How Does Bertha Mason Present The Character Of Bertha As A Monster

Bertha Mason officially enters the novel with the power of ruining Jane and Mr. Rochester’s attempt at marriage given Bertha’s existence as Rochester’s hidden wife in the attic. Bertha loses her power as Jane builds Bertha’s character as a monster of Victorian society due to her appearance as an unfit wife for Rochester. Jane’s introduction to Bertha can be read as one of great jealousy and hostile judgment as she looks towards Bertha as the monster to come in the way of her desired union with Rochester. The construction of a monstrous character requires the portrayal of the said character in a way that removes the qualities which make them human and replaces them with characteristics that deviate from the normal or expected behavior of a human.

Jane describing and connecting her observations of Bertha to a violent and wild animal limits the reader’s chance to manifest an image of Bertha ourselves. By associating Bertha’s actions with that of an animal, we as the reader have no choice but to see a vision of Bertha as a monster. Whereas Bertha’s situation and her actions might garner sympathy from the reader, Jane’s bias perspective and descriptors prevent us from viewing Bertha with complete sympathy. Looking at the scene through Jane’s perspective, we see Bertha as a “figure [running] backwards and forwards” that “snatched and growled like some strange wild animal” which constructs Bertha as a monster with animalistic imagery (380). Having Bertha run backward and forward seems unnatural as it is almost like a frantic pacing but the hurried tone of running makes Bertha’s action appear more manic and monstrous. The snatching and growling in connection to a wild animal give the connotation of Bertha as a threatening or violent being with wild tendencies. The animalistic vocalizations of Bertha continue as Jane later describes “a fierce cry” emitting from Bertha, and Jane then describing her as a “clothed hyena” standing on “its hind feet” (381). The fierce cry could have read as a human cry for help or out of pain, but when it precedes the imagery of Bertha as a “clothed hyena” the reader cannot disassociate from the animalistic imagery. The clothing aspect of Jane’s description of Bertha is interesting because even though Jane might recognize Bertha as a human due to her clothing, Jane continues to follow with the construction of Bertha as a monster by persisting with the image of a hyena. To Jane, no covering of Bertha with a human element, such as clothing, will make Bertha any less of a