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Homework Help: English: Books, Novels & Plays: Jane Eyre
by Emily McPherson
The Madwoman, Bertha Mason, is more beast than woman. What does her
characterization tell us about Charlotte Bronte's attitude to both
madness and femininity??
In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte explores the fine line between the
conventional 19th century path of marriage and subjection to patriarchal
codes, against the culturally subversive path of feminine independence.
This has been done through the characterization of Jane Eyre, and the
counter figure of "the mad woman in the attic"- Bertha Mason. In doing
this, Charlotte Bronte's writing moves around a contrast of principles
between passion and reason, creating a collision between these important
values.
Jane Eyre is a strong, self assured and determined young woman, who
is rebellious against society, and is one of the first women in
Victorian literature strong enough to challenge the ever present control
of men. She is a woman cognizant of her own rights; ahead of her time in
her thinking; although still shaped by the demands of her society. She
reflects the position that Bronte is put into when writing the book. She
successfully breaks through the restrictiveness of her society, and her
"soul began to expand, to exult, with the strangest sense of freedom, or
triumph" Throughout the novel, she tells of fights and argument and
often is reproached for her "difficult, flinty" nature.
Bertha Mason, on the other hand, shows how women fit into the
stereotype of Victorian society: dominated by the male figure and
treated as inferior. Bertha is Rochester's first wife and the daughter
of a West Indian planter, who Rochester recklessly married in his youth.
Rochester confesses to marrying her in "a trance of prurience" , and
after the marriage discovered that she was sexually promiscuous and
locked her away. Bertha is described as having "fiery eyes and a lurid
visage, which flames over" . Rochester implies her braveness is the
cause: Bronte has shown this to be the stereotype of madness.
The portraits of both Bertha and Jane are of self ruled, aggressive,
and often very much unlovable humans who do not conform with masculine
society. However, the two characters illustrate ambiguity. Bronte has
conveyed two feisty, independent women- one a heroine, the other a
monster. Considering the constraints of the time, both women are
defiant, yet they become the antithesis of each other. Jane's spirited
actions cause her to become a triumphant heroine, whilst Bertha is
subverted by other forces and her courage is like a "caged bird "- she
seethes in submissiveness. Bertha lends emphasis towards Bronte's
ideals of the assertive female, however unlike Jane, she has no
independence.
Although the characters in Jane Eyre are fictional, the situations
they face and the motivations with which they act, are reflecting issues
which influenced Bronte within her own society. The connection between
sexuality and morality clearly illustrates contemporary concerns about
the social threats posed by women's emancipation, which occurred
throughout the 19th Century. Bronte has reinforced the restrictive
sexual values of Victorian society through Bertha being confined for
displaying excess passion.
All references towards sexuality as insanity are clearly linked with
Bertha Mason whose "excesses had prematurely developed the germs of
insanity" . Bertha was hidden away, as madness has often been, and her
existence is perceived to be a threat. Bronte exposes, literally,
Bertha Mason's liar showing what madness is, and that it does exist.
However Bertha is always presented at some distance from the reader, and
is filtered though the conversations of others, including Grace Pooles.
The "madwoman in the attic" has become ionic for the silence of
women over the past 2000 years, and Bronte has also demonstrated this
through Bertha. The novel Jane Eyre gives Bronte a voice, not accepted
in her society, allowing her to present opinions, challenge authority,
and not just to blindly accept the possessive nature of men. She
clearly tells men this also: "I am not an angel, and I will not be one
till I die. I will be myself. Mr. Rochester, you must neither expect
nor exact anything celestial of me "
The mad wife on the 3rd floor is a warning more than a character, a
warning of mindless passion. She represents both the realities of the
time in terms of mental illness, but also the enigma of madness and the
fears it evokes- violence, strangeness, and uncontrollability. As a
character, Bertha is subtly woven through this book, with some empathy
for her suffering shown only by Jane. Jane's words reflect Charlotte
Bronte's understanding of this, as she reproves Rochester: "you speak of
her with hate- with vindictive apathy. It is cruel- she cannot help
being mad."
Although Jane is horrified when she is first introduced to Bertha:
"the clothed hyena (who) rose up, and stood tall on its hind feet." ,
and can feel no connection with her, Jane sees the "unfortunate lady "
as an equal. Jane, and indeed Bronte, seem to be ambivalent
towards madness, and have much respect for female assertion. However,
it appears that Jane sees excessive femininity without independence to
be undesirable.
The most common thing that the two women share is their attitudes
towards men- this clearly represents Charlotte Bronte's own moral
intentions. Both Bertha and Jane are at some stage during the novel
influenced unknowingly by males: just as Jane agrees to a bigamous
marriage, Bertha cannot help her dangerous sexuality. Each of these
things have come about as a consequence of the power of males within
society. However, both women retaliate, once they become aware of their
situations.
When Bertha attempts to burn Rochester's bed and curtains whilst he
"lay stretched, motionless in deep sleep" , this subverts the notion of
females being obliviously influenced by men. This is used by Bronte to
show effectively that Rochester is indeed oblivious to the fact that he
too is allowing is passions (Bertha) to rule untamed. Hence, it is
Rochester's sexual self-indulgence and lack of judgment that stalks the
corridors of Thornfield Manor. Bertha embodies the anarchic element of
Rochester.
Bronte has rewritten the masculine prototype of romanticism, through
a triumph of femininity, this occurs in both Jane and Bertha. They
represent the feminine conscience that refuses to be redefined through
masculine interpretation and each are clearly as assertive as each
other. However, the key difference between the actions of the two
females, thus creating the antithesis of each other, is that Jane bases
her decisions on intellectual integrity and had freedom, whilst Bertha
is sheerly an animal cooped in a cage who is prey to her sexual
impulses.
Charlotte Bronte's attitudes towards madness and femininity,
characterized through a contrast between Jane and Bertha, is clearly
shown to be that being an assertive female, is an ideal aspiration.
However, becoming so aggressive that own contributes to their own
downfall and loses all freedom, is not desirable. Bronte's views on
madness are presented with ambivalence as Jane feels some pity for
Bertha, but also looks down upon Bertha too.
By using the characters of Jane and Bertha, Bronte has shown a
fulfillment of extraordinary dimensions for women in general. Jane Eyre
is a triumphant assertion of the inviolability of the individual female
soul. Eventually, even Rochester realizes this and describes Jane:
" You entered the room with a look and air at once shy and independentÉI
made you talk: long I found you full of strange contrasts. Your
garb and manner are restricted by rule, yet when addressed, you lifted a
keen, daring, and glowing eye, there was penetration and power in each
glance you gaveÉ." (468)
Homework Help: English: Books, Novels, and Plays
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