First published in 1847, Charlotte Bronte's popular and famous Victorian publication Jane Eyre transcends both the past and present, becoming one of literature's most renown stories with an original, yet brilliant pair of characters that define what it means to be truly in love. Following narrator and protagonist's Jane Eyre's abusive upbringing and maladaptive adolescence in the Lowood School, into her position as governess of the young Adele in Thornfield Hall, the story portrays a life that begins so backward and detrimental, but with the right dosage of love, passion, and direction, blossoms into a heart warming happy ending. Jane, having survived years of misfortune and forced to conformity through her possession, rightfully spends the latter part of her life, and the end of the story itself, with the man she desires: Edward Rochester. The compatibility of these two lovers, though quite perfectly matched through their temperament, physicality, and personality, differs in one specific area that, as a result, splits Rochester and Jane for several years before they are able to reunite. The difference in social classes between Jane's profession as a lowly, plain governess in the service industry and Rochester's position as rich, landowner aristocratic ultimately separates the two lovers on a level that they cannot themselves personally conquer, becoming the defining barrier between their love and the possibility of marriage. Rochester lives a life of riches, associating himself with the splendor and grandeur of the British upper classes, living in a large manor among several hired servants. Furthermore, Rochester's title and social class require that he spend his time around such "very showy, but not genuine" lords and ladies, those whose had "many brilliant attainments" but with "poor minds" and "hearts barren by nature" (Bronte 211). Individuals like Blanche Ingram and Colonel Dent, who waste much of their time basking in lavish parlors playing such silly games as charades and involve themselves in petty gossip to add merit to their actions. Through unwritten but nonetheless enforced social customs, Rochester is encouraged to marry a suitor of the same social status with wealth to spread to the family for generations, settling on the beautiful, but internally void Blanche Ingram as a bride. Because Jane is of such a lowly class and does not socially match Rochester, she cannot be considered as a realistic or probable suitor, making it all the more surprising when Rochester exclaims his infinite and undying love for her. Jane is dumbfounded at the ridiculousness of the situation, stating, "I was incredulous" after Rochester declares, "my bride is here...because my equal is here, and my likeness" (Bronte 292). Rochester declares the emptiness of arranged marriages, something that has plagued him before, announcing, "I would not- I could not- marry Miss Ingram" (Bronte 293). Despite this intimate and truthful connection that Rochester shares for Jane, and Jane for Rochester, their social status, in combination with prior events past fueled by the need for family inheritance hold their marriage back for several years. It is not until Rochester resolves his ties to Bertha Mason and truly ends their relationship in the form of Bertha's death in the fire at Thornsfield that him and Jane may finally reunite and unleash their full fervor. Even so, Rochester is partly crippled and blinded by the flames, symbolizing not only a literal loss of various functions and parts of the body, but a loss of social status that fortunately for the couple, equalizes them and finally makes them perfectly compatible for a fairy-tale, "happy ending'.
