Characterisation of Bertha in Wide Sargasso Sea.

As the novel was written as a prequel of Jane Eyre the readers (who have read Jane Eyre previously), are naturally lead to compare the two female characters (Bertha and Jane). In some ways I think that the book is set up for this comparison, given the similarity of the circumstances of Jane and Bertha.
They are both Orphans,
They both have difficult childhoods,
They both fall in love with Rochester,
They both marry Rochester,
They both attend convent schools,
They both have issues with love and rejection.

However I think that Bertha’s differences mark her individualism, she is a woman in her own right, not just a Creole spin on Jane. The first section in the novel is very important in forming Bertha’s character; from it the readers can build up an opinion of Bertha, and get to know her through her thoughts and opinions on the world around her.

I found that the description and language used in the first section of the novel was useful in getting to know Bertha, the way she views her world, (p6) ‘Orchids flourished out of reach or for some reason not to be touched. One was snaky looking, another like an octopus with long thin brown tentacles bare of leaves hanging from a twisted root.’ The Coulibri garden is wild and out of control and she builds on it with a great imagination, she likes the wildness and the sense of not being in control, it reflects her life I suppose.

Another way in which Rhys characterises Bertha is through her interaction with the other characters, a moment that one could take as an example is where she visits her mother, after the fire and Pierre has died. Bertha’s language and actions in this moment are somewhat child-like, her language portrays excitement and hope, she wants things to be different, she cannot understand that they could be the same, that her mother could still be the same person, when she herself is in such a safe environment, ‘She was part of Coulibri, that had gone, so she had gone, I was certain of it.’. When she gets to the house she runs to her mother, she clings to her, and then is rejected by her, ‘and she said, ‘No,’ quietly. Then ‘No no no’ very loudly and flung me from her.’ In this way Jane and Bertha are similar, they are both rejected by their family.

In the second and third sections of the novel it is interesting to see how Bertha is viewed by other people, a perception which is unavailable in Jane Eyre. It would however be interesting to see the novel through Bertha’s eyes in the second and third sections, where she turns ‘mad’, as I personally think that she doesn’t go ‘mad’, she’s just very very misunderstood.