Lesson video

Hello, everyone! Welcome to our next lesson of "Jane Eyre." In today's lesson, Jane has dinner with Mr. Rochester.

Now, Mr. Rochester is perhaps the novel's most interesting and complex character.

And, as you're going to see, it seems like he might be a little bit interested in Jane.

Let's begin.

For today's lesson, you will need an exercise book or paper and a pen.

If you do not have this equipment, press the pause button on your video now, go and collect this equipment, and then we will begin our lesson.

Let's begin with a recap from our last lesson.

How does Jane feel about Mr. Rochester? You have four options.

Option one, Jane is disgusted by Mr. Rochester, option two, Jane isn't interested in Mr. Rochester, option three, Jane feels curious about Mr. Rochester, or option four, Jane is angry with Mr. Rochester.

Press the pause button on your video now and tell the screen the right answer.

I will now tell you the right answer, which is, of course, option three.

Jane is interested and curious about Mr. Rochester.

That means that she wants to get to know him more.

You may remember that Jane was especially eager to help Mr. Rochester after he fell off his horse in our last lesson.

Well done if you got that right.

I will now tell you my plan for today's lesson.

First of all we're going to learn about Byronic heroes, next of all we're going to read our extract, and after that we're going to think about this question, how does Bronte present Rochester? Let's begin.

So we're going to start this lesson by learning about Byronic heroes.

Now, a Byronic hero is a very specific type of hero that was first created by Lord Byron.

Here is a picture of Lord Byron.

Lord Byron was a very famous 18th and 19th century Romantic poet, and he was quite a character.

Byron was known as much for his colourful, flamboyant personality as his poetry.

In fact, he became one of the first celebrities of British culture.

In many ways, Byron became regarded as the bad boy of English poetry as a result of his lifestyle.

Throughout his life, Byron was constantly surrounded by scandal and controversy.

He was most famously described as "Mad, bad, and dangerous to know." A Byronic hero is very much influenced by Lord Byron's scandalous personality.

Let me now tell you a little bit more about Byronic heroes.

When we usually think of a hero, we imagine someone like Superman.

Superman is a rather conventional hero.

When we think about heroes such as Superman, we think of them as being moral, selfless, and noble people, but a Byronic hero does not fit the mould of a conventional hero.

So let me tell you a little bit about the sort of character traits that we tend to associate with Byronic heroes.

First of all, they tend to be rather proud.

They tend to think that they're superior to other people.

Next of all, they're often rather moody, they are brooding, and they often suffer mood swings.

So a key aspect of a Byronic hero is their unpredictable nature.

Now, this actually makes them rather attractive.

A Byronic hero is often depicted as being rather sexually appealing, because they're dark and mysterious.

Often Byronic heroes are depicted as being very intelligent, they're often rather witty, but deep down they're often troubled souls as well.

They often have very dark secrets from their past.

So this is what makes them very mysterious.

Now, a Byronic hero is often characterised as being rather lonely.

They've often isolated themselves from the rest of society and refuse to follow society's rules.

Nevertheless, they're also very passionate, and can in particular be very passionate, and indeed obsessive, lovers.

Press the pause button on your video now and take some notes on this slide.

Off you go.

Now I want to introduce you to a specific Byronic hero.

I'm going to read parts of the poem "The Corsair" by Lord Byron.

Lord Byron wrote this poem in 1814.

Now, a corsair is a pirate.

I'm going to read part of this poem where Lord Byron describes this pirate.

He's very similar to a Captain Jack Sparrow sort of pirate, and as you're going to see, this description of this pirate very much fits the mould of a typical Byronic hero.

So, let's read.

"That man of loneliness and mystery, scarce seen to smile, and seldom heard to sigh.

He knew himself a villain, but he deemed the rest no better than the thing he seemed, and scorned the best as hypocrites who hid those deeds the bolder spirit plainly did.

He knew himself detested, but he knew the hearts that loathed him, crouched and dreaded too.

Lone, wild, and strange, he stood alike exempt from all affection and from all contempt." Now, as you're going to see, this presentation of this pirate very much fits the mould of a typical Byronic hero.

