‘Reader, I married him’ – such a splendid and triumphant remark from Jane Eyre.
She was marrying a creep of course, but that is by modern standards. In Charlotte Bronte the heroes are generally bossy, arrogant, and sadistic if not actually wicked. Women had such a hard time of it then, it’s hardly surprising they turned a blind eye to men’s defects – or actually found them sensually attractive.
A letter written by Charlotte Bronte to a friend sheds some light on how women probably coped: ‘Man is indeed an amazing piece of mechanism when you see, so to speak, the full weakness of what he calls his strength. There is not a female child above the age of eight but might rebuke him for spoilt petulance of his wilful nonsense’.
But Charlotte Bronte’s heroes are at least memorable, both in themselves and the passionate love they inspire in the women who fall for them. Think of Lucy Snowe’s feelings for Paul Emmanuel in Villette: ‘Once – unknown and unloved, I held him harsh and strange; the low stature, the wiry make, the angles, the darkness, the manner displeased me. Now, penetrated with his influence, and living by his affection, having his worth by intellect, and his goodness by heart – I preferred him before all humanity.’
Paul Emmanuel is very far from perfect, and certainly not handsome, but he is a substantial three-dimensional character who dominates the novel. Where are the comparable heroes in modern fiction?
Our celebrated tradition of complex and magnetic heroines who forever linger in the mind continues, but I can’t immediately think of any particularly admirable men in novels published recently. Are we, in an age of equality, really happy to be reduced to the likes of ridiculous Christian Grey who might be said to follow in a direct line from Mr Rochester, that would-be bigamous seducer with a habit of buying women?
ninevoices 
I must admit to a furtive affection for Mantel’s Cromwell – deeply loyal, generous, rational, a respecter of female intellect, and with a sense of humour. But of course he’s a hard man who gradually compromises his conscience in the service of Henry, so perhaps not so far from the standard alpha male of romantic fiction.
I sometimes wonder if the reason women seem to love the bossy, arrogant male figure is that the intensity of the relationship means that she’s getting his full attention? A well-rounded rational man may have other interests, and also the ability to moderate his passions, which perhaps seems less ‘safe’ to women?
I loved Villette, and perhaps it gave us a more rounded character because it was essentially Charlotte Bronte’s own story about her hopeless love for a real person.
A week or so ago I saw the splendid TV documentary by Sheila Hancock talking about the Brontës, which ITV gave a repeat showing to. (See http://www.itv.com/presscentre/ep3week14/perspectives). When she was a teenager she thought Heathcliff the ideal hero. Now she sees him as a psychopath …
May I cast a vote for Colonel Brandon?
Maybe our modern view won’t allow us the patience we give to some of the classics. Personally, I never did see what people saw in Heathcliff, but I feel you’re being a little harsh on Mr Rochester! Do you think that maybe we’re more interested in introspection these days and more willing and comforted to see our own character flaws reflected in the characters in novels? (Look at Wallander, for instance – how messed up is he, but he’s good at his job!)
Virtue rewarded? I have just read Pamela, all 12 hours of it as the Kindle kept reminding me. Isn’t this annoying when the eponymous Pamela recounts her story to her dear father and mother (never just parents) and then summarises by repeating it all over again? Would you marry Mr B who has spent ten and a half hours of reading time planning her downfall?
Gabriel Oak, Jude Fawley, Giles Winterbourne because we can feel their pain? And there’s always William Brown.
But where are the admirable heroes in twenty-first century novels? Is it that we no longer believe that men like Colonel Brandon and Gabriel Oak (see earlier suggestions) exist and could be convincingly portrayed in serious fiction?
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