Bertha Mason

E248053

Bertha Mason is the infamous "madwoman in the attic" in Charlotte Brontë’s novel *Jane Eyre*, whose secret confinement by Mr. Rochester drives much of the story’s gothic tension and moral conflict.

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All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Bertha Mason canonical 3

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf character in a novel
fictional character
literary character
alsoKnownAs Bertha Antoinetta Mason
the madwoman in the attic
appearsIn Jane Eyre
associatedWithConcept madwoman in the attic trope
causeOfDeath jumping from the roof of Thornfield Hall
causesEvent fire at Thornfield Hall
injury of Richard Mason
interruption of Jane and Rochester’s wedding
confinedBy Mr. Rochester
surface form: Edward Fairfax Rochester
creator Charlotte Brontë
criticalInterpretation figure of feminist resistance
representation of racialized otherness
ethnicBackground Creole
familyOrigin West Indies
firstAppearance Jane Eyre
firstPublicationYear 1847
gender female
genre Gothic fiction
hasSibling Richard Mason
influencedWork Wide Sargasso Sea
inheritance large fortune from her family
keptSecretFrom Jane Eyre
literaryTheme colonialism
confinement
madness
patriarchal control
mannerOfDeath suicide
marriageMotivation Rochester’s financial gain
marriageType arranged for money
mentalState considered mad by other characters
mentally ill
narrativeFunction embodiment of the secret in the attic
source of Gothic tension
nationality Jamaican
placeOfConfinement Thornfield Hall attic
reimaginedAs Antoinette Cosway in Wide Sargasso Sea
relatedTo Mason family of Jamaica
roleInWork antagonist
obstacle to Jane and Rochester’s marriage
spouse Mr. Rochester
surface form: Edward Fairfax Rochester
symbolism Victorian anxieties about madness
colonial other
repressed female rage
timePeriodWithinFiction early 19th century England

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Jane Eyre mainCharacter Bertha Mason
Mr. Rochester spouse Bertha Mason
Mr. Rochester keepsAtThornfield Bertha Mason