Jane Eyre Crazy Woman In Attic

The real life attic that was the inspiration for a section of jane eyre where mentally ill character bertha mason is confined before she commits suicide is now open to the public.

Jane eyre crazy woman in attic. Bertha mason rochester s first wife was a beautiful creole woman from jamaica who rochester married years ago before she had a mental breakdown and naturally had to be locked in the attic. One of the most fascinating characters in literature is the mysterious mad woman confined to an attic in jane eyre. I have read and re read jane eyre many times and i m embarrassed to admit that i had never paid much attention to this spectre of a woman lurking in the shadows until much later in life. Her life turns upside down when she discovers right before her wedding that her lover has an ex wife a madwoman hidden in the attic and flees narrowly escaping from committing to a sinful relationship.

To my young mind she was nothing more than a plot device. Jane eyre revolves around the life of a simple plain yet intelligent orphaned girl who struggles with internal and external battles before she comes to accept that she loves her employer mr rochester who is double her age and from an upper class background.