Compare and contrast Edward Fairfax Rochester and St JohnRivers - Why do you think Jane chooses to marry Rochester?

... Compare and contrast Edward Fairfax Rochester and St John Rivers. Why do you think Jane chooses to marry Rochester? An example of the Byronic hero, Rochester is a passionate man, often guided by his senses rather than his rational mind. While Rochester is the prototype of the fiery passionate man, St John Rivers is his opposite: cold, hard-hearted and repressed. His handsome appearance indicates moral and intellectual superiority - he has "a straight classic nose; quite an Athenian mouth and chin" - and contrasts with Rochester's more rugged features. Jane finds Rochester less than handsome, and therefore feels at ease during their first encounter in Hay Lane: "Had he been a handsome, heroic looking young gentleman, I should not have dared to stand thus" She admits, however, that she "had hardly ever seen a handsome youth; never in my life spoken to one." Despite his "dark face, with stern features and

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