Bronte Wife 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.

Bronte wife 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. Though it has been considered a feminist work it also fits into the genre of the gothic novel due to that pesky little detail of rochester s mad wife locked away in an attic. Bertha mason full name bertha antoinetta mason is a fictional character in charlotte brontë s 1847 novel jane eyre she is described as the violently insane first wife of edward rochester who moved her to thornfield hall and locked her in a room on the third floor. The 1966 parallel novel wide sargasso sea by jean rhys serves as a prequel to brontë s novel.

Gilbert and gubar draw their title from charlotte brontë s jane eyre in which rochester s wife née bertha mason is kept secretly locked in an attic apartment by her husband. Charlotte brontë s jane eyre is well known for the shocking discovery of mr rochester s scandalous hidden wife a deranged woman locked away in an attic.