 Let's discuss key quotations relating to the character of Bertha Mason. Now bear in mind that Bertha Mason was married to Mr. Rochester 15 years prior and she is from Jamaica, she's half creole, half white. Now her role in the novel is one of a mad woman and she represents Mr. Rochester's lustful past that is seen as very sinful. Now do bear in mind that this novel was written in the Victorian era and there were very racist attitudes particularly towards non-white people in the Caribbean and in the places that the British Empire had colonized. So of course the way Bertha Mason is described and the way she is characterized as being for example quite savage this is also partially reflecting Victorian racist attitudes towards non-white people. Also of course the fact that she is mentally insane this illustrates of course the Victorian misunderstanding of people who didn't necessarily have a stable mental state of mind and again of course Bertha Mason is illustrated as being to some degree a victim of that. Of course also Mr. Rochester is characterized as being a victim of being pressurized by his father into marrying her without realizing that she has this almost hereditary madness that follows on from her mother. Also Bertha Mason of course is characterized as one of the main villains of the story because she's the one that ultimately causes the fire that at first Jane saves Mr. Rochester from but ultimately this fire not only consumes Thornfield Hall but also kills her and makes Mr. Rochester disabled. So she is characterized of course in a villainous way but as we read this especially with the modern reading we can sometimes feel sympathetic towards Bertha Mason to an extent. Now key quotations relating to her character in this novel firstly is how she's described as a clothed hyena and of course this is a metaphor characterizing her almost as an animal to show just how mad scary and insane she appears. The second quotation to remember when it comes to her character is how Jane first hears the laugh and this is the part in the novel where she hears the laugh before she realizes that there's a smell of smoke and then she goes to Mr. Rochester's room and finds it a flame and then she rescues him. However before that she hears the laugh and she describes it. It was a curious laugh distinct formal, mirthless, meaning not happy and of course here in terms of word level analysis you've got a syndetine. This is listing of distinct formal, mirthless and of course also this is rule of three and it's interesting one thing to note is that all of these quotations were never ever once hear Bertha Mason speak for herself. We only hear her described through other people so also of course we can also argue that she never really gains any power to represent herself. We only see her through the lens and the eyes of people who are in Britain and through the eyes of white British society. Now the third quotation relating to her and of course illustrating her madness is how she's described as a mocking demon and particularly Mr. Rochester sees her almost as his primary tool mentor. She's the one that stands in the way of his happiness. Now here this is just a metaphor demon she's being described as a demon very close to satanic figure. The other quotation for Bertha Mason's character is when Jane Eyre is not entirely sure she says whether beasts are human being. One could not ellipsist hell and of course here this is a juxtaposition almost oxymoron but wouldn't say it's complete opposites. The juxtaposition of the nouns beast and human showing her as very inhuman and of course this ties into the final quotations remember for Bertha Mason's character which is how she had a savage face and of course the adjective savage ties into British imperial attitudes towards people who were black, African, Caribbean and they were seen as savages who needed taming and of course in this case Bertha Mason fits squarely into that. She is seen as a savage, a very untempered woman who is completely controlled by her passions and of course this has led to madness and this is now one of the major things that really plagues Mr. Rochester's life. So that's it when it comes to key quotations relating to the character of Bertha Mason.