fired for having an affair with his employer’s wife before becoming the "self-destroying family humiliation" through his
abuse of alcohol
Alcohol abuse encompasses a spectrum of unhealthy alcohol drinking behaviors, ranging from binge drinking to alcohol dependence, in extreme cases resulting in health problems for individuals and large scale social problems such as alcohol-r ...
and
opium
Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...
— and that Jane's playful exchanges with Rochester were based on Brontë's habit of sparring with her brother, "her mental equal" and childhood companion.
Themes
Byronic hero
Alongside
Heathcliff from
Emily Brontë
Emily Jane Brontë (, commonly ; 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet who is best known for her only novel, ''Wuthering Heights'', now considered a classic of English literature. She also published a book of poet ...
's ''
Wuthering Heights
''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moorland, moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their tur ...
'', Rochester is commonly regarded as an archetypal
Byronic hero
The Byronic hero is a variant of the Romantic hero as a type of character, named after the English Romantic poet Lord Byron. Both Byron's own persona as well as characters from his writings are considered to provide defining features to the char ...
— a "passionate hero with a darkly mysterious erotic past".
Allusions to folklore
Literary critics note Rochester as a parallel of the titular character in the French folktale "
Bluebeard
"Bluebeard" (french: Barbe bleue, ) is a French folktale, the most famous surviving version of which was written by Charles Perrault and first published by Barbin in Paris in 1697 in ''Histoires ou contes du temps passé''. The tale tells the st ...
" — a wealthy serial
bridegroom
A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed.
When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse (if female) is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man an ...
who keeps the remains of his previous murdered wives in a locked room of his castle. Rochester echoes Bluebeard as a wealthy, middle-aged gentleman with a wife kept in a secret attic of his house, and like Bluebeard, is "a man of voracious sexual appetite."
Brontë alluded to Bluebeard in her description of Rochester and his home.
Before Rochester's wife's existence is revealed the novel describes the third story of Thornfield Hall where Bertha is secretly kept as looking "like a corridor in some Bluebeard’s castle". While negotiating the terms of her marriage to him, Jane refers to Rochester as a "three-tailed
bashaw Bashaw may refer to: Places
;Canada
*Bashaw, Alberta
** Bashaw Airport
;United States
*Bashaw, Wisconsin, a town
*Bashaw, Burnett County, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community
*Bashaw Township, Brown County, Minnesota
Others
*Mose Bashaw (1889–1 ...
", a title that was applied to the character of Bluebeard in late 18th-century texts.
John Sutherland argues that Rochester is also a wife-killer like Bluebeard; questioning why Rochester does not place Bertha in professional care for her insanity, he considered the character to be responsible for Bertha's death through "indirect assassination".
Rochester has also been equivalated with the sultan
Shahriyar in the Middle Eastern folktale collection ''
Arabian Nights
''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'', as a disillusioned despot who distrusts women.
Like Shahriyar, Rochester is tamed and eventually reformed by an intelligent woman.
Brontë made several direct references to ''Arabian Nights'' in ''Jane Eyre'', including having Jane compare Rochester to a sultan.
Abigail Heiniger wrote that ''Jane Eyre'' resonates closely with the motifs of ''
Beauty and the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...
'' as "Rochester is not a
Prince Charming
Prince Charming is a fairy tale stock character who comes to the rescue of a damsel in distress and must engage in a quest to liberate her from an evil spell. This classification suits most heroes of a number of traditional folk tales, incl ...
; he is a beast in need of rehumanising." Rochester resembles the Beast because he is repeatedly described as not being handsome,
Karen Rowe wrote, arguing that associating him with the Beast emphasises Jane's confrontation with male sexuality, symbolised by Rochester's "animality". Rowe argues that Rochester transforms in Janes eyes from "monster to seeming prince to an 'idol'", showing her that "immersion in romantic fantasy threatens her integrity".
Reception
Rochester was voted the most romantic character in literature in a 2009 UK poll by
Mills & Boon
Mills & Boon is a romance imprint of British publisher Harlequin UK Ltd. It was founded in 1908 by Gerald Rusgrove Mills and Charles Boon as a general publisher. The company moved towards escapist fiction for women in the 1930s. In 1971, the ...
.
Commenting on the poll in ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'', novelist
Penny Vincenzi
Penelope Vincenzi (née Hannaford; 10 April 1939 – 25 February 2018) was a British novelist, who wrote 17 novels and 2 collections of stories. Her sales by 2014 amounted to over 7 million copies.
