Rose Campbell and Jane Eyre

I was reading Rose in Bloom in full (well the abridged version since the classic version sometimes gets too preachy for me) and this quote——

“My heart is my own, to dispose of as I please. Don’t shut yourself out of it by presuming too much, for you have no claim on me but that of cousinship, and you never will have unless you earn it. Remember that, and neither threaten nor defy me any more,” (Alcott 158)

Immediately reminded me of another much more famous speech in Jane Eyre–

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will. I would always rather be happy than dignified.”

Of course, their circumstances are a little different with Rose being a pretty heiress who wants to help the poor and working women, and Jane being a plain governess dependent on others.

But both must contend with an overbearing, egotistical lover. Jane with Mr. Rothchester who needs no introduction and Rose with Charlie, her cousin and the bonny prince whose aimless life has led him to no substance and all pleasure/alcoholism. Rose is flattered by Charlie’s attention on her and is swept up into the jaunty atmosphere he brings, but he also makes her “a nag” and a nursemaid as she tries to help him break his vice.

This is a relationship that Louisa May Alcott clearly demonstrates is not healthy nor can be a truly loving one. Charlie only tries to break his alcoholism because Rose won’t fully love him nor respect him. He sees her favor as a prize and even as she pushes back that she cannot bind herself to him, he continues to push her and pressure her to admit she loves him. That her love will save him and her rejection will ruin him. He’s placing all the work he should do and strive for her, on Rose’s feet. She’s the heroine if he breaks his habit and she’s the devil if she rejects him and makes him drown his sorrows.

Now, Charlie isn’t a terrible guy. Just spoiled and he could have been better which makes it a tragic tale as Rose struggles to reconcile her conflicting feelings with the happy Charlie of her childhood and the princly Charlie he has the potential for, with the reality-Charlie cannot be depended upon, she cannot trust him nor can she respect him, and she can’t save him no matter how much love there is between them.

Alcott’s depiction of this relationship is pretty revolutionary considering the context-late 1800s, Victorian era where women were expected to be angels of the house and care for all the men’s needs as little nurses whose love can save all. Here, Alcott squarely places the work on Charlie to change in order to be worthy of Rose’s love and that she has the autonomy and right to reject him until he shapes up.

Jane has been pretty much hailed as a feminist icon for holding onto her autonomy despite her attraction to Rochester because she wants to put herself first (paraphrasing) and not be consumed by him. Of course, the ending for Jane and Rochester is very different as it almost falls into the conventional women must nurse man to health and man is maimed a bit so he can be equal.

Rose in Bloom was published in 1875 and Jane Eyre was published in 1847 so several decades have passed, and Alcott is well-known to have loved Jane Eyre citing it as an inspiration for her own work and I believe one can see that it has set its mark.