Her brother, richard mason, took part in her being married off to rochester, and she viciously attacks and bites him. In the novel, mason was the former wife of edward rochester and she was kept locked up in the attic because she was mad. Did the woman in the attic in jane eyre have huntington. Shes halfcreole and halfenglish, raised in jamaica among the british aristocrat half of her family, and already not exactly a part of one world or the other. She is the obstacle that stands in the way of janes marriage to rochester. But bertha mason, a woman of courage and fortitude, should be admired and respected for her actions rather than being given the term madwoman in the attic. Bertha mason, as presented in the book jane eyre, is everything jane is not. Bertha s family heritage is complex and puts her in a difficult position.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Their brother, john, is more blatantly hostile to jane, reminding her that she is a poor dependent of his mother who. This book is definitely a commitment so if you have a fear of long books or thoughtful language, you might want to watch the movie. Jane is ten years old, an outsider in the reed family. Her mother, the creole, was both a mad woman and a drunkard. Locked in a loveless marriage and settled in an inhospitable climate, antoinette goes mad and is frequently violent. Find the best essay sample on bertha mason in jane eyre in our leading paper example online catalog. Berthas name in the book is antoinette cosway, which is changed to bertha mason by rochester to sound more anglicized, thus stripping away at a part of her identity. Character profile for bertha mason from jane eyre page 1. Berthas family and edward rochesters family arrange for their marriage. The release and success of the book prompted a huge revival of interest in rhys work and today wide sargasso sea is considered to be one of the greatest novels of the 20th century as well as a foundation text of postcolonial literature courses around the world. The ambiguity of bertha mason in jane eyre essay example.
Furthermore, bertha can also be used to explain janes strange dreams, providing readers a way to interpret her subconscious desires. Bertha as the feminist heroine of jane eyre jane eyre, written in 1847 by charlotte bronte, chronicles the journey of the title character as she faces hardships and adversity along her journey into adulthood. Bertha mason has 5 books on goodreads, and recently added the small hours by susie boyt, the cleaner of chartres by salley vickers, the beginners goodby. The book purports to tell antoinettes side of the story, as well as rochesters, and to account for how she ended up alone and raving in the attic of. Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts. Charlotte bronte may have started the fire, but jean rhys burned. Later in the novel jane sees berthas burning passionate nature and it warns her that she will only become the maniac that bertha has if she follows her passion and.
Culture books news attic that inspired jane eyres madwoman in the attic bertha open for public tours. May 15, 2014 the other the narrative strategies used by charlotte bronte clearly designate bertha as other. Bertha mason and her impact in the novel jane eyre by. She is or seems to be another caliban who is able to communicate only through noises. Bertha mason s birthday is 05171931 and is 88 years old. The main characters of this literature, gothic story are jane eyre, bertha mason. Apr 25, 2008 the ambiguity of bertha mason in jane eyre. Because of this, a movie may differ from the novel. Bertha s name in the book is antoinette cosway, which is changed to bertha mason. Bertha rochester, the madwoman in the attic shes described as a demon, a vampire, a clothed hyena, but is the first mrs rochester really the monster she appears to. Jane leaves the room with mason and briggs, who tells her that he learned of her intent to marry jane via a letter from janes uncle, john eyre, to mason.
Finally, we get to the infamous mad wife in the attic, bertha mason, who has long black hair and a discoloured face with blackened inflation of lineaments. Jane eyre is possibly one of the most important books from this time period. Dark doubles in jane eyre while some critics regard bertha mason mrs. She is described as the violently insane first wife of edward rochester, who moved her to thornfield hall and locked her in a room on the third floor the 1966 parallel novel wide sargasso sea by jean rhys serves as a prequel to brontes novel. It turns out that the two men are acquaintances, and mason had. Later in the novel jane sees bertha s burning passionate nature and it warns her that she will only become the maniac that bertha has if she follows her passion and.
