A Grade Extracts
Examine Bronte’s presentation of the character of Bertha Mason in this extract (20).
Charlotte Bronte presents the character of Bertha Mason as violent and aggressive in this
extract. Since she was Rochester’s first wife, she is a burden to Rochester and Jane’s romantic
relationship. It is clear that Bertha’s character is an obstacle placed for Jane to overcome in
order for her to develop. Bronte wrote the character of Bertha Mason with the intention of
creating an antagonist for Jane, hence the prevalence of the bildungsroman in the novel.
Bertha is described as animalistic in this extract, the initial confusion between whether she
was a ‘beast’ or a ‘human being’ creates a gothic atmosphere which brings out the fear in all
of the characters, and to the reader. Bronte’s use of verbs such as ‘snatched and growled’
adds to the idea of the highly aggressive nature of a ‘beast’, and furthers the theme of
violence and aggression within this extract.
Bertha is also described naturally through the use of the word ‘it’ before the use of verbs.
This creates the idea that Bertha is objectified as a something rather than a who, alluding to
her animalistic and aggressive nature. Bronte’s use of adjectives when describing Bertha
likens her to a ‘maniac’ and a ‘hyena’, which adds to the idea that she is highly aggressive
towards the other characters, while also alluding to her insanity and mental illness. This
creates a tone of urgent danger as her violence and aggression is accentuated further than
any of her other qualities, that she is essentially seen as a ‘hyena’ rather than a person from
the perspective of the reader. With this in mind, Bronte is attempting to create a foreboding
atmosphere where we initially meet Bertha to foreshadow the sheer destruction that she
causes, particularly when trying to ruin Jane and Rochester’s romantic relationship.
The final line of the extract states, ‘that is my wife’. Although Rochester is trying to win over
Jane, Bertha’s appearance almost destroys this. Rochester seems to be ashamed of his
previous decision to marry Bertha as he refers to her as a ‘that’ rather than a she. This is an
instance where we see Bertha being objectified not only by Bronte, but by the characters
surrounding her too, which gives off a feeling of isolation – similar to how Jane felt
previously at Gateshead Hall – for Bertha. This shows that even the protagonist and the
antagonist have their similarities, despite being polar opposites – Bronte is trying to create a
contrast between the good and evil to excite and engage the reader. To reinforce the idea of
Bertha’s feared personality, Bronte uses gothic and supernatural themes to create suspension
and a feeling of danger for the reader. Bronte uses dramatic violence from where Bertha
‘grabbed his throat viciously’ and ‘laid her teeth to his cheek’. This demonstrates the violent
nature of Bertha that Bronte was alluding to earlier in the extract with the vivid, grotesque
descriptions of her character. It is now clear that Bronte’s intention was to submerge the
reader with a feeling of danger to warn the reader of her violent actions, as seen when she
‘grabbed his throat viciously’.
In conclusion, Bronte presents Bertha as a frightful, scary character. I would argue that
Bronte uses Bertha to alleviate the gothic, supernatural themes within her novel, and
specifically in this extract. This is due to the fact that her mental instability creates a sense of
danger and instils fear into all of the characters, and to the reader. The fact that she may flip
out at any given moment creates this wariness around her, as if all of the characters are on
edge when she is present. Likewise, the feeling of danger and fear invoked onto the reader
, occurs greatly through the actions of Bertha, and Bronte’s refrainment from using her typical
first-person narrative. Instead, she uses dialogue to multiply the suspense in this extract and
connote Bertha as a character to fear, rather than a character to joy.
AO1 9/10 Perceptive discussion of extract, confident grasp of concepts.
AO2 9/10 Detailed, perceptive analysis and evaluation of writer’s use of language and prose
techniques to create meaning.
18/20
Examine Bronte’s presentation of Jane’s life at Gateshead Hall in this extract (20).
Bronte presents Jane’s life at Gateshead Hall as very isolated as initially the name
‘Gateshead’ suggests isolation and loneliness, as if a huge ‘gate’ were separating Jane from
becoming her happy self, like a prison. It is a bleak image which conveys Jane’s inner feeling
of sadness as she believes that the Reed’s take ‘pleasure’ in Jane being ‘a noxious thing’. This
portrays Jane’s limited confidence as the Reed’s belittled her to the extent that she now feels
worthless as she was not a ‘sanguine, brilliant, careless…’ child. Perhaps she was belittled
because she ‘had nothing in harmony with Mrs Reed or her children’ as Mrs Reed was so
aristocratic, that she was of a different class to Jane; and she even pointed out how Jane was
born into poverty, and mocked her for it.
The theme of Jane’s isolation is furthered throughout this passage as Jane later feels that she
‘was like nobody there’. Bronte expresses Jane’s alienation through her language, for
instance ‘discord’ is strategically placed in the opening paragraph to create dramatic
emphasis from the opening, which is used to catch the reader’s attention. Jane’s life is distant
from the Reeds despite all living under the same roof, they reciprocate their hatred for each
other – they ‘did not love’ her and ‘as little as I did love them’ emphasises the detestation
within the family.
Bronte’s extensive use of pathetic fallacy such as: ‘the rain beats continuously’ and ‘the wind
howling’ is used throughout to connote the contrast between the atmosphere outside
Gateshead and how Jane felt being locked up in the silence of the ‘red room’. The use of the
word ‘beats’ creates a claustrophobic feeling; Jane felt entrapped while being sentenced to
the ‘red room’ as a punishment, which truly shows the harshness of the Reed’s being that
they punished her for an altercation she didn’t even start. The Reeds portray her as a
‘strange child’ which makes her feel inferior to them as we are constantly reminded by
Bronte that she is a ‘parentless infant’. Simply, Jane feels like an outsider to the Reeds at
Gateshead as she is missing a parental figure in her life.
Ultimately, Jane’s life at Gateshead is presented as very quarantined as she is sectioned apart
from the family she lives with through the use of the ‘red room’. Because of this, Jane feels as
if she is an ‘alien’ to everybody surrounding her, estranged from the Reeds. The blatant fact
that she was put into the ‘red room’ as a punishment, the room that Uncle Reed passed
away in, which again shows the cruelty of the Reeds. The colour ‘red’ is commonly
associated with danger, however, it is also associated with passion. Jane’s passion is what
put her into the ‘red room’ and drove her through it. Jane’s passion is a catalyst for disaster,
and this is not only portrayed in this passage, but throughout the whole novel.
AO1 7/10 Clearly informed discussion of extract, mostly a secure grasp of concepts.
