Bertha Mason seems like a very small character in Jane Eyre. She doesn’t speak or interact with anyone (well, barely…minus the several attacks) and she doesn’t speak a single word in the book. But recently I’ve found that Bertha Mason is actually a bigger part than people give her credit for. She is actually the main cause of the conflict in the story.
The reason why she is the main reason for the conflict is because she is the wife of Rochester. She is bound to Rochester by marriage, a binding pact that couldn’t be split in the time period the story was set in. This binding between Rochester and her causes many problems to arise in the story, leading to the main conflict.
First of all, she is a danger to everyone in Thornfield Hall. She tries to kill Rochester in his sleep (Bronte 170-171), brutally hurts her brother (Bronte 242), and set fire a havoc to Thornfield Hall, causing the severe injuries to Edward Rochester(Bronte 498-499). So you start to ask yourself, ‘Why does Rochester keep her around?’
Though he voices his opinions of her, which aren’t exactly good, he still keeps her in his home, even though it’s a danger. One of the reasons of course is because he doesn’t want anyone to know about her, but I also have another theory. I think that he keeps her there with him also because he wants her to be treated well. In the time period, lunatics went to asylums and were treated horribly, so I think Rochester kept her in his home because he didn’t want her harmed. He even went back in the fire to save her and help her. I think that though Bertha is the reason for his torment, Rochester still wants her to be cared for. In the end he always remembers “she is my wife”, and it takes a lot to still care for something that hurts you.
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: Barnes & Noble Classics, 2003.
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