He's so absolutely DUPLICITIOUS! He seems to me, an older, sophisticated man preying on an innocent girl. Whatever his motivations and woes, I still find his actions deplorable and cannot romanticize them even with Michael Fassbender playing the part.
It's a beautiful movie, I watch it because I like it but... I can't stand Rochester's duplicitious ways.
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And, based on my reading, he does not change. Even after his accident and Jane returns, he still lies to her.
Yes, he "stands before his redeemer" and asks to be made a better person. BUT, since he never agreed that his duplicity was actually anything but a transgression of man-made laws and norms, what exactly does he mean to be a "better" person in HIS eyes or in the "eyes" of this redeemer?
I realize Jane describes an almost idyllic life with Rochester. But she never seemed troubled by his lies and duplicitous ways. So even if he continued to lie, it doesn't seem it would bother her. Besides, the test of a man's character is NOT how he behaves under "ideal" conditions, but how he behaves when thwarted from the rewards he feels he deserves. We are not to know how Rochester would behave if, for example, Jane became insane, unchaste, or vicious because of mental illness. His habitual lying makes his declarations that he would still love and embrace her violence somewhat hollow. At that point, I think we are supposed to assume he'd lie "about his own mother" to get his way.
In my mind he was and ever shall be a liar. Whether that makes him a bad man or just a good man who lies, habitually and in important ways...I don't really care.
bumping...
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.