First of all, he is described as a "man of loneliness and mystery," so this pirate has clearly isolated himself from other people, and there's a sense that maybe he holds some dark secrets from his past.

Next of all, we get told that he's "scarce seen to smile." This once again seems to reflect a typical Byronic hero trait of being rather moody and angry.

We then get told that this pirate "knew himself a villain," so he knows that he's an evil person who's done terrible things throughout his life.

He is not a conventional hero at all.

And he knows himself detested, to be detested means that you're hated.

So this pirate knows that he's hated by the rest of society.

It reinforces the sense that maybe, deep down, he's a rather lonely man.

He's someone who's chosen to reject society and its rules.

And we get told about "the hearts that loathed him, crouched and dreaded too," to loathe someone means to hate someone, that these people who hate this pirate also crouch and dread him too.

In other words, they're rather terrified of him.

So, this poem very much introduces many of the traits of a typical Byronic hero.

Having discussed this character with you, I know want to test your understanding of a Byronic hero.

So, true or false.

Number one, a Byronic hero hates everyone, two, Byronic heroes have lots of friends, three, Byronic heroes are extremely passionate, four, a Byronic hero holds many dark secrets, and five, a Byronic hero is unattractive.

Six, a Byronic hero is often a rebel.

Okay, press the pause button on your video now, go through the six sentences, telling the screen whether they are true or false.

Off you go! Okay, let's now take a look at the answers.

So number one is false.

A Byronic hero does not hate everyone.

A Byronic hero may have many enemies, they tend to isolate themselves from society, but they're also very passionate characters who can become very passionately in love with certain individuals.

So number one is false.

Number two is also false.

Byronic heroes do not tend to have lots of friends, they tend to be rather lonely and isolated individuals.

Number three is true, Byronic heroes are extremely passionate, as I said earlier on.

They often are very, very passionately in love with some individuals, even to the point of obsession.

Number four is also true, a Byronic hero holds many dark secrets.

This explains why they are often such troubled and mysterious characters.

Number five, a Byronic hero is not unattractive.

In fact, a Byronic hero is often depicted as being very attractive indeed, and very sexually appealing.

Number six, a Byronic hero is indeed often a rebel.

They're often have rejected society alongside its rules.

Well done if you got those right.

Now, Mr. Rochester can be described as a Byronic hero.

As you're going to see throughout the extract we're going to read today, and across further lessons, Mr. Rochester is proud, he thinks he's better than other people.

He's moody, he has lots of mood swings.

He's very attractive though, not physically attractive, but he's got a very attractive and compelling and charismatic personality.

He's very intelligent and witty, but he's also very troubled.

He's got some dark secrets from his past.

This makes him very mysterious.

He's also, as you're going to see, a rather lonely man.

And Mr. Rochester can be very passionate as well.

We're now going to read our extract.

As you may remember from our last lesson, Jane met a mysterious man on her walk through the woods.

This man fell off his horse onto the ice, and Jane helped him back up.

It was only when Jane returned back to Thornfield that she realises that the man that she has just met is Mr. Rochester.

Well, in the extract that we're about to read, Rochester invites Mrs. Fairfax and Jane to accompany him to dinner at Thornfield.

At the beginning of this extract, Mrs. Fairfax and Jane have just walked into the dining room to meet Mr. Rochester.

Let's read.

"Two wax candles stood lighted on the table, and two on the mantelpiece; basking in the light and heat of a superb fire, lay Mr. Rochester's dog, Pilot.

Adele knelt near him.

Half reclined on a couch appeared Mr. Rochester, his foot supported by the cushion; he was looking at Adele and the dog: the fire shone full on his face.

I knew my traveller with his broad and jetty eyebrows; his square forehead, made squarer by the horizontal sweep of his black hair.

I recognised his decisive nose, more remarkable for character than beauty; his full nostrils, denoting, I thought, choler and anger; his grim mouth, chin, and jaw.

Yes, all three were very grim, and no mistake.

His shape, now divested of cloak, I perceived harmonised in squareness with his physiognomy and facial shape: I suppose it was a good figure in the athletic sense of the term, broad chested and thin flanked, though neither tall nor graceful." So this opening description of Mr. Rochester reveals a great deal about his character.

