Bertha as Rochester: The duality of Edward Rochester and Bertha Mason
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
(This essay and those following it are part of a collection of essays I composed a year ago in relation to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre)
This essay was inspired by ideas from Lyndall Gordon's Charlotte Bronte: A Passionate Life.
Although much talk revolves around Rochester as a controlling man set out to quench Jane's fredom, and Bertha as Jane's "other" self who tries to fight against the injustices placed upon her by a patriarchal society, when seen through another lens, I found much to support quite the contrary: that Bertha could have an entirely different purpose for her presence in the novel, that instead of being presumed as Jane's double, she could well be Rochester's.
For one, Bertha represents Rochester's past. Even though Rochester tries to start a new life in England, Bertha (and therefore his "bad" qualities) continues to haunt him (even literally). He tries to "trap" his bad conduct of the past but it continues to follow him even when he tries to change a new leaf.
His bad conduct lies in the means by which he conducted licentious relationships with women. His approach was conniving, and according to Bronte, unacceptable, wrong. He was attracted to the wrong type of women: shallow women with material possessions and superficial attractiveness. All his mistresses were beautiful and insipid and he tosses memory of them away like he had nothing more than a shade of interest in them. He was drawn to Bertha because of his vices: he was attraced to her wealth and beauty, two evil temptations bound to lead man to misery.
Bronte, being a reformer, sought to correct his faults. In order to be happy he needed to give up such vices-so he tries to trap Bertha (thus the evil in his nature), and he tries to start a real, genuine relationship with Jane-a poor, plain girl devoid of any connectoins or material wealth, but rich in acceptable qualities (according to Bronte) that readers must value and emulate: intelligence, independence, honesty, passion (the right kind of passion), humility, and courage.
Rochester, unlike other men of his society who dismissed women that seemed invisible, saw Jane (who had a double identity in that she appeared to be meek, disinterested governess on the outside while she hid such strength of character, intelligence, and indomitable spirit on the inside) for who she really was, and loved her for herself alone. As his relationship with Jane blooms, he must still purify his love for her, based on "good" qualties. I believe that Bertha still haunted him because he had a lot of learning to do: he needed to give up the controlling streak in his nature (Bertha controlled him as well because he was afraid of her and fear is a result of control imposed by another entity). In addition, although unconsciously, initially, he might have entertained lustful designs on Jane (for example, she had fueled his imagination, as he had associated her with fairy tales and other contexts), so he needed to rid himself of such impure thoughts.
Rochester has his final battle with Bertha (and therefore with himself) when Bertha tries to burn down his house. This was a warning that his bad qualites had the capabiltiy to destroy all forms of strength: not only him, but also a fortress (and symbolically meaning Society at large, and Imperial Britain). However, because Rochester still harbored kindness for Bertha (kindness for human kind despite the evil in them) he tries to save her thereby injuring himself. However, this act of kindness (and therefore the injury) actually saves his soul. It humbles him, makes him realize his mistakes, and gives him the will to survive despite any obstacle: he knows now that even if he has to go on living without love or hope, he is prepared to do so. He has gained the "good" qualites that Jane possesses: the will to love one faithfully and whole, courage and independence. Only after this is is he rewarded. Only then does Jane return to him-her love is all the more intense and true because she sees him beyond physical appearance or material gains. She sees him as the "reformed" man, capable of loving her truthfully and whole in ways he wasn't quite able to before, in ways she truly deserves.
This essay was inspired by ideas from Lyndall Gordon's Charlotte Bronte: A Passionate Life.
Although much talk revolves around Rochester as a controlling man set out to quench Jane's fredom, and Bertha as Jane's "other" self who tries to fight against the injustices placed upon her by a patriarchal society, when seen through another lens, I found much to support quite the contrary: that Bertha could have an entirely different purpose for her presence in the novel, that instead of being presumed as Jane's double, she could well be Rochester's.
For one, Bertha represents Rochester's past. Even though Rochester tries to start a new life in England, Bertha (and therefore his "bad" qualities) continues to haunt him (even literally). He tries to "trap" his bad conduct of the past but it continues to follow him even when he tries to change a new leaf.
His bad conduct lies in the means by which he conducted licentious relationships with women. His approach was conniving, and according to Bronte, unacceptable, wrong. He was attracted to the wrong type of women: shallow women with material possessions and superficial attractiveness. All his mistresses were beautiful and insipid and he tosses memory of them away like he had nothing more than a shade of interest in them. He was drawn to Bertha because of his vices: he was attraced to her wealth and beauty, two evil temptations bound to lead man to misery.
Bronte, being a reformer, sought to correct his faults. In order to be happy he needed to give up such vices-so he tries to trap Bertha (thus the evil in his nature), and he tries to start a real, genuine relationship with Jane-a poor, plain girl devoid of any connectoins or material wealth, but rich in acceptable qualities (according to Bronte) that readers must value and emulate: intelligence, independence, honesty, passion (the right kind of passion), humility, and courage.
Rochester, unlike other men of his society who dismissed women that seemed invisible, saw Jane (who had a double identity in that she appeared to be meek, disinterested governess on the outside while she hid such strength of character, intelligence, and indomitable spirit on the inside) for who she really was, and loved her for herself alone. As his relationship with Jane blooms, he must still purify his love for her, based on "good" qualties. I believe that Bertha still haunted him because he had a lot of learning to do: he needed to give up the controlling streak in his nature (Bertha controlled him as well because he was afraid of her and fear is a result of control imposed by another entity). In addition, although unconsciously, initially, he might have entertained lustful designs on Jane (for example, she had fueled his imagination, as he had associated her with fairy tales and other contexts), so he needed to rid himself of such impure thoughts.
Rochester has his final battle with Bertha (and therefore with himself) when Bertha tries to burn down his house. This was a warning that his bad qualites had the capabiltiy to destroy all forms of strength: not only him, but also a fortress (and symbolically meaning Society at large, and Imperial Britain). However, because Rochester still harbored kindness for Bertha (kindness for human kind despite the evil in them) he tries to save her thereby injuring himself. However, this act of kindness (and therefore the injury) actually saves his soul. It humbles him, makes him realize his mistakes, and gives him the will to survive despite any obstacle: he knows now that even if he has to go on living without love or hope, he is prepared to do so. He has gained the "good" qualites that Jane possesses: the will to love one faithfully and whole, courage and independence. Only after this is is he rewarded. Only then does Jane return to him-her love is all the more intense and true because she sees him beyond physical appearance or material gains. She sees him as the "reformed" man, capable of loving her truthfully and whole in ways he wasn't quite able to before, in ways she truly deserves.