Brooks ap english literature 29 august 2012 in jane eyre by charlotte bronte, bertha mason serves as both a warning and a savior to jane. The character of bertha mason in jane eyre from litcharts. Jane eyre and bertha mason essay 1455 words bartleby. Jane eyre and bertha mason jane eyre is a book centred around female duality. Another discusses dinesh dsouzas terrible book about fascism. Jane erye essay brief character in novel bertha mason, although a minor character in charlotte brontes jane eyre, played a crucial role in the love story between jane and rochester and gives a deeper understanding of how mentally impaired people were treated at the time. Until chapter xxv, she is submerged in the background, a ghostly presence. It is an overhyped mary sue wishfulfilling autobiography of a sad little woman who had achieved very little in her life except for this one. Fairfax attributes to this person all evidence of bertha.
The true daughter of an infamous mother, bertha is accused of alcoholism and adultery, bad behaviors that have progressed to madness in jane eyre. Bertha mason s madness is predicated on the fact that she is not white. Whilst victorian men undoubtedly desired women to be the angels of the house, i think its a little harsh to throw most 21st century men into the same category that is, assuming were talking about westerncultured men. Here, the narrative is wrested away from jane and given to bertha, finally giving her a voice. Bertha s unruly nature challenges the traditional concept of the angel in the house that was prevalent in victorian england. Jane is just the stubborn, bright girl of the book, and rochester the acidulous, selfpitying man you expect, after his betrayal by his father and brother. Jane eyre, set in the west indies and imagining the lives of bertha mason and. Bidisha describes how jean rhyss novel portrays the racial and sexual exploitation at the heart of western civilisation and literature. He claims that bertha mason is mad because she came of a mad family.
This lesson examines the character of bertha mason in charlotte brontes 1847 masterpiece jane eyre. Bertha mason s keeper at thornfield, whose drunken carelessness frequently allows bertha to escape. Bertha mason and the trope of the mad woman in jane eyre. Oct 20, 2016 the book that changed jane eyre forever. In jane eyre, rochesters mad creole wife bertha mason is described as nothing less than a creature of sorts. What book does jane read while hiding behind the curtains at gateshead. Bertha s name in the book is antoinette cosway, which is changed to bertha mason by rochester to sound more anglicized, thus stripping away at a part of her identity.
Attic that inspired jane eyres madwoman in the attic. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of jane eyre and what it means. Rochester discloses the identity of the woman locked in the attic of his thornfield hall as his wife after a thwarted attempt to marry jane eyre. Bertha mason cardiff, x5, the united kingdom 5 books. The big change is bertha mason, the character brilliantly extended and explained, with imagination and compassion, and acted superbly by. Patriarchal images of women who dominate victorian literature typify the often debated binary oppositions madwoman in the attic and angel of the house. Bertha mason, rochesters first wife, was a beautiful creole woman from jamaica, who rochester married years ago before she had a mental breakdown and. Bertha mason and her impact in the novel jane eyre by charlotte bronte. She is highly intelligent, and, her tendency to be. Rochester explains to jane that the woman he was tricked into marrying. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the knife slipped cool and lam book 127. Carol atherton explores the character of bertha mason in jane eyre through ideas of the other, charlotte brontes narrative doubling and. What is the critical view of bertha mason in jane eyre.
Jun 09, 2014 professor john bowen explores the character of bertha mason in jane eyre, revealing the depths of her character and the context in which charlotte bronte created her. Character analysis of bertha mason in jane eyre 967 words 4 pages. Orphaned as an infant, jane eyre lives with at gateshead with her aunt, sarah reed, as the novel opens. The bertha hill case was one i had not heard, so i want to thank mike for telling her story. She impedes janes happiness, but she also catalyses the growth of janes selfunderstanding. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one. However, the ink spent on her by bronte is minimal. My mental switchwhich i think is actually a universal part of the reading experience for everyone, regardless of racemeans that i must confront this racist stereotype.
She is described as the violently insane first wife of edward rochester, who moved her to thornfield hall and locked her in a room on the third floor. A 21st century woman trapped in 1847 shanghai ballets, fan xiaofeng, as bertha mason. The ambiguity of bertha mason in jane eyre in jane eyre, rochesters mad creole wife bertha mason is described as nothing less than a creature of sorts. Tim bartlett eng 396 march 23, 2011 funhouse mirrors. Comparison between jane eyre and bertha mason essay. Rochester tells us bertha s backstory indicated here in italics. Apr 21, 2016 jane eyres bertha mason does not speak in brontes book, so what we know about her before wide sargasso sea we know from mr. Understanding jane eyre through bertha mason literature. Rochester tells us berthas backstory indicated here in italics.
