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)