Early life
She was born Penelope Hannaford, on ...
said the result was "no surprise", as Rochester is endowed with a "brooding, difficult, almost savage complexity".
In other literature
Rochester features in much
literature inspired by ''Jane Eyre'', including prequels, sequels, rewritings and reinterpretations from different characters' perspectives.
Several novels retell ''Jane Eyre'' from the perspective of Rochester. The 2017 novel ''Mr. Rochester'' by Sarah Shoemaker gives an account of Rochester's childhood and life prior to his meeting Jane through to the events of the original novel. Rochester is given a childhood to mirror Jane Eyre's, with a father and brother who are cruel towards him and being raised in a
boarding school
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
.
''Wide Sargasso Sea''
Jean Rhys
Jean Rhys, ( ; born Ella Gwendolyn Rees Williams; 24 August 1890 – 14 May 1979) was a British novelist who was born and grew up in the Caribbean island of Dominica. From the age of 16, she mainly resided in England, where she was sent for her ...
' 1966 novel ''
Wide Sargasso Sea
''Wide Sargasso Sea'' is a 1966 novel by Dominican-British author Jean Rhys. The novel serves as a postcolonial and feminist prequel to Charlotte Brontë's novel ''Jane Eyre'' (1847), describing the background to Mr. Rochester's marriage from t ...
'' gives an account of Rochester's meeting of and marriage to
Antoinette Cosway (Rhys' revision of Bertha Mason). The first part of the novel is told from the point of view of Antoinette and the second part from Rochester's perspective. The novel depicts Rochester as an unfaithful and cruel spouse, and in its reshaping of events related to ''Jane Eyre'' suggests that Bertha's madness is not congenital but instead the result of negative childhood experiences and Mr. Rochester's unloving treatment of her.
Rochester has appeared in
adaptations of ''Wide Sargasso Sea''.
Portrayals in media
''Jane Eyre'' adaptations
Film
=Silent films
=
![Woman and Wife (1918) - 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Woman_and_Wife_%281918%29_-_3.jpg)
*
Frank H. Crane in
''Jane Eyre'' (1910)
*John Charles in ''Jane Eyre'' (1914)
*
Irving Cummings
Irving Caminsky (October 9, 1888 – April 18, 1959) was an American movie actor and director.
Career
Born in New York City, Cummings started his acting career at age 16 in ''Diplomacy''. His Broadway, performances included ''In the Long R ...
in ''Jane Eyre'' (1914)
*
Franklin Ritchie
Franklin Ritchie (June 26, 1865 – January 26, 1918) was an American actor of the silent film era. Following his film career with the American Film company, he became an automobile dealer.
Biography
Born as George Frank Ritchie on June 26, ...
in ''Jane Eyre'' (1915)
*
Elliott Dexter
Elliott Dexter (March 29, 1870 – June 21, 1941) was an American film and stage actor. Dexter started his career in vaudeville and did not move to films until he was 45. He retired from acting in 1925.
Biography
Dexter was born in Galves ...
in ''
Woman and Wife
''Woman and Wife'' is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Edward Jose and starring Alice Brady. It is based on the 1847 novel ''Jane Eyre'' by Charlotte Brontë. The Select Pictures Corporation produced and distributed the film. The fi ...
'' (1918)
*
Norman Trevor
Norman Gilbert Pritchard (23 June 1875 – 30 October 1929), also known by his stage name Norman Trevor, was a British-Indian athlete and actor who became the first Asian-born athlete to win an Olympic medal when he won two silver medals in ...
in ''Jane Eyre'' (1921)
*
Olaf Fønss
Olaf Holger Axel Fønss (17 October 1882 – 11 March 1949) was a Danish actor, director, producer, film censor and one of Denmark and Germany's biggest stars of the silent film era.
Career
Fønss' leading role in the 1913 Danish classic ...
in ''
Orphan of Lowood
''Orphan of Lowood'' (German: ''Die Waise von Lowood'') is a 1926 German silent drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt and starring Evelyn Holt, Olaf Fønss and Dina Diercks. It is based on the 1847 British novel ''Jane Eyre'' by Charlotte B ...
