And It's Mr. Rochester by a Scowl!

If anyone had ever told me there was even the slightest chance, the remotest possibility, the merest hint of a prospect of a male protagonist in classical literature coming along and securing the affection I have long held for the proud but excellent Mr. Darcy of Jane Austen's acclaimed Pride and Prejudice, I would have said, "Not on your corset-cover!" There are no two ways about it: I am a hopeless romantic AND I am a sucker for strong, proud men who turn out to be big ol' Stay Puft Marshmallows when they finally meet their one true love (I'm sure there are a hundred examples in literature and cinema but my two personal favorites are the aforementioned Mr. Darcy as paired with Miss Elizabeth Bennett, and who can forget Captain Von Trapp when Fraulein Maria warbles her way into his life in The Sound of Music?)

Well Captain, Mr. Darcy, stand aside . . . it's time for Edward Rochester to take his rightful place as the puffiest marshmallow of them all! We won't even speak of my less-than-superior high school education and the fact that I haven't even read Jane Eyre (an offense that will soon be remedied); in fact, I am slightly embarrassed to be making this assertion not having read the actual novel. Nonetheless, I recently finished the much-too-short Masterpiece Theater presentation of Jane Eyre and I was utterly enchanted. Start to finish, top to bottom, it was first-rate. And Mr. Rochester--oh! Mr. Rochester! So dark, so brooding, so full of mystery . . . yet longing for love and captivated by a most deserving heroine. Watch it, read it--you'll love it. I'm off to the library!