Bertha Antoinetta Mason

E868423

Bertha Antoinetta Mason is the mentally ill, hidden first wife of Mr. Rochester in Charlotte Brontë’s novel "Jane Eyre," whose existence thwarts his planned marriage to the heroine.

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Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf character in a novel
fictional character
literary character
alsoKnownAs Bertha Mason NERFINISHED
Mrs. Rochester NERFINISHED
appearsIn Jane Eyre NERFINISHED
associatedTheme colonialism
imprisonment
madness
patriarchy
secrecy
attempts to burn Rochester in his bed
to burn Thornfield Hall
to stab her brother Richard Mason
causeOfDeath fall from height
causes fire at Thornfield Hall
creator Charlotte Brontë NERFINISHED
diagnosedAs mentally ill
diesBy suicide
ethnicity Creole
familyBackground wealthy West Indian family
firstPublicationContext Jane Eyre (1847) NERFINISHED
gender female
genreContext Gothic fiction
Victorian novel
guardedBy Grace Poole NERFINISHED
hasSiblingInLaw Richard Mason NERFINISHED
hasSpouse Edward Fairfax Rochester NERFINISHED
influenced the literary trope of the madwoman in the attic
injures Richard Mason NERFINISHED
keptAt Thornfield Hall NERFINISHED
keptLocation attic of Thornfield Hall NERFINISHED
keptSecretFrom Jane Eyre NERFINISHED
literaryFunction gothic element in Jane Eyre
mannerOfDeath jumping from the roof of Thornfield Hall
marriageArrangedBy Rochester's brother
Rochester's father
marriageType arranged marriage
narrativeRole obstacle to Jane Eyre and Rochester's marriage
nationality Jamaican
reimaginedAs Antoinette Cosway in Wide Sargasso Sea NERFINISHED
relatedWork Wide Sargasso Sea NERFINISHED
setIn 19th-century England
spouseOf Edward Fairfax Rochester NERFINISHED
symbolism Rochester's hidden past
repressed female rage
the "madwoman in the attic" archetype

Referenced by (1)

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

Bertha Mason alsoKnownAs Bertha Antoinetta Mason