From The Telegraph:
He was the second man I fell in love with, was Mr. Rochester. The first was Rhett Butler but that was only because I met him first. Dashing, charming and incredibly sexy as Butler is, Mr. Rochester – and his great dane, Pilot – walked into my life, and blew him out of the water forever. So it comes as no surprise to me that when surveyed by Mills and Boon, the nation's readers voted Charlotte Bronte's Mr Rochester the most romantic character in literature. The true hero, you see, has to have more than charm and dash. Those things are all very well, and fine for having a flirtation with, but if he is to get a real hold of your heart, then he must hurt it a bit, make it bruise and bleed. True, heart-stopping, emotion-wrenching, all consuming hero-power comes from a whole range of qualities, not all of them instantly, or even ongoingly, lovable. And Mr. Rochester (isn't it funny how seldom he is referred to as Edward) has unlovable qualities in spades.
But, reader, I loved him (to paraphrase Miss Bronte).
More here.
