The Stranger...wait, didn't we just read that?

To me, Rochester is a very sympathetic character. He's perhaps not the ideal of the doting husband, so fervently in love with his wife that he's willing to drop everything and move to a strange country with her and wishing to make everything perfect for her, but I still like him. Something that I kept thinking throughout class today was that people weren't giving Rochester enough leeway. When you look at the situation from Antoinette's point of view, he is definitely not the perfect partner, but that doesn't make him entirely bad and morally corrupt as a character. I think people weren't taking into account all of the things that Rochester is going through right now, and if they did, they might be a little more sympathetic.

The main thing that I can see as influencing Rochester's behavior in these last few sections is the new environment. As Mr. Mitchell said in class today, Rochester gets sick almost immediately after he arrives in Spanish Town, and seems to be married before he knows it. Recovering from a bad illness can be disorienting, as can traveling a long distance in search of something that you're not too certain about. Rochester does not immediately love Antoinette deeply and passionately, but he's genuinely nice to her, and I believe he cares about her. I don't think he's taking advantage of her, even though he's taking all of her money, because he's not going to up and leave; he's part of this marriage, and he's willing to work to make a happy relationship with Antoinette.

Going along with the changing environment, Rochester and Antoinette are immediately whisked away to Granbois, the couple's "honeymoon house," and Rochester is surrounded by a setting that is completely alien to him, and understanding of which he has rely on others for. I know for a fact that if I were in an as violently new situation as he was, I would be scared out of my mind, and I would definitely not want to try to make my "sweetheart," who I barely know, feel better. I would latch onto the things that make me feel safe, and bit by bit I would slowly begin to understand things. Not only that, but Antoinette feels perfectly at home at Granbois. It is not as though they are both strangers to this new environment, it's just Rochester. This makes him feel even more like an outsider and like the only potential ally he could have (Antoinette) is not on his side.

In Rochester's shoes, I would probably be acting worse than he is. I think he's showing remarkable strength to be able to move to a completely new place and roll with it, in addition to trying to get to know his wife. He's kind and caring, and as good as he could be to her given the trying circumstances that he finds himself in now. Rochester is the stranger here, but I think he's doing well.