How is Bertha Mason presented in this extract? (20) Throughout Jane Eyre, Eyre, we hear and see glipses o! Bertha as Jane unra"els the truth a#out Mr$ %ochester, %ochester, #ut in this extract, we see Berth properly !or the &rst tie, a!ter recei"ing the explanation !ro %ochester$ %ochester$ 'n the extract, Bertha is presented as anialistic, su#huan and hysterical$ s we ascend the stairs to Bertha*s attic, Bronte #egins to associate Bertha with gothic iagery$ iagery$ The description o! the winding staircase and path up to the attic create draatic tension as we await her re"eal, and the +low #lac doorand the +unco"ering the second door -$ Bronte presents us with any #arriers to Bertha, deattaching her !ro Thorn&eld house, and gi"ing us reason to .uestion why she is so hidden$ The secreti"e en"ironent sets up Bertha as a gothic &gure$ Be!ore we get a glipse o! Bertha howe"er, we are presents with an account o! her "iolent nature$ The &rst thing we learn a#out her is that she +#it and sta##ed- her own #rother, Mr$ Mason$ The "iolent "er#s present and prie us, and Jane to see a !erocious, "icious person$ Bronte then associates Bertha with sla"ery and onstrous iagery, with the +lap suspended / #y a chain-$ 't sees as though the whole roo personi&es per soni&es their treatent o! Bertha, as we see with the description o! the +guarded &re-, which guards a +high and strong- &re$ e recei"e a sense o! danger with the +deep shade-, which con"eys Bertha*s en"ironent as deonic$ This is reiniscent o! pathetic !allacy, con"eying Bertha*s eotions, and portraying her as agical, and a#le to control the light o! the roo with her +cra!t-$ 1ur &rst description o! Bertha portrays her as paranoral, in +a &gure &gure ran #acwards and !orwards-$ ot only is her identity taen, #ut the reader is #o#arded with a sense o! erratic, hysterical o"eent which adds to her hysterical, erratic presentation$ Then #egins the repetition o! +it- used to descri#e Bertha, which dehuanises her and con"eys her as anialistic$ The repetition also highlights how Bronte reo"es Bertha*s gender !ro her descriptions, to !urther reo"e her identity$ identity$ Bronte then #egins listing Bertha*s !eatures, and her actions +it gro"elled, seeingly / it snatched and growled-$ The listing and use o! punctuation punctuation con"eys the speed at which Jane is thining, and her !ear, which heightens the !ear that the reader !eels towards Bertha$ 3he also lists se"eral anialistic "er#s, +gro"elled / snatched / growled / gri44ledto descri#e Bertha$ ot only do the "er#s suggest her in!eriority, as she gro"els, #ut they also suggests a lac o! huanity and ci"ility$ ci"ility$ These description !urther the anialistic, in!erior portrayal o! Bertha$ Bronte gi"es us a glipse o! Bertha*s huanity and treatent in + &erce cry-$ The noun re5ects the huanity le!t in Bertha, as it is the only tie in the extract extract that Bertha aes a nonanialistic sound$ The cry also con"eys the su6ering that Bertha ust !eel, as she is trapped in the attic, and in her own head$ This epathetic "iew o! Bertha is shattered, howe"er, when we recei"e the etaphor +the clothed hyena-$ The extended etaphor ser"es as a tool to dehuanise Bertha, con"eying her not only as su#huan, #ut su#anial as well, as the hyena is at the #otto o! the !ood chain, and is see as a hysterical creature$ The anialistic iagery here can also #e seen as a re!erence re!erence to Bertha*s ethnicity, tying her to the wild, exotic anial that 7ictorian England, and perhaps Bronte would ha"e considered !oreigners to #e$ Bronte increases the tension with her use o! punctuation in +h8 3ir, she sees you8 / you #etter not stay8-$ The
exclaation ars portray the !ear o! 9race, a woan who is used to Bertha*s copany, and there!ore instills !ear in the reader regarding Bertha$ Bronte again gi"es us a di6erent "iew o! Bertha as she descri#es her +purple !ace : those #loated !eatures-$ !eatu res-$ e e can read the purple, #loated !aces as #ruises and sores, as a result o! the a#use at the hands o! %ochester and 9race ;oole$ This con"eys a sense sense o! pity and sypathy towards towards Bertha, which is wildly di6erent to the a