First of all, Jane describes his nostrils, right, full nostrils, which seem to suggest or denote choler, and that word choler means anger.

So Mr. Rochester looks to be a rather intimidating man.

It looks as if he's in a rather angry, poor mood.

Next of all, we've got this repeated description of him being grim.

He's got a grim mouth, chin, and jaw, and then Bronte repeats herself by saying all three were very grim indeed.

Now, when a writer repeats themselves, they're trying to emphasise something, so Bronte is here trying to emphasise how grim and serious and gloomy Mr. Rochester's appearance looks.

We're now going to read the next part of our extract.

To provide some context, Mrs. Fairfax and Jane have just arrived to meet Mr. Rochester for dinner.

Let's read.

"Mr. Rochester must have been aware of the entrance of Mrs. Fairfax and myself; but it appeared he was not in the mood to notice us, for he never lifted his head as we approached.

'Here is Miss Eyre, sir,' said Mrs. Fairfax, in her quiet way.

He bowed, still not taking his eyes from the group of the dog and child.

'Let Miss Eyre be seated,' said he: and there was something in the forced stiff bow, in the impatient yet formal tone, which seemed further to express, 'What the deuce is it to me whether Miss Eyre be there or not? At this moment I am not disposed to accost and greet her.

' The eccentricity of the proceeding was piquant: I felt interested to see how he would go on." Now, this is very interesting.

Mrs. Fairfax and Jane here walk into the room to meet Mr. Rochester as requested for dinner, and we get told, "it appeared that he was not in the mood to notice us, for he never lifted his head as we approached." So, Mr. Rochester is being rather rude right now.

These two ladies have come to join him for dinner, and yet, Mr. Rochester completely ignores them.

This makes them seem rather intimidating.

It makes it seem as if his mind is preoccupied on far more important things than these people who've arrived to see him.

Now what's even more interesting is the way that Jane responds to Mr. Rochester's rudeness.

She says, "The eccentricity of the proceeding was piquant." Now, if something is eccentric, it means it's strange.

It's not conventional at all.

So Mr. Rochester's lack of manners is rather eccentric, it's rather strange, but rather than being offended by Mr. Rochester's rude behaviour, Jane finds this piquant.

Now that word piquant means sort of interesting.

It arouses her curiosity.

She wants to know more about this very strange man.

Let's continue.

Mr. Rochester now asks Jane a barrage of questions about her life.

Let's read.

"'You have been resident in my house three months?' 'Yes, sir.

' 'And you came from?' 'From Lowood school, in -shire.

' 'Ah! A charitable concern.

How long were you there?' 'Eight years.

' 'Eight years! You must be tenacious and clinging of life.

I thought half the time in such a place would have done up any constitution and ruined any mind! No wonder you have rather the look of another world.

I marvelled where you had got that sort of face.

When you came on me in Hay Lane last night, I thought unaccountably of fairy tales, and had half a mind to demand whether you had bewitched my horse.

Hm, I'm not sure yet.

Who are your parents?' 'I have none.

' 'Nor ever had, I suppose: do you remember them?' 'No.

' 'I thought not.

And so you were waiting for your people when you sat on that stile, hm?' 'For whom, sir?' 'For the men in green: it was a proper moonlight evening for them.

Did I break through one of your rings, that you spread that damned ice on the causeway?' I shook my head.

'The men in green all forsook England 100 years ago,' said I, speaking as seriously as he had done.

'And not even in Hay Lane, or the fields about it, could you find a trace of them.

I don't think either summer or harvest, or winter moon, will ever shine on their revels more.

' Mrs. Fairfax had dropped her knitting, and, with raised eyebrows, seemed wondering what sort of talk this was." So this is a rather interesting part of the conversation.

It's rather funny.

Mr. Rochester here accuses Jane of belonging to the men in green.

Now, when he's talking about the men in green, he's talking about elves, and he's basically accusing Jane of being an elf from a fairy tale and using her magic to bewitch his horse and create the damned ice and making him slip off his horse.

And Mrs. Fairfax is very, very confused by this sort of conversation.

Let's continue.

"'You are now, then, 18?' I assented.

'And now, what did you learn at Lowood? Can you play?' 'A little.

