Extra Blog #3 - Bertha Mason

My final blog! This blog is going to be about another character from Jane Eyre, because out of all of the essays and novels I had to read this summer, I enjoyed it the most. The character I am going to talk about is Bertha Mason. During the novel, she was Mr. Rochester’s “wife” whom he locked in the attic of his home. I, for one, feel pretty bad for her even though she has gone thoroughly insane. Mr. Rochester blames her craziness on her supposed drinking problems. When Bertha and Rochester got married, it is pretty obvious they were not meant for each other. Since she began to go crazy, Rochester did the stupidest thing ever and went and locked her up. In his house, no less. She spends a few years in a room in Jamaica, and then a decade at Thornfield. She crawls around on the floor and laughs creepily. I understand how Mr. Rochester would be afraid of that, but I am not a big fan of his actions after that. Apparently she did have some sense of perception, because she was able to find out about Jane and Mr. Rochester’s wedding and she went to destroy the wedding veil. Bertha Mason is a creepy character, but I felt she was a good character to talk about.

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: Barnes and Noble Classics, 2003. Print