Compare and contrast between Mr. Rochester and St. John from Jane Eyre.

St. John Rivers and Mr. Rochester have some things in common despite the fact that they are very different characters.  

Edward Rochester is a wealthy man, who owns Thornfield Hall and a great deal of land.  He has no living parents or siblings.  Mr. Rochester is an older man with dark features, who "is nearly forty."  Mr. Rochester loves Jane deeply and passionately and regards her as his equal.  He is attentive to her, and he is vocal about his affection for her.  He is not an overly religious man.  On the contrary, St. John is not a wealthy man.  He does have siblings.  He has two sisters, Mary and Diana.  He is a younger man.  St. John pities Jane, but does not truly love her.  He wants to marry her for practical reasons.  He thinks that she will make an excellent missionary's wife.  St. John proposes, and Jane admits to herself that "he will never love [her]; but he shall approve" of her.  St. John is deeply religious, and he plans to become a missionary.  

Mr. Rochester's character is often associated with fire.  He and Jane often speak beside a roaring fire.  Jane saves him when he room is lit on fire.  Later, his own house burns down and he is blinded during the fire.  He shows himself to be a passionate person and shows warmth to Jane.  St. John is often associated with cold.  The weather is cold when Jane befriends St. John.  St. John is a cold person, and does not show warmth to Jane.

Both Mr. Rochester and St. John want to marry Jane.  Mr. Rochester is turned down by Jane after she finds out about his insane wife.  St. John is also turned down by Jane when she rejects his marriage proposal, telling him that she sees her relationship with him as more of a sisterly one.  Both men try to convince her to change her mind.