Bertha Mason

Bertha is a character that suffers from bad luck. She was born into a family that has madness in their blood, and was forced by that family to marry Rochester. What Bertha represents in other characters is haste in the younger years of Rochester’s life. He was also forced into a loveless marriage that segued into madness and deceit.

What Bertha represents in Jane is what she could have been and what she could be in the future. Jane lives a plain life whereas Bertha grew up in Jamaica and was manipulated by her family. I could see that Bertha also represents what Jane would be like if she were to marry Rochester initially and stay living the life of a Victorian wife. Lastly, she is the opposite in marriage to what Jane has with Rochester. Bertha was married into the Rochester family with hidden details packed away and was set on money. Jane on the other hand married Rochester out of love and for who he was, where money was the last thought on the mind.

As a character Bertha cannot be fully understood to the reader since she is mostly described in stories told by her captor. Charlotte portrays Bertha as an animalistic woman who is violent and destructive. This portrayal makes Bertha an unlikable character that is easily misunderstood if there is not further thought about the past and what has been leading up the story itself. The animalistic behavior can be seen as rage from being pent up in the same area with nothing to do for ten years. Since madness runs in her family, her rage could have easily made her just lose it one day. With no medical attention let alone thoughtful human interaction, her madness makes the violent behavior dismissible compared to what she married into.