An essay plan and essay answering the question how does Bronte present Jane and Bertha’s relationship. The plan outlines the quotes and analyses them as well as going through the similarities of Jane and Bertha, while the essay pulls these ideas into a coherent structure.
● Controlling through fear
○ Supernatural
■ ‘Vampyre’
■ ‘Reflection’ - ‘and turned to the mirror’
■ ‘Fearful and ghastly’
■ Victorian readers knew the stories - increases fear
■ Tries to bite Mason
■ Throughout the book many mentions about how Jane is also
supernatural
○ Fear of others
■ ‘Savage face’ - casual racism
■ “it removed my veil” - dehumanising language
● Doppelgangers
○ Bertha is Jane’s dark side
■ ‘While the reader sees their distinct differences, they also see an eerie
similarity to their circumstances and personalities’
■ fatal fury
○ Themes of madness
■ ‘Red eyes’
■ “The creature of an over-stimulated brain”
■ Both constrained/imprisoned - Jane (red room) - Bertha (attic)
■ ‘broken reflections’ - from red room
○ Opposites
■ ‘woman, tall and large’ - unlike Victorian society’s standards - women
should be petite and delicate - like Jane
Similarities between Bertha and Jane:
- Both outsiders to society - class/sanity/race
- Jane was a picture of passion - could have easily ended up like Bertha
- Both constrained/imprisoned - Jane (red room) - Bertha (attic)
- Pained by upcoming wedding
- Both have been traumatised
- Both romantically attached to Rochester
Contrasts between Bertha and Jane:
- Clear division between protagonist and antagonist
- Large and dark vs small and pale
- Civilised and rational vs wild and irrational
- Controlled emotions vs wild release of emotions
- Considered actions vs hasty actions
- Guiding role of Helen/Miss Temple - later on characters in Thornfield - allowed Jane
to learn moderation, gentleness and love (plus education), whereas Bertha’s family
disposed of her through marriage - used their money to get rid of her and hide the
shame of her, rather than cared for her madness.
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