"Quiescent as he sat, there was something about his nostril, his mouth, his brow, which, to my perceptions, indicated elements within either restless, or hard, or eager" (Bronte 351). |
St. John Rivers, the pastor who saves Jane from the storm, is the foil character to Mr. Rochester. When Jane meets St. John for the first time she can tell something about him is off. Though Jane describes his physical aspects as the perfect picture for male looks, opposite of Mr. Rochester, his personality is far from perfect. He is overly ambitious and wants nothing to do with anything other than furthering his missionary work. Aware that he needs a wife to fully accepted in ministry society, he proposes to Jane with no intention of ever really loving her. Jane has felt true love before, she knows that to settle for anything less would make her miserable so she declines. St. John is persistant for her hand and tries to promise her that if they get married now he will act as a husband and love will come later in their marriage. Where Rochester values Jane as a person, St. John does not and sees her only as a title; wife. Even though on the surface St. John seems to more handsome and more polite than Rochester, that is not the case about who is the better man.