The Byronic Hero’s Portrayal: A Comparative Analysis of Emily Brontë’s Heathcliff and Charlotte Brontë’s Rochester

Abstract

In this thesis I analyse and compare the character profiles of two Byronic heroes – Charlotte Brontë’s Rochester and Emily Brontë’s Heathcliff – in order to come to a better understanding of the Byronic hero as an archetype that has been popular since the nineteenth century. While the academic world has been discussing this topic for a long time, the theory around the Byronic hero is not yet as nuanced as it can be, which is why the goal in this thesis is to come to a clearer understanding of his characterisation through a comparative analysis of two of the most well-known examples.

In preparation for the comparison, the first three chapters contain an overview of existing theory and separate character analyses of Heathcliff and Rochester that include views from secondary literature where appropriate. Theory and analyses finally come together in the last chapter, where it becomes clear that – while there are many Byronic features a character can have – there are only a few that must be present for a character to be a Byronic hero: a spiritualised love for his counterpart and an aversion to authority.

Since the possibility for a more nuanced theoretical frame for the Byronic hero clearly exists, it would be valuable to re-examine the existing theory and implement changes where necessary, so we can come to a deeper understanding of this popular character type and its characterisation, both in literature and in popular culture.