The Real Rochester in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre :: Jane Eyre essays

The Real Rochester in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre thaumaturgy Wilmot, the countenance Earl of Rochester was one of the roughly infamous planes from the Restoration period. While Wilmots debauched lifestyle was advantageously recorded, his deathbed conversion became even more popular. Through these early biographies and the poetry scripted by Wilmot, Charlotte Bronte became old(prenominal) with this historical figure. Bronte modeled her character of Edward Rochester on Wilmot. there are many instances in the novel Jane Eyre that bring together the two figures. In his essay rear Wilmot and Mr. Rochester Murray Pittock establishes the link between Rochester and Wilmot. Pittock does such a complete(a) job of supporting the claim that Rochester and Wilmot are related. However Pittock fails to explain why Charlotte Bronte chose to compare her Rochester to the historical Rochester. The key to understanding Brontes motivation in selecting John Wilmot as the model for Rochester lies in Wilmots deathbed confessional. By the residual of his short life Wilmot repented his immoral lifestyle. After his death, Wilmot became the focus of a lean of religious tracts publishing his deathbed conversion. It is this aspect of Wilmots career as the rake that intrigued Bronte. In Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte not only establishes a connection between John Wilmot, the second Earl of Rochester, but she also links Rochesters mitigate to the reform of Wilmot. However, unlike Wilmots reform which occurs on his deathbed, Bronte allows her character to reform and keep up his life. The similarities between John Wilmot and Edward Rochester go far beyond the traits associated with the rake. Charlotte Bronte uses label for her characters that link the two characters. Wilmots title as the Earl of Rochester directly relates to the name of Edward Rochester. John Wilmots grandfather had the name Sir John St. John (Pittock 464). Edward Rochesters briny rival for Janes affection is St. Joh n Rivers. Again the use of a name closely related to John Wilmot is remarkable. The repeated usage of names links the character of Edward Rochester with John Wilmot, the second Earl of Rochester. That Charlotte Bronte would have been familiar with the second Earl of Rochester is undeniable. In his Lives of the Poets, Samuel Johnson included a biography on Wilmot. That Bronte would have been familiar with Johnsons work can be established in the references she makes to Johnsons novel Rasselas. Gilbert Burnet, a Scottish Bishop and famed historian, wrote Life and destruction of John Rochester based on interviews he had with Wilmot on his deathbed.