Charlotte Bronte Jane Eyre - Essay Example

Is Bertha (Mr Rochester's wife) the only crazy woman in the house? In what way Jane is insane? Besides Bertha, Jane can also be considered as an insane person for reasons that can be well understood from a philosophical point of view. When somebody passionately wants to stay isolated, this is insanity. We see in Jane’s personality that she is most of the time feeling comfortable in solitude. When she comes to know about Bertha, she leaves Rochester even she was madly in love with him. Bertha can be considered as a metaphorical character representing Jane’s rage towards the society that has been controlling her and making her quiet down her emotions.

In the start of the novel, Jane has often told people, like her cousin, to stay away from her, and even tried to attack him when she felt insecure. She had also reacted to the brutal commands of her aunt and the headmaster. She told her friend that she would attack people who would try to insult her or make her feel shameful. So, the insanity within her compelled her at times to become ferocious. She would keep on raging inside and remaining silent at certain moments like when Rochester introduced her to his rich friends.

Bertha tearing up Jane’s wedding veil is a symbolic representation of Jane’s reluctance to give up freedom despite her deep love for Rochester. The insanity and fierce desire to be free comes out when she finally claims her freedom from Rochester after which she leaves him. She calls herself insane when she says: “I am insane — quite insane: with my veins running fire, and my heart beating faster than I can count its throbs.” She explained to Rochester that although she loved him, still she valued her freedom more than anything else.

She admitted that her feeling of self-suppression was driving her insane. Jane’s insanity is symbolically shown through the character of raging crazy woman, Bertha, shown confined inside the huge mansion which is actually representing the cruel society trying to control the inner self and desires of Jane.