Bertha Mason: representación del cuerpo femenino descontrolado en Jane Eyre de Charlotte Brontë

Abstract

The figure of Bertha Mason serves as a powerful embodiment of the uncontrolled and perceived as threatening female body in Victorian society in Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre. Through Bertha's characterization, Brontë explores the anxieties of the era regarding female autonomy. Bertha is depicted as the exotic and uncontrollable, reflecting Victorian social concerns. Her apparent madness turns her into a danger that must be confined, symbolized by her imprisonment in the attic of Thornfield Hall. This physical confinement is a metaphor for the social and psychological repression imposed on women. In contrast, the protagonist Jane Eyre represents the Victorian ideal of self-discipline and bodily control. Bertha's tragic fate, culminating in her possible suicide and the destruction of Thornfield, symbolises both ambiguous liberation and the elimination of a threat. Through these characters, Brontë critiques the restrictive social norms of her time and explores the struggle for female emancipation. Therefore, the complexity of the representation of the female body in 'Jane Eyre' and its relevance for understanding the dynamics of power and control in Victorian literature are highlighted.