Why Do You Think Bertha Allowed Rochester's Hidden Wife?

Just before the marriage between Mr. Rochester and Jane, it is revealed that Mr. Rochester is already married to an insane woman, Bertha Mason, who he keeps locked away on the third floor. This novel shows many prime examples of how ‘isolation and insanity go hand in hand’ in gothic literature. The first example is how ‘insane’ people were treated in the Victorian era. To a modern

What it was, whether beast or human being, one could not, at first sight tell: it grovelled, seemingly, on all fours; it snatched and growled like some strange wild animal: but it was covered with clothing, and a quantity of dark, grizzled hair, wild as a mane, hid its head and face” (Brontë 282). The main function or even desire of Bertha, similarly to Grendel’s mother, is to put physical threat on other characters. For example, it can be noticed in such her acts as setting Mr. Rochester’s bed on

Although she seemed to be the ideal bride, Rochester did not know about the insanity that ran in her family’s blood. But, he soon learned about it as he watched his wife become mad. Desperate, Rochester paid for a caretaker to tend to her in a hidden room in Thornfield Hall.

Treating a woman like the ex-girlfriend will never reflect well on a character, especially if the ex-grilfriend is considerably different from the new girl. It seems that Mr. Rochester is yet to learn this fact about women because proceeding his proposal to Jane, he projects his old actions “of love” onto her, causing her to react poorly to his advances. Mr. Rochester’s treatment of Jane reflects on his past experiences with women and his insecurity in relationships.

We first encounter this relationship between Jane and Rochester during their first dramatic meeting. She encounters him when he falls off his horse and she is required to give him assistance. Jane’s first impression of his face is that ‘He had a dark face, with stern features and a heavy brow’. This may portray the dimness in his face awaiting to be enlightened by a woman which, in this case Jane. Further on in this chapter, unaware of who he is, on her return home, Jane is amazed to discover that the gentleman she assisted in the road was her employer, Mr. Edward Rochester. Jane’s future relationship with Rochester is most clearly set out in their first meeting. Although without any money, reserved and socially dependent, Jane is not

With an attempt to distinguish between the old and the new, Charlotte Bronte creates the character of Bertha Mason as the exhibition of female repression and desire frequently found in the East. Bertha Rochester is the emblem of Eastern society, one which the British see as static and barbaric, and Jane Eyre is representative of the Western Civilization. In Reaches of Empire, Suvendrini Perera argues that "if the barely human prisoner caged in the Thornfield attic is the truest expression of women's anger and aspiration . . . [it is overlooked] that she is also the racial Other incarnate - a bestial, violent creature with an inordinate sexual appetite, caught in the colonized West Indies and confined 'for her own good' by a master who has appropriated both her body and her wealth" (82). If the reader only sees Bertha as the surrogate of Jane, one neglects to take note of the enriching importance of the text's suppression of Bertha. Charlotte Bronte presents Bertha as a sexually vigorous woman. This can be seen when Rochester indirectly describes

This is all in Jane’s perspective, and readers take it for granted that Bertha is a monster or a ghost that roams around Thornfield Hall. Readers will never associate the word ‘beautiful’ with Bertha if it was not for Mr. Rochester’s description of her as similar to Blanche Ingram, and if they read Wide Sargasso Sea they will also learn of Bertha’s beauty.

What Music Means to Me Music is a very important piece to our world. In every culture, music depicts a unique aspect to religion, celebration, and everyday life. The wide variety of different genres of music express emotion and character to us as individuals. It is everywhere on the planet, and has a different meaning in every culture. To me, music is a language.

The powerful male roles, such as Edward Rochester, seen throughout the novel represent Great Britain, while the weaker female roles, such as Bertha Mason, represent the imperialized countries. In chapter 14 of Jane Eyre, Mr. Rochester demonstrates his assertive dominance to Jane when he asks, “Do you agree with me that I have a right to be a little masterful, abrupt, perhaps exacting, sometimes, on the grounds I stated, namely, that I am old enough to be your father, and that I have battled through a varied experience with many men of many nations, and roamed over half the globe” (Brontë 152). Rochester demonstrates the power of Great Britain here by claiming that he has the given right to take control and be the ruling figure just like Great Britain did to weaker countries. Bertha Mason parallels the countries being colonized because she is depicted as weak and someone who needs to be isolated and controlled. In "'Reader, I Buried Him': Apocalypse and Empire in Jane Eyre.", Tracy agrees that “many critics rightly place Bertha at the centre of the novel’s signifying systems, since social, cultural, imperial, and religious concerns are encoded in her relationship with Rochester”. This becomes evident in chapter 26 of Jane Eyre when Rochester is explaining Bertha’s character to Jane. Rochester states that “Bertha Mason is mad; she came of a mad family; - idiots and maniacs through three