' 'Of course: that is the established answer.

Go into the library, I mean, if you please.

Excuse my tone of command; I am used to say, "Do this," and it is done: I cannot alter my customary habits for one new inmate.

Go, then, into the library; take a candle with you; leave the door open; sit down to the piano, and play a tune.

' I departed, obeying his directions.

'Enough!' he called out in a few minutes.

'You play a little, I see; like any other English school-girl; perhaps rather better than some, but not well.

'" Now this is a rather funny part of the conversation, too.

We can see that Mr. Rochester is incredibly bossy.

Look at the sort of commands that he gives.

"Jane, go then into the library; take a candle with you; leave the door open; sit down to the piano, and play a tune." So he gives Jane lots of commands.

He tries to boss her around.

It's clear, as Mr. Rochester himself explains, that he has become used to giving lots of instructions and lots of commands to other people, and the assumes the other people will always obey him.

So Mr. Rochester is a very authoritative character, and arguably very bossy as well.

Now he's also rather harsh, right? So he listens to Jane playing her piano, and then he basically says, "Well, you can play a little, you're similar to any other English school-girl, perhaps rather better than some, but not well, you cannot play the piano well." So he's a rather harsh character, he seems to be rather judgmental.

Okay, let's continue.

"Mr. Rochester, looking at his watch, said abruptly, 'It is nine o'clock: what are you about, Miss Eyre, to let Adele sit up so long? Take her to bed.

' Adele went to kiss him before quitting the room: he endured the caress, but scarcely seemed to relish it more than Pilot would have done, nor so much.

'I wish you all good-night, now,' said he, making a movement of the hand towards the door, in token that he was tired of our company, and wished to dismiss us." Now Jane and Mrs. Fairfax now leave the room, and they then have this conversation.

"'You said Mr. Rochester was not strikingly peculiar and strange, Mrs. Fairfax,' I observed, when I rejoined her in her room, after putting Adele to bed.

'Well, is he?' 'I think so: he is very changeful and abrupt.

' 'True: no doubt he may appear so to a stranger, but I am so accustomed to his manner, I never think of it; and then, if he has peculiarities of manner, allowance should be made.

' 'Why?' 'Partly because it is his nature, and we can none of us help our nature; and partly because he has painful thoughts, no doubt, to harass him, and make his spirits unequal.

' So this is a very interesting conversation that Jane and Mrs. Fairfax now have as they walk out of this room Jane basically says that Mr. Rochester is very changeful and abrupt, he seems very moody.

He seems in a good mood at one second, and in a very angry mood the next second.

And then Mrs. Fairfax tries to explain this.

And she says that this can be partly explained because Mr. Rochester has painful thoughts.

Mr. Rochester's painful thoughts are in a sense an explanation for his moody behaviour and his mood swings.

But what's interesting here is that Mrs. Fairfax doesn't go into any more detail on exactly what these painful thoughts might be.

What sort of dark secrets might Mr. Rochester be keeping? Okay, we're now going to ask ourselves this question.

How does Bronte present Rochester throughout this extract? There's four main ideas that I want to cover.

Here's our first one.

Mr. Rochester, first of all, comes across as being rather intimidating.

You may remember that he ignores Jane and Mrs. Fairfax when they arrive for dinner.

So Jane and Mrs. Fairfax are sat waiting for him to notice them, and he deliberately ignores these two guests.

Mr. Rochester comes across as being rather rude and obnoxious here.

It appears that he's got thoughts in his head far more important than Jane and Mrs. Fairfax.

Next of all, he has grim facial features.

You may remember that Bronte repeats that word grim twice in her description of Rochester.

This once again emphasises how gloomy and serious Mr. Rochester looks.

He has a sort of darkness about him that is typical of a Byronic hero.

Next of all, he orders Jane to play the piano, so he's very bossy.

It seems that Mr. Rochester has lived his life and become accustomed to people obeying his every order.

So, upon first impressions, Mr. Rochester comes across as rather intimidating.

In a sense, he comes across as rather serious, and slightly scary.

This is further emphasised by how moody Mr. Rochester seems. Jane says that he can be changeful and abrupt.

In other words, Mr. Rochester has great mood swings.

