Flawed Perfection: The Bronte

Few writers capture the essence of the human condition like the Bronte sisters, Emily and Charlotte. Their influential use of strong female characters was revolutionary for their time. But the Brontes superb powers of characterization were not limited to females. Among several monumental works, two novels stand out among the rest, in large part due to their use of mysterious Byronic, male characters. The overwhelming success of these classics has earned Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre a permanent place on countless book shelves the world over.

Today, Wuthering Heights’ Heathcliff and Jane Eyre’s Rochester continue to be provocative individuals, owing in large part to their intriguing Byronic identity. In the next few pages, we will examine three similarities, and three differences which shed light on the dark identities of these two, timeless characters.

In Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte builds Heathcliff’s Byronic character by describing the appearance and movement of his eyes. In the first paragraph of Wuthering Heights, Lockwood describes Heathcliff’s eyes as, “black,” and “withdrawn suspiciously under their brows” (Bronte 3). Early on in the

“I have a past existence, a series of deeds, a colour of life […] I started, or rather (for, like other defaulters, I like to lay half the blame on ill fortune and adverse circumstances) was thrust on to a wrong tack at the age of one and twenty […]”

The Byronic characters of Heathcliff and Rochester display many similar qualities. For instance, both men have dark pasts, and retain a sense of mystic throughout each novel. Furthermore, they have both suffered loss at the hands of women they have loved—losses that have left them emotionally scarred. Among these similarities, beneath the surface, there remain several glaring differences between these two intriguing characters. First, in the way their authors have chosen to depict them. Second, while both of these men have mysterious pasts, Heathcliff’s day-to-day motivations remain a mystery, while Emiliy Bronte allows readers of Jane Eyre to experience the inner-workings of Rochester’s Byronic character throughout the novel. And third, the fact that Heathcliff’s pain stems from a love that never was, where in contrast, Rochester’s flows from the daily reminder of his past equivocations of character.

This description of Rochester’s “hot and strong grasp” demonstrates his self assuredness and powerful Byronic influence over Jane. These few words shed the first rays of light into the dark and mysterious world of this Byronic individual. (add quote from “sparknotes”) Near the end of the novel, another description of Rochester’s hands adds yet another perspective to his Byronic character. “He groped; I arrested his wandering hand, and pr

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