In the process The next evening, Mr. Rochester sends for Jane to speak with him in the library, and she undergoes an odd sort of interview at his hands. His manner is still abrupt and rather harsh. He is about thirty-eight, dark haired and dark eyed, square of brow and strong of feature, and ruggedly athletic; however, he is not a handsome man, as Jane bluntly points out on one occasion. Although not handsome, Bronte's Rochester is in many points a classic Byronic hero: brooding and fiery, but also at times humorous and sardonic. Mr. Rochester's quirks of temper surprise Jane at first, although they do not discompose her; she is more comfortable with honesty and poor manners than she is among the hypocrisies and smoothnesses of polite society. As Mr. Rochester seeks out her company more frequently, she comes to understand and respect him, and the two become friends. Mr. Rochester eventually takes Jane into his confidence, and reveals that Adèle may be his daughter, although he disbelieves this to be the case; she is, however, the illegitimate daughter of a French opera dancer with whom Mr. Rochester once had a liaison.