He can be very happy at one moment and very angry the next.

This makes him seem rather unpredictable and volatile.

Mr. Rochester also seems to be rather mysterious.

Mrs. Fairfax says that Rochester is moody partly because he has painful thoughts.

Maybe he has some sort of dark secrets from his past that makes him so moody and makes them so gloomy and angry at times.

But this is very mysterious, because Mrs. Fairfax never actually explains what these painful thoughts might be.

In the convention of a true Byronic hero, Rochester seems to hold some dark secrets.

Now, in spite of the fact that Rochester seems intimidating and moody and mysterious, there does seem to be something about him that Jane finds very attractive.

In particular, Rochester actually seems very curious and interested in Jane.

He asks her lots and lots of questions, as if he wants to know everything about her life.

And he also imagines her as a character from a fairy tale.

He describes her people as "the men in green." As I described earlier on, that reference to the men in green is Rochester suggesting that Jane is like an elf.

Now, why does Rochester use this language? Well, I think he is suggesting that he views Jane as a sort of otherworldly creature.

He's curious in Jane, because she seems different, as if she's an elf who lives in the woods.

He's never met a girl like Jane before, and that is what makes him curious about her, and that is why he uses this fantastical language as if she comes from a fairy tale.

Press the pause button on your video now, and take some notes on these ideas.

Off you go! Okay, it's now time to do some writing.

You need to answer this question, how does Bronte presents Rochester? Now you're going to write a paragraph, but I'll give you a rough structure that you can use to help you write.

You could begin with this sentence here, "Upon first impression, Rochester comes across as rather intimidating," and then you could expand upon that idea, explain why he comes across as intimidating.

You could then say this, "In addition, Rochester seems to be very moody," and explain why he seems moody.

Then you could say this, "Bronte also presents Rochester as a mysterious man through this conversation," and then you could go on to this idea, "But it's clear that Rochester is very curious about Jane," and explain that in more detail.

Here's a table which includes some quotations, some key words and phrases that you can use to help you write your answer.

The pause button now, and complete this paragraph in your book or on your page.

Off you go.

Let's now take a look at an exemplar answer.

"Upon first impression, Rochester comes across as rather intimidating.

When Mrs. Fairfax and Jane first appear for tea, this moody gentlemen deliberately ignores them.

He reclines on his armchair with his mind diverted by more pressing matters than his two visitors.

Rochester clearly plays no heed to social customs and expectations for polite behaviour.

Rochester's appearance is similarly intimidating.

He has grim, sharp features creating the impression that he is sombre and ill-tempered.

This wealthy gentlemen is also incredibly authoritative.

He orders Jane to play the piano with the ease of a person who's become accustomed to giving others orders.

In addition, Rochester seems to be very moody.

Mrs. Fairfax says that he can be changeful and abrupt, a clear indication that this gentleman is subject to unnervingly unpredictable mood swings.

Bronte keeps the cause of such emotional volatility deliberately vague.

Mrs. Fairfax claims that Rochester is afflicted by painful thoughts, but reveals little more.

It seems that this brooding gentlemen, in accordance with the traits of a typical Byronic hero, may hold some dark secrets from his past.

But, most interestingly, this troubled gentleman is also very curious about Jane.

Even though he is rather rude to her, Rochester seems intensely interested in the young heroine, as witnessed by his barrage of questions about her past.

Indeed, in Rochester's eyes, Jane appears to be a fantastical creature from a fairy tale, like a member of the mythical elvish race of men in green.

Such language implies that Rochester regards Jane as an otherworldly creature that he does not fully understand.

Jane is not like other woman to this gentlemen.

She is a peculiar individual who stimulates his intense interest, and potentially, love." Press the pause button on your video now if you would like to improve your paragraph having read that exemplar.

Off you go! Okay, here's the credits for today's lesson.

Well, that brings us to the end of today's lesson.

Well done for all of your hard work.

As you can see, there seems to be a certain spark in Jane's relationship with Rochester, but, can this man really be trusted? In our next lesson, Rochester reveals some secrets about his mysterious past to Jane.

I'll see you next time.

And before you go, make sure you complete the end-of-lesson quiz.