Is Bertha The Inner Fire Of Jane Eyre? Essay - 1,834 words

Is Bertha the Inner Fire of Jane Eyre? Jane Eyre is one of the prominent pieces of literature, written by famous English writer Charlotte Bronte. In this essay I would like to cover this story and particularly the relationship between Jane and Bertha, who are the two of main characters of the novel. At first glance let us briefly look at the whole story as it goes. Young Jane Eyre was orphaned and sent to live with her uncle, who dies shortly after her arrival. Her step-aunt despises her and sends her to Lowood School so that she can become a governess. She wins the friendship of everyone there, but her life is difficult because conditions are poor at the school. The poor conditions do not improve until typhus kills most of the students.


Jane completes her education there and obtains a position as governess at a house called Thornfield. Janes student is Adele Varens, who is a difficult but loving illegitimate child of the master of the house, Edward Rochester. Rochester is rarely at home and Jane spends most of her time with Adele and the housekeeper, Mrs. Fairfax. When Rochester does come home, he is often imposing and disrespecting everyone in the house. One night, Jane wakes to strange noises and the smell of smoke.


She finds Rochester unconscious in his bed, which is on fire. At this point she saves his life. Other odd things happen in the house: Jane often hears strange laughter and thuds. Jane has meanwhile realized that she loves Rochester but in her pride refuses to confess it. When Rochester invites a group of friends to the house, including Blanche Ingram whom he is expected to marry. The guests treat Jane like a servant.


Once upon a time Jane is called to her step-aunt house and has a troubling conversation about her distant relative John Eyre, a wealthy man who lives in Jamaica. Mr. Eyre had offered to adopt Jane, but Mrs. Reed maliciously told him that Jane had died in the typhus epidemic. After Jane comes from the visit to her step-aunt, which is in a deathbed, Rochester offers her to marry him. Obviously Jane assists. But their wedding did not take place, because Rochester already had a wife.


His wife Bertha Mason became mad right after their marriage. She was imprisoned in his house on the top floor. Jane decides she must run away. Penniless, she becomes a beggar until Reverend St. John Rivers and his two sisters generously take her in. She lives with them under an assumed name, and it is only by accident that she learns simultaneously that John Eyre has died and left her his fortune and that the Rivers are her cousins. They share the fortune. Rivers presses her to marry him and join him as a missionary.


He admits that he does not love her, but he thinks Jane smart and useful. Jane feels she must do her duty, but she does not want to marry Rivers. One night, Jane hears Rochester's voice calling to her. She returns to Thornfield and finds the house burned to the ground. Bertha had set fire to it and Rochester became blinded in his unsuccessful attempt to save her life. Now let us explore the character of Bertha, presented by C.


Bronte in the book. Bertha is a more extreme case. She is described as an animal but she is more than that; animals are prey to their sexual impulses without fault but Bertha retains enough humanity for her behavior to inspire horror. As central to the novel as Janes conflict relationship with Rochester is her connection with Bertha, who is despised. This issue is at least as intriguing, though the two women hardly meet and never converse. The revelation of Berthas existence, which Rochester has concealed from Jane, saves her from the bigamous marriage that Rochester had planned.


Though Brontes characterization of Bertha, locked away on a top floor, plays into many nineteenth-century stereotypes of the native or primitive woman, it also suggests a close kinship between Bertha and Jane. Both women are attracted to Rochester; both live in his house; and he mistreats both. Critics and readers alike have researched this puzzle over how to understand this connection. To what extent is Bertha a double for Jane, acting on her behalf? To what extent is she a figure for the fate in her actions and what is waiting for the Jane if she surrenders to the corrupt Rochester? Now let us look at the issue from a deeper prospective. Charlotte Bronte writes a novel which coveys the contrast between the east and the west, the old and the new, revealed sexuality and repressed sexuality. The two characters, Jane and Bertha, each represent a different region.


While Bertha represents the East and the ancient, Jane represents the new and the modern. If the reader only sees Bertha as the surrogate of Jane, one neglects to take note of the enriching importance of the texts suppression of Bertha. Charlotte Bronte presents Bertha as a sexually vigorous woman. This can be seen when Rochester indirectly describes Berthas characteristics, pretending that they are Janes. He describes Jane/Bertha as being big, brown, and buxom; with hair just such as the ladies of Carthage must have had (ch. 20). Although this statement is ambiguous, scholars believe that he is perhaps thinking of the stereotypical view of Carthage being a city of sexual sin.


This, in turn, parallels Bertha with the fiery goddess of ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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Essay Tags: jane, bertha, jane eyre, rochester, charlotte bronte

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