Rhyss iconic prequel to charlotte brontes jane eyre is rich in motifs and devices both modernist and postmodernist. Bertha is a young debutante in jamaica, where all the boys love her and her beauty and musical talent make her extremely desirable. Culture the book that changed jane eyre forever bbc. It is a feminist and anticolonial response to charlotte brontes novel jane eyre 1847, describing the background to mr rochesters marriage from the pointofview of his mad wife antoinette cosway, a creole heiress. Antoinettes mother, annette, must remarry to wealthy englishman mr. Thus, using bertha mason as an outlet for janes subconscious thoughts, readers can better grasp the entirety of the narrators character to decipher ambiguous moments in the text. Mr mason and later mr rochester are exploiters wanting to make. Jane is depicted as being physically plain and slight of build. Bertha mason is definitely the most interesting character in jane eyre. Berthas family heritage is complex and puts her in a difficult position. The knife slipped cool and lam book 127 kindle edition by. So, rochester and jane eyre are both haunted by his first wife, by bertha mason, and its one of the most powerful and moving passages of the whole book and her presence haunts it even when shes not there and shes such an interesting figure because in some ways shes like jane theres lots of parallels between the two of them. Jane eyres bertha mason does not speak in brontes book, so what we know about her before wide sargasso sea we know from mr.
Bertha antoinetta mason, edward rochesters clandestine first wife, was an essential component to the plot and character development in jane eyre. Bertha mason jane eyre literary print book art etsy. Contextualizing racialized interpretations of bertha masons. Bertha mason adds to the element of the gothic that bronte infused into this work and adds a plot complication that sustains the readers interest in jane eyres journey to selfrealization. This concept portrayed the ideal woman as delicate, passive, and angelic. Producers often use a book as a springboard for a movie idea or to earn a specific rating. Bertha mason seemed a poor ghost to rhys, and that choice of noun says plenty. First of all, i never consider jane eyre a feminist work. Sometimes bertha goes by various nicknames including bertha mcmillan mason, bertha mcmillian mason, bertha m mason, bertha mcmillan mason and bertha rene mason. As the book celebrates its 50th anniversary, hephzibah anderson. Later in the novel jane sees bertha s burning passionate nature and it warns her that she will only become the maniac that bertha has if she follows her passion and her temptation for her one love mr. The first in my series of portraits of misunderstood.
An introduction to wide sargasso sea the british library. Charlotte bronte may have started the fire, but jean rhys. Wide sargasso sea was a fantastic prequel, shall we say. Berthas unruly nature challenges the traditional concept of the angel in the house that was prevalent in victorian england. Later, rochester specifically mentions that bertha s family wished for him to marry bertha because of his racial superiority. Bertha mason is a fictional character in charlotte brontes 1847 novel jane eyre. Her female cousins, georgiana and eliza, tolerate, but dont love her. In charlotte brontes jane eyre bertha mason and jane eyre share various attributes in their characters. Free download or read online jane eyre pdf epub book. Jane eyre is a progressive book in many senses far ahead of its time, it is even deemed feminist. The first and most important point to make about her is that within the time span of the novel she is unable to give an account of herself. Based on a true storybertha smith wrote this book in 1917 based on. The knife slipped cool and lam book 127 kindle edition by gardner, erle stanley.
The jane eyre quotes below are all either spoken by bertha mason or refer to bertha mason. Comparison between jane eyre and bertha mason essay example. Though jane has little empathy for her, she has much in common with the madwoman in the attic. Bbc culture the book that changed jane eyre forever. Critical essays a postcolonial approach to the novel as a theoretical approach, postcolonialism asks readers to consider the way colonialist and anticolonialist messages are presented in literary texts. Bertha attempts to strangle rochester, who reminds his audience, this is the sole conjugal embrace i am ever to know. Jane eyre questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on jane eyre. The lesson analyzes bertha mason both as an image of horror and as a tragic figure, and. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. However, as derrida has theorized elsewhere her absence is her presence. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 507 pages and is available in paperback format.
1214 952 501 49 137 242 108 816 982 1615 660 999 415 363 1604 1538 617 449 1534 119 70 720 188 701 64 1628 1608 1194 819 707 648 1292 1517 65 843 997 545 145 1254 491 248 338 1087 367 246