Mr Rochester's moral superiority?

The Times re-examines the eternal debate, that is, do (female) looks matter? Jane Eyre of course is always a handy example:

Where the plain are allowed to exist (Jane Eyre, Northanger Abbey) there is, alas, often a whiff of disingenous Ugly Betty-itis. It's implicitly clear that Jane and Mr Rochester's unflashy looks are a manifestation of some kind of moral superiority. Either way, looks have become a battleground. (Lisa Armstrong)

Really, we wonder where in the book Rochester displays 'some kind of moral superiority'. If anything, the exact opposite could be said of him: trying to commit bigamy, taking on lovers, trying to persuade Jane to stay... yes, all of that is highly moral. Don't get us wrong, we are not saying here that Rochester is necessarily bad (as he himself says, he could easily have got rid of Bertha by locking her up somewhere cold and humid and not catering for her at all), only that he is not morally superior either by his - and Jane's - own admission.

Something the article doesn't mention, and would have been interesting, is how Charlotte makes fun of most of the 'beautiful people' in the book, the Ingrams in particular.

And, quite unrelatedly, for an article on this topic we don't think the remark 'George Eliot (a woman who was definitely more of a thinker than a looker) ' is actually altogether appropriate.

Moving onto something completely different, Booktrade reports that Classical Comics has signed a distributuion contract for Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji, which supposedly means that Jane Eyre will reach them when it's released in September. Incidentally, we already have a couple of suggestion for the Classical Comics Jane Eyre information pages but we'd love to have more. Come on, speak your mind!

PR-inside relays the info posted on WorldReviewer, which considers the Pennine Way to be one of the 'top ten walking locations that offer sights of some of the most astounding places on earth'.

7. PENNINE WAY
Start this well known walking trail in Edale and finish in Kirk Yetholm. Along the way you will cross moors, national parks, the Scottish border, see abandoned mines and the home of the Bronte sisters, and follow a portion of historic Hadrian's Wall. The limestone landscape is covered in royal blue gentians and pretty pink alpine primroses if you travel in the spring, but be cautious of the weather as this region tends to be rainy. Travel to the highest point of the walk, Cross Fell, and also view gentle waterfalls on the northern end of the trail. The walk takes from 16 to 20 days, and friendly pubs and B&B's await you, adding to the character of the journey.

Trashionista brings us yet one more Brontëite: Sarah Stovell.

Your favourite fictional heroine?
Catherine Earnshaw (Wuthering Heights)

Dovegreyreader has posted her excellent review of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë - truly worth reading (both the post and the novel!).

And La caverna de las ideas writes in Spanish about Wuthering Heights.

Categories: Brontëites, Comics, Haworth, Jane Eyre, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Wuthering Heights