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Post by nzglinicki on Nov 17, 2015 21:32:25 GMT
This article points out the differences in Rochester's reaction to Jane and Antoinette. Rochester tried to close Antoinette out of the world and out of his life. He had no love for her, neither did he listen to what she had to say, especially when it came to emotions. He told her to keep her emotions to herself and that he would never love her. We also find that Antionette kid to Rochester about her mom ana ways. She said that she was dead, but come to find that she was really alive and that her being dead was only what she meant to Antoinette. She is also very fearful and is not full of this world. This could have scared and annoyed Rochester to the point that he decided to close her out, or it could be something entirely different.
With Jane though he is a different man. He sees her as not of this world, but it is not true, unlike with Antoinette, and she does not fear as much as Antoinette does. This must have been appealing to Rochester because he does not treat her as he did Antoinette. She acts and thinks for herself and has a bit of fire that would take any man aback from those days. She showed will, uncommon for women back then.
Antoinette had also "experimented" with someone other than Rochester, meaning she was not a virgin, and Jane has not strayed from her virginity.
Jane and Antoinette received opposite reactions from Rochester and it seems that they were opposite in what they did and how they reacted to things.
How do you guys take the difference of Rochester reaction between the two?
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Post by morganmassino on Nov 18, 2015 0:06:46 GMT
Great points, Natalie! I think Rochester has such different reactions to the two women because they are completely different people. Jane is passionate, while Antoinette lacks a sense of identity. Jane is much more similar to Rochester than Antoinette is in that sense. However, Antoinette's differences from Rochester do not excuse Rochester's treatment of her. Rochester is a jerk to her and he, as you mentioned, straight up tells Antoinette that he does't love her without even acknowledging her feelings. He even goes so far as to start calling her by a different name - Bertha. When I hear the name "Antoinette," I think of a young girl who is playful and free, but "Bertha" is a much less flattering name (at least I think so...). Could this signify the loss of her (little) freedom that remains?
Why do you think Rochester chooses Bertha of all names? Does Antoinette's change in name signify something to Rochester?
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Post by Emily Shea on Nov 18, 2015 0:30:13 GMT
( I don't know if this question was only for Natalie , but I'm going to answer) I think that Rochester chose Bertha because of the bluntness of the name itself. Antoinette sounds like a name for a princess or a person of importance, but Bertha is your average joe in the attic. Even like you had mentioned before of the "unflattering" sound to the name Bertha. This could symbolize Rochester complete lost of interest or any attraction to her. Also, I think Rochester was almost trying to drive Bertha out! No one likes it when someone calls them by an improper name, especially when it is on purpose. Perhaps this was Rochester way of trying to annoy her so she would leave!
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Post by nzglinicki on Nov 18, 2015 20:24:20 GMT
That could be Emily, but I had a different take on it. Nickname's are normally terms of endearment pointed towards children. Bertha, though, sounds like an old hag or something of the sort. In some ways it even sound like a servants name. He seems to be bringing her standing and youth down to being below him and elderly feeling. The elderly and lower of status are normally more submissive, making Antoinette more submissive also. It also distances himself from her. He married a girl named Antoinette, not someone name Bertha. This seems to be a way for Rochester to place a bar between him and Antoinette, to give him a freedom from her.
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Post by hopekim on Nov 22, 2015 23:46:22 GMT
This article points out the differences in Rochester's reaction to Jane and Antoinette. Rochester tried to close Antoinette out of the world and out of his life. He had no love for her, neither did he listen to what she had to say, especially when it came to emotions. He told her to keep her emotions to herself and that he would never love her. We also find that Antionette kid to Rochester about her mom ana ways. She said that she was dead, but come to find that she was really alive and that her being dead was only what she meant to Antoinette. She is also very fearful and is not full of this world. This could have scared and annoyed Rochester to the point that he decided to close her out, or it could be something entirely different. With Jane though he is a different man. He sees her as not of this world, but it is not true, unlike with Antoinette, and she does not fear as much as Antoinette does. This must have been appealing to Rochester because he does not treat her as he did Antoinette. She acts and thinks for herself and has a bit of fire that would take any man aback from those days. She showed will, uncommon for women back then. Antoinette had also "experimented" with someone other than Rochester, meaning she was not a virgin, and Jane has not strayed from her virginity. Jane and Antoinette received opposite reactions from Rochester and it seems that they were opposite in what they did and how they reacted to things. How do you guys take the difference of Rochester reaction between the two? I think taking a page out of the Bildungsroman stages, when Mr. Rochester and Antoinette were forced to be with each other, they were young and confused and rash; they were closer to childhood in the liminal state than to adulthood. When Jane came around, Mr. Rochester was a little bit older, wiser, and closer to the adulthood stage in the liminal state, while Antoinette was stuck in the arguably, childhood/ closer to childhood stage in the liminal state through her madness. I think Mr. Rochester's reaction between the two has a lot to do in his stage of maturity and the girls' stages as well. Because when Mr. Rochester first knew Antoinette, they were both immature, but when he knew Jane and Antoinette, he was more mature, but she was stuck in immaturity, repelling Mr. Rochester even more, and contrasting Jane, who offered a more mature female than Antoinette! |
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