mepresley 's review for:

Mr. Rochester by Sarah Shoemaker

3.25

dark reflective sad

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I think Shoemaker did a really nice job fleshing out Rochester's backstory based on the details he gives in Jane Eyre. I especially enjoyed the accounts of his time at Black Hills school & the Maysbeck mill. The inclusion of

Rowland taking advantage of 13-year-old Bertha, their son ripped from her arms & sent to America, and the secret deal between Jonas & Rochester Sr. for Edward to fulfill Rowland's obligation to Bertha

was extremely clever.

In the final 1/3 of the novel, where the plot dovetails with Jane Eyre, I agree with what other reviewers have said about the narrative falling flat. Shoemaker touches on all the major moments from the original text but has a tendency to summarize and skim over. I did like the addition of

Rochester's debate about whether to allow the forged letters to stand as proof that Bertha was married to Rowland such that he could obtain an annulment, even at the cost of his inheritance, including Thornfield. His intention to trade his beloved home (& his easy living) for the freedom to marry Jane means that--up until the day before the wedding--he didn't plan to lead her into being party to his bigamy, which makes the whole thing more palatable.

Similarly, reframing

Rochester's various tricks & tests as a way to get Jane to make the first move so that he was not taking advantage of her inferior social status & dependent position in his household--including his surprise & frustration that Jane doesn't understand what's he's doing--was a smart way to take the edge off how disturbing & cruel his tactics were, especially when he is sitting in his guilt & shame & regret after Jane flees.

 

What Shoemaker has accomplished here is a text that validates Bronte's

own fairy tale of a wounded, redeemed hero & the happily ever after of true love. "Reader, I married him" finds its echo in "Reader, she married me."

In the sense that this is surely what she set out to do, the book is a success; on the other hand, the fumbling of the Jane Eyre portion of the novel denies shippers any kind of real satisfaction while simultaneously replicating what was problematic about Bronte's work.