Is Jane Eyre Complex Or Insane
Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre explores one woman’s life in 19th century England. Jane lives in a society whose culture is shallow and apathetic to virtue. Even though she is exemplary in character and intellect, these attributes are forgotten in place of class and beauty. Jane struggles with the harsh judgment she faces for being poor and conventionally unattractive. Jane departs from Victorian ideals and argues that equality must supersede gender roles and conditions of one’s birth. Phyllis Yeo contends that Jane is inconsistent. She states that whenJane characterizes Bertha Mason as a monster because of her mental status, this fails to uphold her ideals. I disagree that the characterization of Bertha makes Jane an imperfect character.
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Jane labels Bertha as insane, but is this label accurate? Is this simply society’s false view about different cultures and female insanity? Phyllis Yeo states, “When Bertha was finally revealed to her, she instantly dehumanizes her by labeling Bertha as ‘the clothed hyena’…Not only is she accepting Victorian assumptions of female insanity, she also strips Bertha of her humanity” (Yeo 3). Yeo implies that Bertha is not truly insane and that Jane’s willingness to accept Bertha’s diagnosis is hypocritical. Yeo argues that Jane’s perception is merely a reflection of provincial attitudes present in her society. I agree that Victorian ideals shape Jane’s and Rochester’s definition of insanity, but the extremity of Bertha’s mental condition shows that she is truly mentally ill. We know that Bertha has killed a caretaker, bitten her brother, strangled Rochester on sight, lights fires, and is erratic, incoherent, and generally hostile. Any rational person would conclude that Bertha displays signs of mental illness regardless of what culture she comes from. She is not capable of living normally in society and is a danger to others, which fits the criteria for being mentally ill. Jane believes that Bertha is mentally ill, just like a psychologist would today. For that reason, Jane’s acceptance of Bertha’s insanity is justified and does not display hypocrisy in her ideals. Jane continues to be a morally superior
Jane labels Bertha as insane, but is this label accurate? Is this simply society’s false view about different cultures and female insanity? Phyllis Yeo states, “When Bertha was finally revealed to her, she instantly dehumanizes her by labeling Bertha as ‘the clothed hyena’…Not only is she accepting Victorian assumptions of female insanity, she also strips Bertha of her humanity” (Yeo 3). Yeo implies that Bertha is not truly insane and that Jane’s willingness to accept Bertha’s diagnosis is hypocritical. Yeo argues that Jane’s perception is merely a reflection of provincial attitudes present in her society. I agree that Victorian ideals shape Jane’s and Rochester’s definition of insanity, but the extremity of Bertha’s mental condition shows that she is truly mentally ill. We know that Bertha has killed a caretaker, bitten her brother, strangled Rochester on sight, lights fires, and is erratic, incoherent, and generally hostile. Any rational person would conclude that Bertha displays signs of mental illness regardless of what culture she comes from. She is not capable of living normally in society and is a danger to others, which fits the criteria for being mentally ill. Jane believes that Bertha is mentally ill, just like a psychologist would today. For that reason, Jane’s acceptance of Bertha’s insanity is justified and does not display hypocrisy in her ideals. Jane continues to be a morally superior