When Jane encounters Bertha Rochester (the previous wife of Mr Rochester) in the mirror Jane is full of horror. This is due to the hideous visage/reflection that is in front of her. Jane sees Bertha Rochester and this disturbs her as she is so confused to who it is. Many readers and feminists have argued that when Jane encounters the vision, she is actually seeing her alter ego. Jane is foreseeing the future sexual nature inside her; it shows her as a sexually rampant woman and what she will result in when she will turn into if she continues to marry Edward Fairfax Rochester. Jane refection could be a visage of what is to come of her in the near future, herself as a wanton and libidinous woman – just as Bertha is portrayed.
As Jane is such a pure, plain and placid, this contrast visage of Bertha makes her appear to be even more horrific. The refection is described, as “It seemed, sir, a woman, tall and large, with thick and dark hair hanging long down her back.’ This image seems to be one of a mans, a monstrous man. The individual images in this piece all means something significant. The tall and large woman is said to represent a dominant person, more of a manly image. This use of tall and dark is seen as suggestive and shows the woman as sexual and rampant. The woman is described as large. This could also mean voluptuous and this would make the woman seem more sexually appealing to men. Charlotte Bronte’s use of dark suggests elements of evil in the text. The colours associated with dark are blacks and purples, all which appear sinister and eerie. The use of darkness brings up the subject of gothic imagery. This gothic imagery is typical in a book written in Bronte’s era. It depicts the colloquial image of old manor houses, evil women locked away, a heroine and the darkness of the land around- all of which are present in Charlotte Bronte’s novel. The darkness of Bertha also reflects the weather outside and the mood that Jane is in (microcosm and macrocosm.) Bertha is depicted as having long, wild hair trailing down her back. This is a traditional view of a sexually rampant woman. This long hair also seems to symbolise an animal, again Bertha is being referred to as an animal on heat.
Jane continues to tell of the image she has seen by describing the garments that the ‘ghost’ is wearing. This is described as a gown sheet or shroud. Jane says ‘I know not what dress she had on: it was white and straight; but whether gown, sheet, or shroud, I cannot tell.’ Charlotte Bronte’s use of white may indicate innocence and purity. We have learnt from Jean Rhy’s book that Bertha was brought as a foreigner to England and when Mr Rochester learnt about hereditary madness in the family, was unfairly locked in the manors attic. This has turned a pure and innocent girl into a mad woman and the white could be used to express this point. The garment is said to be shapeless as well, which could also be showing her innocence as it is not shaped or shows her womanly curves- just like a little girl.
The use of the colour white has also been used to portray Bertha as a ghost. The use of the words ‘gown, sheet or shroud,’ expresses the confusion of Jane to whether the vision was alive or not. A gown represents ‘alive’ and ‘well,’ the sheet is to indicate the possibility of the woman being a ghost and a shroud is the garment worn by a deceased person. These three simple garments express Jane’s confusion.
Jane is then haunted by the vision of the ‘ghost’ taking Jane’s veil from her shelf and placing it on her own head. ‘But presently she took my veil from its place; she held it up, gazed at it long, and then she threw it over her own head, and turned to the mirror.’ Bertha is taking back the veil, which is lawfully hers and defiantly showing Jane that she is still the wife of Mr Rochester. Jane leads on to describe the face that was behind the veil. This face is the traditional gothic view of the ‘baddie’ or the ‘mad over sexed woman. ‘Fearful and ghastly to me- oh sir, I never saw a face like it. It was a discoloured face—it was a savage face. I wish I could forget the roll of the red eyes and the fearful blackened inflation of the lineaments!’ Charlotte Bronte again is using colour to show the mood. The use of red is to symbolise passion and fire. This usage of colour is to emphasise the point of the mad, wonton woman. Black is used again to represent the gothic horror of the scene.
Jane continues to say ‘was purple: the lips were swelled and dark; the brow furrowed: the black eyebrows widely raised over the bloodshot eyes.’ Again colour is used to create atmosphere. This time purple is used to emphasis the gothic theme and again the description of black gives an eerie feel. Jane says that the woman reminds her of a vampire, a blood sucking being- just like Bertha, Bertha has had her life and identity sucked out of her.
The climax of the scene is where Bertha decides to tear the veil in two. This can represent the tearing of the marriage between Jane and Mr Rochester. It confirms Jane’s suspicions and she becomes even more dubious about her forthcoming marriage. Some can say that the ripping of the veil could be seen as the ripping of Jane’s virginity and her beginnings as a sexual woman.
Jane recites the happenings to Mr Rochester in the morning. Of course he is aware that the character that visited Jane was his first wife Bertha. He tries to make Jane believe that it was a ghost or a figure of Jane’s imagination. Rochester will try anything to convince Jane that it was her imagination. When Jane reveals to Rochester, the broken veil, he says that the woman must have been Grace Pool, the maid. Jane as the subsiding woman decides to accept that opinion but dwells upon the happening. This is the first sighting of Bertha Rochester in the house and the savage and colourful imagery depicts Jane’s inner most thoughts, whether to marry Mr Rochester or not.