'' (1926)
=Feature films
=
![Jane-Eyre-1943-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Jane-Eyre-1943-1.jpg)
*
Colin Clive
Colin Clive (born Colin Glenn Clive-Greig; 20 January 1900 – 25 June 1937) was a British stage and screen actor. His most memorable role was Henry Frankenstein, the creator of the monster, in the 1931 film ''Frankenstein'' and its 1935 sequel ...
in
''Jane Eyre'' (1934)
*
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
in
''Jane Eyre'' (1943)
*
Dilip Kumar
Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from lat ...
as Shankar, Rochester's equivalent in the 1952
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
-language adaptation ''
Sangdil
''Sangdil'' () is a 1952 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by R. C. Talwar. The film is an adaptation of the 1847 Charlotte Brontë classic novel ''Jane Eyre'' and it stars Dilip Kumar, Madhubala in lead roles. The film's mu ...
'' ()
*
Yehia Chahine
Yehia Chahine ( ar, يحيى شاهين, ) (28 July 1917 – 18 March 1994) was an Egyptian film producer and an actor of film and theatre. He is most notable for his role in the film adaptations of the '' Cairo Trilogy'', a trilogy written by ...
as Murad, Rochester's equivalent in the 1962 Egyptian adaption ''The Man I Love''
*
Kalyan Kumar
Kalyan Kumar (7 June 1928 – 1 August 1999) was an Indian actor, and an occasional film director and producer who worked primarily in Kannada cinema, Kannada and Tamil cinema. Making his acting debut in the mythological drama ''Natashekara'' (19 ...
as Rochester's equivalent in the 1968 Indian
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
-language film ''
Bedi Bandavalu
''Bedi Bandavalu'' is a 1968 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by C. Srinivasan and produced by T. N. Srinivasan. The film stars Kalyan Kumar and Chandrakala in the lead roles. The film has musical score by R. Sudarshanam. The film is in ...
''
*
Gemini Ganesan
Ramasamy Ganesan (17 November 1920 – 22 March 2005), better known by his stage name Gemini Ganesan, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He was referred to as the ''Kaadhal Mannan'' (King of Romance) for his romantic roles ...
as Baskar, Rochester's equivalent in the 1969 Indian
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
-language film ''
Shanti Nilayam
''Shanti Nilayam'' () is a 1969 Indian Tamil-language film, produced and directed by G. S. Mani. It stars Gemini Ganesan and Kanchana, with Nagesh, Vijaya Lalitha, Pandari Bai, K. Balaji and V. S. Raghavan in supporting roles. The film won the ...
'' ()
*
George C. Scott
George Campbell Scott (October 18, 1927 – September 22, 1999) was an American actor, director, and producer who had a celebrated career on both stage and screen. With a gruff demeanor and commanding presence, Scott became known for his port ...
in
''Jane Eyre'' (1970)
*
William Hurt
William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he received various awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor.
...
in
''Jane Eyre'' (1996)
*
Ciarán Hinds
Ciarán Hinds (; born 9 February 1953) is an Irish actor. Born in Belfast, Hinds is known for a range of screen and stage roles. He has starred in feature films including '' The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover'' (1989), ''Persuasion'' (19 ...
in
''Jane Eyre'' (1997)
*
Michael Fassbender
Michael Fassbender (born 2 April 1977) is an Irish actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Award ...
in
''Jane Eyre'' (2011)
Radio
*
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
in ''Jane Eyre'' by ''
The Campbell Playhouse'' (31 March 1940)
*
Brian Aherne
William Brian de Lacy Aherne (2 May 190210 February 1986) was an English actor of stage, screen, radio and television, who enjoyed a long and varied career in Britain and the United States.
His first Broadway appearance in '' The Barretts of ...
in ''Jane Eyre'' by ''
The Screen Guild Theater
''The Screen Guild Theater'' is a radio anthology series broadcast from 1939 until 1952 during the Golden Age of Radio. Leading Hollywood stars performed adaptations of popular motion pictures. Originating on CBS Radio, it aired under several dif ...
'' (2 March 1941)
*Orson Welles in ''Jane Eyre'' by ''The Lux Radio Theatre'' (5 June 1944)
*
Victor Jory
Victor Jory (November 23, 1902 – February 12, 1982) was a Canadian-American actor of stage, film, and television. He initially played romantic leads, but later was mostly cast in villainous or sinister roles, such as Oberon in ''A Midsummer N ...
in ''Jane Eyre'' by ''Matinee Theater'' (3 December 1944)
*Orson Welles in ''Jane Eyre'' by ''
The Mercury Summer Theatre of the Air
''The Mercury Summer Theatre of the Air'' (1946) is a CBS Radio, CBS radio drama series produced, directed by and starring Orson Welles. It was a short-lived summer radio series sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon, on Friday evenings at 10 p.m. Eastern ...
