MBTI Type: ESTP

Edward admits that as a young man, he traveled the world seeking pleasures (and reminisces about these delights in detail, attentive to the sensory aspects of them such as taste, smell, and beauty) and got conned into marrying a woman he barely knew. Drawn to her because of her beauty, he failed to do any research into her family and wound up married to a woman who has progressively become more insane and violent over time. Edward abandoned her at Thornfield (to a good caretaker) and has traveled the world since in search of distractions and common pleasures. He tells Jane that a platonic relationship would not suit him, that he needs a carnal one, and attempts to convince her to stay with him, or run away with him, unconcerned with the scandal it would cause. He tends to react instantly to things, like shooting his mistress’ lover when he catches them together, and turning her out of his expensive hotel room. Once he becomes engaged to Jane, Edward immediately starts lavishing expensive gifts upon her, some of them quite gaudy – a white carriage, expensive garments (at least “six day dresses”), and jewels. When he wants to court her, he rides off to fetch Blanche as a tactic to make her jealous, expects all of his servants to come up with a feast and prepare for their arrival with very little notice, even brings a gypsy back to the house to mess with their minds, so he can take little digs at everyone. Edward decides to marry Jane, though it may cause serious later consequences (if she ever found out, she would hate him; and he could go to prison for bigamy). Edward is both logical and emotional and tends to choose immediate solutions to his problems that are somewhat crude but also humane; when he discovers his wife has gone crazy, he brings her back to Thornfield and hires a  private nurse to provide well for her, in a safe environment (rather than dumping her in an asylum, even if her death would free him of her forever). He has developed a rather cynical view of life, through his own experiences and is extremely blunt, gruff, even insulting. He has little appreciation for kind words and can be “brutish” in his demands. He calls Adelle a spoiled, wretched child in front of her and tells Jane he is not her father, just the first fool her mother found who would take an abandoned, unwanted waif. Edward comes up with a plan to provoke Jane’s jealousy and force her into feeling passion for the first time, by making her jealous. He often manipulates her emotions in this way, tormenting her and using other people as pawns in his tactic to get her to fall in love with him. He flirts with Blanche, but then out of disgust for Blanche, insults her by spelling out “heartless” when it’s her turn to use the spirit board, then plants doubts in her mind through a gypsy, whom he feeds information about his guests so she can shock or insult them all. It’s part of his elaborate scheme to get Jane to admit to her feelings for him. He frequently loses his temper and snaps at people, then feels bad about it if they get upset. Edward tries to convince Jane to abandon her principles and live with him outside of wedlock; he says he will “have her” and damns anyone who tries to stand in his way. Edward is quite emotionally reactive and petty when he gets upset, becoming “emo” when Jane talks about her handsome cousin who asked her to marry him (and lashing out at her with why she doesn’t just “take herself elsewhere” in his jealousy). Later on, he grows into a more mature philosophy in realizing if he had taken Jane and stripped away her innocence, he would not have loved her truly. Though Edward is insightful into Jane, he is also foolish and naïve about the dangers involved in his actions. Bertha slips out of her room on two or three separate occasions –rattling Jane’s doorknob, attacking her brother, and once, setting fire to his room, and still he refuses to perceive her as an actual threat.

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Edward is a bully who pushes people around and likes Jane because she as bluntly assesses him as he does other people. She doesn’t care about his appearance or his money and refuses to play games with him, which he appreciates since he hates the simpering women around him, who pretend to love him but actually have their eye on his fortune.  He chases pleasure and wants instant gratification. He has little tolerance for weakness, and likes Jane because she refuses to let him cow her. She stands up to him. She tells him the truth to his face. Edward has a brutal assessment of people, often talking down to Adelle and/or likening her to a “worthless creature.” He finds it difficult to be vulnerable, and must dominate Jane and force her to admit to her soft feelings first. Once she threatens to leave him, he begs her to stay with him, to go away with him, to live in sin with him… or to just stay friends. He can be quite physical with her. His 7 wing pulls him away from his sorrows into indulgences – he roams the world, staying rarely at home (where the source of his pain resides) until he finds comfort in Jane. He admits that he has been running away from “this dreadful dungeon,” and has tried to forget about his hardships in life through avoidance and distractions. It’s only when Jane offers him a new hope that he stays at home for long periods of time.