The Fall according to Charlotte Bronte

In Jane Eyre, Rochester is the fallen. He falls from Grace and is saved by Jane, the Eve to his Adam. Although I don't profess to be a Bible scholar, I am aware that a debate exists about who was responsible for the fall. By making Rochester physically hurt after his horse trips, Charlotte Bronte explicitly makes it clear that it is the man who is fallen and needs the woman to be redeemed.

She also complicates the nature of Eve by making Jane "plain", stripping her of Eve's ethereal beauty. Furthermore, she gives Eve a double: in Bertha. Because Bertha is not wholly bad, we detect a hint of sympathy from Charlotte Bronte, which is Miltonic in itself.

Although Jane had her suspicions and her curiosity was roused, it is clear that Rochester had "sinned" by not disclosing this secret. Hence, instead of Eve's being tempted by the Tree of Knowledge, Bronte argues that Man was already fallen even before the woman's curiosity was roused.


If only Milton had lived during Charlotte's day, what heated letters must have passed between them!