physical and the mental the physical in alignment with the objective and natural, and the – mental in alignment with the subjective and supernatural. The next seemingly supernatural occurrences are those with Bertha Mason at Thornfield Hall. Jane’s first encounter with Bertha is when she appears in the night and rips Jane’s wedding veil in two. At this time, Jane does not know who Bertha is, and therefore experiences her presence with uncertainty and fear: shape standing before me had never crossed my eyes “The within the precincts of Thornfield Hall before . . . [it was] fearful and ghastly to me” (Brontë 340-41). Shortly after Jane’s first encounter with Bertha, Mr. Mason reveals that Rochester is keeping his wife in the attic of Thornfield Hall. Rochester takes Jane to the attic to witness his wife’s madness: the farther end of the room, a figure ran backwards and forwards. What it “At was, whether beast or human being, one could not, at first sight, tell: it grovelled, seemingly, on all fours; it snatched and growled like some strange wild animal . . . the maniac bellowed” (Brontë 352-53). Here, Jane uses the words and “grovelled,” “growled,” “bellowed,” “beast,” strange wild animal” to explain how Bertha looks and acts. Some critics argue that these “some animalistic descriptions of Bertha make her character seem more Animals are often “natural.” closer to nature in the context of a nature/civilization binary. However, in the context of a natural/supernatural binary, these animalistic descriptions do not move Bertha closer to the On the contrary, the use of the word and the confusion about whether Bertha “natural.” “strange” is beast or human makes this portrayal seem supernatural because it draws on the unknown. Furthermore, Jane is the sole narrator of this novel; therefore, the descriptions of Bertha are subjective to Jane’s thoughts only. Much like her response to the light in the Red Room, Jane’s imagination converts what is objectively natural Bertha as a person to what is subjectively – – supernatural Bertha as a or wild animal.” – “beast,” “figure,” “strange
physical and the mental – the physical in alignment with the objective and natural, and the mental in alignment with the subjective and supernatural. The next seemingly supernatural occurrences are those with Bertha Mason at Thornfield Hall. Jane’s first encounter with Bertha is when she appears in the night and rips Jane’s wedding veil in two. At this time, Jane does not know who Bertha is, and therefore experiences her presence with uncertainty and fear: “The shape standing before me had never crossed my eyes within the precincts of Thornfield Hall before . . . [it was] fearful and ghastly to me” (Brontë 340-41). Shortly after Jane’s first encounter with Bertha, Mr. Mason reveals that Rochester is keeping his wife in the attic of Thornfield Hall. Rochester takes Jane to the attic to witness his wife’s madness: “At the farther end of the room, a figure ran backwards and forwards. What it was, whether beast or human being, one could not, at first sight, tell: it grovelled, seemingly, on all fours; it snatched and growled like some strange wild animal . . . the maniac bellowed” (Brontë 352-53). Here, Jane uses the words “grovelled,” “growled,” “bellowed,” “beast,” and “some strange wild animal” to explain how Bertha looks and acts. Some critics argue that these animalistic descriptions of Bertha make her character seem more “natural.” Animals are often closer to nature in the context of a nature/civilization binary. However, in the context of a natural/supernatural binary, these animalistic descriptions do not move Bertha closer to the “natural.” On the contrary, the use of the word “strange” and the confusion about whether Bertha is beast or human makes this portrayal seem supernatural because it draws on the unknown. Furthermore, Jane is the sole narrator of this novel; therefore, the descriptions of Bertha are subjective to Jane’s thoughts only. Much like her response to the light in the Red Room, Jane’s imagination converts what is objectively natural – Bertha as a person – to what is subjectively supernatural – Bertha as a “beast,” “figure,” or “strange wild animal.”
e2809cdown-superstitione2809d-the-natural-and-the-supernatural-in-charlotte-brontc3ab_s-jane-eyre.docx