Bertha mason is a fictional character in Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel Jane Eyre she is the violently insane first wife of Edward Rochester, moved to Thornfield Hall and locked in the attic.
A beautiful young woman plagued with mental illness, including violent outbursts, Bertha Mason was the scorn of her family. To get rid of her, her father and brother conspired to marry her off to Mr. Rochester, a wealthy land owner.
To do this, they did not allow Rochester to see much of Bertha before the wedding, which customs allowed at the time. After the wedding, the Masons refused to help Rochester, abandoning Bertha to his mercy. Being a decent man, Rochester found Grace Poole to look after his wife and locked her in the attic of his great estate.
Bertha would escape from time to time, often after Poole would have too much to drink, and would interrupt life in her husband's home, leading to reports that the mansion was haunted. Bertha's existence was kept quiet to the point that only Poole and Rochester knew.
Little is known about Bertha before the insanity set in. While she does have periods of calm, Bertha does not ever seem to reach anything resembling lucidity, especially after her marriage to Rochester. Bertha's outbursts, when agitated, often result in violence.
Bertha's main characteristic is that she is Insane, meaning that her actions have no basis in reality. Bertha is also a Plot Device, as she has few character traits and her existence in the narrative is meant to move the plot along. Bertha could also be considered the character Lurking in the Shadows, a character is constantly following, just out of sight, the main character.
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