Edward Rochester goes through a transformation throughout the novel as Jane does. Upon his first meeting Jane, he treats her more poorly and acts as if he is the superior being. His wealth and age give him a higher class status, however, he is no more of a person than Jane.
"...I don't wish to treat you like an inferior: that is (correcting himself), I claim only such superiority as must result from twenty years' difference in age and a century's advance in experience" (135).
This however, was not always the case. Due to Rochester's high class, Jane was reluctant to marry him due to the fear that she would be itemized and put down for her lack of monetary wealth. However, after inheriting a vast sum of money from her uncle's will, she entered the same social class, opening up the possibility of marriage for the couple. Due to his intense love for Jane, Rochester puts behind him this sense of superiority. The host of the inn unknowingly tells Jane that, "Mr. Rochester was about forty,and this governess not twenty; and you see, when gentlemen of his age fall in love with girls, they are often as if they were bewitched: well, he would marry her" (434). Edward changed throughout his relationship with Jane. The feeling of true love overrides his pride in his social class.
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