|
|
Post by colleenstrohlein on Nov 18, 2015 2:25:47 GMT
Both Jane Eyre and The Madwoman in the Attic show the fight for women in the nineteenth century to become independent, however Jane and Bertha's paths are very different. While Jane gets a respectable job as a governess so that she can make her own living, Bertha tries to find herself when she is married to Rochester and ends up descending into madness. Jane and Bertha come from similar childhoods, and therefore the completely opposite paths they end up on are very surprising. This difference in plot symbolizes the real struggle there is for woman to be recognized, in contrast to the dignified journey often imagined as the path to independence. For example, Jane has desires, and struggles in whether to stay with Rochester although she would become his mistress, and she wouldn't be his equal. However, in the end she always makes the "moral" decision, and she finds happiness and equality with him when he becomes blind. Although this makes a good story, in the real world things don't always turn out the way you want them to. The Madwoman in the Attic shows a more realistic journey that women go through to find satisfaction. Bertha often feels lost and she ends up unhappy and doing anything she can to please her husband, in order to feel loved. The Madwoman in the Attic, unlike Jane Eyre, shows that women often didn't find contentment in a patriarchal society. This could be due to the time periods each was written in, and what was socially acceptable to write about.
|
|
|
|
Post by harleen5 on Nov 20, 2015 1:38:21 GMT
Colleen, I agree with your take on how Jane and Bertha’s paths turned out to be so different. Bertha’s story, as you put it, shows how “women often didn't find contentment in a patriarchal society.” It is interesting how you pointed out that they are so similar, but turned out so different. In my opinion, Jane is so successful in finding her independence and love because she manages to find her own identity. However, Bertha descends into madness because she looks to Mr. Rochester to find her identity; however, Mr. Rochester never gives her love and acceptance because he only sees her as property.
Do you think that Bertha could have had a chance to overcome gender stereotypes? Or was she confined to simply being Mr. Rochester’s “property”?
|
|
|
|
Post by ashen99 on Nov 20, 2015 2:25:08 GMT
Do you think that Bertha could have had a chance to overcome gender stereotypes? Or was she confined to simply being Mr. Rochester’s “property”? Harleen, based on Bertha's history prior to arriving in England, she probably would never be able to overcome the gender stereotypes. As the articles mentioned, she had nothing to call on for strength, such as religion, and didn't know what she wanted. She was aware of the injustices and inequality present during her time, but she had no idea how to rebel against the system. Really, the only way for her to truly be free was by killing herself since throughout her life, she had little guidance from anyone. For Jane, even though she had a pretty bad childhood, she had positive influences such as Miss Temple, Helen Burns, and Bessie. |
|
|
|
Post by colleenstrohlein on Nov 21, 2015 14:38:48 GMT
Allen, I completely agree with you about Jane having positive influences that Bertha never had. To elaborate on your point, they both had influence from Mr. Rochester, and I think that's where we can really compare the two. Mr. Rochester's effect on Bertha was that she was continually pushed down by him, because he didn't love her and just saw her as a person holding him back from getting what he really wanted. Similarly, when Jane arrived at Thornfield, Rochester often used his power over Jane to push her around and make her do things she didn't want to do, such as attend the party where the Ingrams and others were attending. I think the reason why Bertha was driven mad by his disposition towards her but it didn't affect Jane as much was because Jane knew her worth from having the other positive influences you mentioned, whereas Bertha's esteem came strictly from what Mr. Rochester thought of her, so any negative he said or implied about her she believed.
|
|
|
|
Post by jesswang on Nov 21, 2015 15:05:52 GMT
Alan, I disagree with your point that Bertha would never have been able to overcome gender stereotypes. Bertha, just like Jane, started out as an independent and intellectual young woman. If she had had more time growing up and finding a self identity before being married off to Rochester, she probably would have gone down the same path as Jane. Jane was lucky enough to have time to grow up, think through her actions, and finally come to the conclusion that she wanted to marry Rochester. She found a sense of self identity that allowed her to overcome gender stereotypes and succeed in her and Rochester's relationship. On the other hand, Bertha had no such time; she was thrown into a marriage at a very young age and was forced to rely on Rochester, unlike Jane, who was allowed to rely on herself. She was unable to find herself due to the sole fact that she was married before she could grow up. If she had gotten married later, she would have been able to develop an independent self identity first and act as an equal to Rochester in their relationship, therefore breaking gender stereotypes and acting as more than just property to Rochester.
|
|
|
|
Post by anewman98 on Nov 21, 2015 17:58:15 GMT
If she had gotten married later, she would have been able to develop an independent self identity first and act as an equal to Rochester in their relationship Jess, I agree with your point that Bertha would have developed independence and a self identity if she didn't marry Rochester so young. However, I disagree that she would have grown into Rochester's equal in their relationship. When you compare Jane to Bertha, Jane was Rochester's equal in their relationship. This is because her love was reciprocated. Jane loved Rochester, and Rochester loved Jane. On the other hand, Rochester never loved Bertha. If she grew up and gained independence before meeting him, I don't think he would love her any more. The difference is that this new sense of independence would allow her to break off from Rochester and find someone else. They would likely never even have a relationship. She may have gotten married, but I don't think it would have been to Rochester. If this were true, what type of man do you think Bertha would marry? |
|
