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Recommended: Introduction to Jane Eyre

Tim Burton said it best: “One person’s craziness is another person’s reality.” Charlotte Bronte brings this quote to life in her novel, Jane Eyre. Bronte puts her own psychological troubles into Jane, essentially lives through her, and portrays Jane’s hidden emotions and beliefs through Bertha Mason’s insanity. Although Bertha Mason is portrayed as Jane’s alter ego, the similarities between Bronte and Jane herself point directly to Bronte’s underlying anger and resentment that is projected in the person of Bertha.
Through the life story of Bertha Mason, Bronte provides an inside look into daily life for Victorian people, and the insanity that is not as hidden and scorned as one may believe in that society. Although Bronte depicts mental illness as something that must be hidden, the general opinion actually present during the Victorian Era was considerably less harsh. As Debra Teachman explains in “TREATMENT OF MENTAL ILLNESS”, (a chapter within Understanding Jane Eyre), “the term psychology had not yet been coined,” but many people were aware that mental illness was a serious issu...

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