Rochester. At first Jane sees him as rude and disrespectful due to his cold and gruesome remarks, but it is her fight and how Jane stands up for herself that leads to one of the most known relationships in literature. Eventually Rochester asks Jane for her hand in marriage but at the scene of the wedding, we come to learn, that Rochester is already married to an insane woman, living in his attic, named Bertha. With this Rochester asks Jane to run away with her to Europe, this is exactly where Jane is faced with a very hard decision between following her heart as everyone wants to do, or keeping her respect and dignity. We can see the respect Jane now has from Rochester when he says to her, “I was wrong to attempt to deceive you; but I feared a stubbornness that exists in your character” (Bronte 354). This shows that Jane has gained Rochester’s respect and the ‘stubbornness’ in Jane’s character is the best thing for her, for without this trait Jane could never gain respect from others, especially men, in his novel. Knowing that Jane has decided to leave her, Rochester begins to persuade Jane to stay with him. He says, “Oh, Jane, this is bitter! This – this is wicked. It would not be wicked to love me” (Bronte 355). Jane replies, “It would to obey you” (Bronte 355), showing that she will not give into his pleading, regardless of how much she loves him because to obey him would lead to the loss

It is when she was married that her madness begins to manifest itself into, according to Mr. Rochester, a “violent and unreasonable temper” with a nature “wholly alien” to his own (Bronte 325). Bertha’s reveal rattles Jane, to the point where Jane begins to defend Bertha during an argument with Mr. Rochester; Jane identifies with Bertha as she herself is also an unconventional woman who has been silenced and locked away from society against her will. Jane and Bertha are both being harmed by the same systems of power, rooted in male superiority and social

In Jane Eyre, Bertha Mason is a symbol of female oppression, and the confining roles of women in marriages. Bronte depicts Jane as a young woman in attempt to set an example for others by dodging conformity, and expose false stereotypes, marriage and submission to Rochester are counterintuitive to her goals and morals. Bertha serves as a warning to Jane by displaying the effects of marriage. As a woman who had been oppressed and dominated because of her marriage, Bertha symbolizes the damaging effects marriage in a male dominated society on a woman’s individuality and sanity. Bertha is presented as the “madwoman in the attic” by Bronte, her insanity is a dramatization of the ramifications of marriage by personifying the thoughts of women in the victorian era. In Wide Sargasso Sea, Antoinette is tricked into a loveless marriage for monital purposes because of society’s views on femininity which is females are meant to be passive (Anderson, 1982). This common perception on women is what leads Antoinette and many other women to drift into unhappy marriages, and the greater consequence being they lose themselves due to their forced

Technology is inevitable in that man has always sought to improve life and/or make certain tasks simpler or less labor intensive. It (technology) is also unpredictable, while we may be able to look and see what is on the horizon is respect to current developments, we cannot say for sure what direction they will take or how new high-tech items will be used, or what will come after that.

In Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, the character Bertha Mason is a manifestation of the feelings that Jane cannot express, and thus acts as an alter ego. Every time Bertha acts, it is predicated by a strong emotion or what should have been a strong emotion on Jane’s part. In the Victorian Era, women were expected to follow strict rules and isolate themselves from the outside world. In order to be the “angel in the house,” women were expected to obey and not question their fathers and husbands. Societal expectations dictate that Jane cannot show the full extent of her emotions, particularly when Mr. Rochester is involved. As a result, she does not do so, and they come out in the form of Bertha Mason. Throughout the novel, some sort of action by Bertha closely follows Jane’s musings on her frustrations, her discontent, or her anger. When Jane recognizes her emotions, Bertha’s expression is mild. However, Jane fails to recognize fully her emotions in multiple cases and Bertha responds violently. Because Bertha represents emotions that Jane possesses but represses in order to meet societal expectations, Bertha and these emotions must be removed before she can marry Mr. Rochester. Therefore, Bertha is a key character because she represents an important aspect of Jane and prevents Jane from fulfilling societal expectations.

The idea behind my project is the process to create products of artworks based on using the knowledge that I already know and use new and different techniques that I inquired and reflected upon. My plan is to create an inventory of merchandise which then I would be able to sell to clientele who wishes to own these pieces of art. I would also use the earning to buy more supplies that will be used to create more artworks. At the end of the year, I will count the amount of funds that was accumulated and spent, and my goal is to end up with a positive net sum amount.