'' (28 June 1946)
*
Robert Montgomery in ''Jane Eyre'' by ''The Lux Radio Theatre'' (14 June 1948)
*
Ciarán Hinds
Ciarán Hinds (; born 9 February 1953) is an Irish actor. Born in Belfast, Hinds is known for a range of screen and stage roles. He has starred in feature films including '' The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover'' (1989), ''Persuasion'' (19 ...
in ''Jane Eyre'' on BBC Radio 7 (24-27 August 2009)
*Tom Burke (actor), Tom Burke in ''Jane Eyre'' on BBC Radio 4's ''15 Minute Drama'' (2016)
Television
*Charlton Heston in the ''Studio One in Hollywood'' episode ''Jane Eyre'', aired on 12 December 1949
*Kevin McCarthy (actor), Kevin McCarthy in the ''Studio One in Hollywood'' episode ''Jane Eyre'', aired on 4 August 1952
*Stanley Baker in the 1956 BBC miniseries Jane Eyre (1956 miniseries), ''Jane Eyre''
*Patrick Macnee in the 1957 NBC ''Matinee Theatre'' drama ''Jane Eyre''
*Zachary Scott in ''Jane Eyre'', a 1961 television film directed by Marc Daniels
*Richard Leech in the 1963 BBC series ''Jane Eyre (1963 TV series), Jane Eyre''
*Jan Kačer in ''Jana Eyrová'', a 1972 production by Czechoslovak Television
*Michael Jayston in the 1973 BBC serial Jane Eyre (1973 miniseries), ''Jane Eyre''
*Joaquín Cordero as Eduardo, Rochester's equivalent in the 1978 Mexican telenovela ''Ardiente secreto'' ()
*Joe Flaherty in ''BBC Classics Presents: Jane Eyrehead'', a parody by Second City Television, SCTV (1982)
*Timothy Dalton in the 1983 BBC serial Jane Eyre (1983 TV serial), ''Jane Eyre''
*Toby Stephens in the 2006 BBC serial Jane Eyre (2006 miniseries), ''Jane Eyre''
*Ravindra Randeniya as Edward Deraniyagala, Rochester's equivalent in the 2007 Sri Lankan teledrama ''Kula Kumariya'', screened on Swarnavahini
Theatre
*Reginald Tate in ''Jane Eyre: A Drama of Passion in Three Acts'' (1936) adapted by Helen Jerome. The production was aired on British television in 1937.
*Henry Edwards (actor), Henry Edwards in ''The Master of Thorfield'' (1944) adapted by Dorothy Brandon.
*In the 1958 production of Huntington Hartford's American play ''The Master of Thornfield'', Rochester was portrayed by Errol Flynn. After Flynn withdrew from the production it was renamed ''Jane Eyre'' and Eric Portman cast as Rochester.
*Charles McKeown in ''Jane Eyre'' (1973), adapted by John Cannon.
*In the musical ''Jane Eyre (musical), Jane Eyre'', Rochester was portrayed by Anthony Crivello from 1995 to 1996 and James Stacy Barbour from 1999 to 2000.
''Wide Sargasso Sea'' adaptations
*Nathaniel Parker in the 1993 film ''Wide Sargasso Sea (1993 film), Wide Sargasso Sea''
*Rafe Spall in the 2006 television adaption ''Wide Sargasso Sea (2006 film), Wide Sargasso Sea''.
*Trystan Gravelle in the 2016 BBC Radio Four dramatization ''Wide Sargasso Sea'' (repeated 2020).
"Wide Sargasso Sea"
Drama, BBC Radio 4.
Notes
References
;Print sources
:''Websites and news articles are listed in the #References, References section only.''
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External links
Edward Rochester
at Bitesize, BBC ''Bitesize''
Edward Rochester
at SparkNotes
Mr Rochester and St John Rivers
at York Notes
Edward Rochester
at ''Encyclopædia Britannica''
Edward Fairfax Rochester
at Oxford Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rochester, Edward
Jane Eyre
Literary characters introduced in 1847
Characters in British novels of the 19th century
Male characters in literature
Male characters in film
Musical theatre characters
Drama film characters
Romance film characters
Fictional gentry