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I admit I'm stymied. The other old friends I get, but the only Rochester I can think of is the one in Jane Eyre, a wife abuser, would-be bigamist, philanderer, possible father of an illegitimate daughter and all-around nasty fellow. That Rochester? With friends like that....
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Sure, Rochester is complicated. But I see him more as the injured party, made bitter by what his father heaped on him, out of pure greed.
By the 21st century mindset, he may qualify as an abuser, but not in the time period of the book. He keeps his insane wife safe and cared for, in a way that seems horrible by our standards. He cares enough about Bertha to try and save her in the fire, losing an eye and a hand in the process. He could just have easily left his wife in the care of whatever type of lunatic asylums they had at the time, and washed his hands of her.
I always thought the book made it clear he wasn't Adèle's father, but either way, he cared for the child, when she could have been left at an orphanage or sent away to school.
My take on him is that he tried to make himself appear to be more of a horrible person than he really is, or was. His redemption comes at a high price, a redemption he desires...judging by a conversation early in the book with Jane.