Please reply: why does Bertha rip Jane Eyre's veil?

bluegirl64

8

Why do think Bertha Mason rips Jane's wedding veil in 'Jane Eyre'? Please reply asap. Thanks :smile:

Reply 1

T_x

10

Because she's Rochester's wife...

Reply 2

Pandora.

15

Original post by bluegirl64

why do you think Bertha rips Jane's wedding veil in 'Jane Eyre'? Please reply. Thanks :smile:

There are quite a few interpretations of this. You could say that Bertha has been confined to the attic for the majority of her marriage, and so by ripping the veil she could be seen as trying to escape her own marriage.

She might also be trying to show Jane the truth about Rochester (if you assume that the veil represents the naivety of Jane before her marriage). Jane has been seeing her romance with Rochester in quite a typical, head over heels way. It is only after she discovers the truth and learns to live on her own that she is able to return to Rochester and see their relationship with a grounding in reality.

:smile:

Reply 3

JackS94

3

It might be slightly more simple, and she's just jealous of Jane (because of all the attention Rochester gives her, 'stealing' her husband etc.) and so in her drunken, almost childlike way, she tries to disrupt the wedding when she has the opportunity. Obviously not the deepest interpretation, but as Pandora. said, there are lots of interpretations and you should choose whichever one you agree with/fits best into your essay :smile:

Reply 4

BANS2012

13

Do your own homework.. :smile:

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 5

T_x

10

Original post by BANS2012

Do your own homework.. :smile:

Posted from TSR Mobile

Agreed. It's one thing asking for help, but if it's something as obvious as this then I'd recommend you read the text and a text guide before you do whatever it is you need to do.

EDIT: No need to work out who negged us... :rolleyes:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 6

bluegirl64

OP

8

Original post by Pandora.

There are quite a few interpretations of this. You could say that Bertha has been confined to the attic for the majority of her marriage, and so by ripping the veil she could be seen as trying to escape her own marriage.

She might also be trying to show Jane the truth about Rochester (if you assume that the veil represents the naivety of Jane before her marriage). Jane has been seeing her romance with Rochester in quite a typical, head over heels way. It is only after she discovers the truth and learns to live on her own that she is able to return to Rochester and see their relationship with a grounding in reality.

:smile:

Thank you!!

Reply 7

bluegirl64

OP

8

Original post by JackS94

It might be slightly more simple, and she's just jealous of Jane (because of all the attention Rochester gives her, 'stealing' her husband etc.) and so in her drunken, almost childlike way, she tries to disrupt the wedding when she has the opportunity. Obviously not the deepest interpretation, but as Pandora. said, there are lots of interpretations and you should choose whichever one you agree with/fits best into your essay :smile:

Thanks

Reply 8

TSR Learn Together

Official Rep

9

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Reply 9

Agata

19

Im sure the significance is in the fact that Bertha is Mr. Rochester's wife. Not only does it show she is not accepting of his and hers relationship but may also be symbolic of Bertha's need for Mr. Rochester. Bertha is also unable to communicate adequently so it is her way of communicating with Jane. The violent body language also emphasises Bertha's beast like personality.

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Reply 10

TSR Learn Together

Official Rep

9

Hi there,

While you're waiting for an answer, did you know we have 300,000 study resources that could answer your question in TSR's Learn together section?

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Reply 11

Tortious

16

Original post by bluegirl64

Why do you think Bertha rips Jane's wedding veil in 'Jane Eyre'?

I haven't studied the text and was about to offer an opinion, but it seems people have covered the different interpretations pretty well in your other thread. :p:

Original post by cpdavis

Reply 12

truecolours995

Bertha is seen as a lunatic but could also be a sexually driven woman who is out of place in the patriarchal society and so is given the label of madness and is therefore an outsider. She could see Jane as an obstacle between herself and Mr Rochester, with the veil being the symbol of being an obstacle. Could also be a metaphor of how by ripping the veil, Bertha has unveiled/revealed herself to the other residents, therefore a foreshadowing device used by Bronte. Does this make sense/help?

Reply 13

the bear

20

She thinks that Jane is a Muslim

Reply 14

paperclip1213

To symbolise the breaking of Jane and Rochester's relationship/future.

Also, it could possibly symbolise Jane losing her purity and innocence by falling for Rochester and how this goes against a lot of the teachings she presumably learnt at that school (I forget the name) she went to with Helen Burns (was that her name?), but you'd have to really dig for sufficient evidence to argue this point.

OR you could turn it around on Bertha and argue that Bronte used the ripping of the veil (which symbolises innocence, purity, virginity, etc.) to exaggerate Bertha's dodgy past.

Sorry I can't be of more help, I did the play like 2 years ago and my memory is pretty much equivalent to Dory's from Finding Nemo! :redface:

Reply 15

mianutl

1

Original post by bluegirl64

Why do think Bertha Mason rips Jane's wedding veil in 'Jane Eyre'? Please reply asap. Thanks :smile:

Jane doesn't like the veil anyway. one interpretation suggests that Bertha symbolises Jane's passionate and expressive side which is mellowed down and 'confined' over time, so by tearing the veil Bertha is acting FOR Jane by protesting Rochester's attempt to change Jane-- she is acting out Jane's revolt of Rochester degrading her character.

Please reply: why does Bertha rip Jane Eyre's veil?

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