At the beginning of part two in Wide Sargasso Sea, we are introduced to Rochester, Antoinette's fiancee and soon to be husband. He hails from England and participates in this set up marriage, arranged by his father and Antoinette's stepbrother, although during most of the time it is being set up he is feverishly ill. After being married to Antoinette, he begins to receive letters from Daniel Cosway, who says he wants to expose the trap that Rochester has fallen into. After reading a letter and meeting with Daniel, Rochester ends up confused and suspicious. Daniel says that "...the girl is beautiful like her mother was beautiful, and you bewitch with her." He implies that Rochester was enchanted by Antoinette's beauty and thus fell into the trap laid out by her family to inflate her social standings and ensure her well being. He's clearly bothered by this fact, and despite Antoinette's best attempts to explain her situation to him, he becomes more and more distant from her.
Now, at this point, you can feel a little bit of sympathy for Rochester. He's been "bewitched", and definitely feels bothered and bewildered. He agreed to get married while ill, and had no idea about any of Antoinette's life before they met. However, Rochester suddenly becomes malicious and jealous further into his marriage with Antoinette. He ignores Antoinette, and has an affair with a servant girl, Amelie, while Antoinette is in the other room. He blames all his problems on her and his sudden withdrawal of love makes her into the monster he believed she would become, taking after her mother. If this part of the book was written from Antoinette's perspective, we would feel absolutely no sympathy for Rochester. He could completely and fully be the villain, the inciter of Antoinette's so-called madness. From Antoinette's perspective, it might not even be madness, just drunkenness and heartbreak. At this point in the book though, my sympathy and compassion for Rochester has run out. Knowing how the book ends and the plot of Jane Eyre, I take no issue with seeing Rochester as a villain who strips his wife of her identity and money, locking her in the attic. I'm interested to see how terrible his treatment of Antoinette will become, although I can't say I'm excited.
