How is Bertha Mason presented in this extract?

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Throughout Jane Eyre, we hear and see glimpses of Bertha as Jane unravels the
truth about Mr. Rochester, but in this extract, we see Berth properly for the first
time, after receiving the explanation from Rochester. In the extract, Bertha is
presented as animalistic, sub-human and hysterical.
As we ascend the stairs to Berthas attic, Bronte begins to associate Bertha
with gothic imagery. The description of the winding staircase and path up to the
attic create dramatic tension as we await her reveal, and the low black door
and the uncovering the second door. Bronte presents us with many barriers to
Bertha, de-attaching her from Thornfield house, and giving us reason to question
why she is so hidden. The secretive environment sets up Bertha as a gothic
figure. Before we get a glimpse of Bertha however, we are presents with an
account of her violent nature. The first thing we learn about her is that she bit
and stabbed her own brother, Mr. Mason. The violent verbs present and prime
us, and Jane to see a ferocious, vicious person. Bronte then associates Bertha
with slavery and monstrous imagery, with the lamp suspended by a chain. It
seems as though the whole room personifies their treatment of Bertha, as we see
with the description of the guarded fire, which guards a high and strong fire.
We receive a sense of danger with the deep shade, which conveys Berthas
environment as demonic. This is reminiscent of pathetic fallacy, conveying
Berthas emotions, and portraying her as magical, and able to control the light of
the room with her craft.
Our first description of Bertha portrays her as paranormal, in a figure ran
backwards and forwards. Not only is her identity taken, but the reader is
bombarded with a sense of erratic, hysterical movement which adds to her
hysterical, erratic presentation. Then begins the repetition of it used to
describe Bertha, which de-humanises her and conveys her as animalistic. The
repetition also highlights how Bronte removes Berthas gender from her
descriptions, to further remove her identity. Bronte then begins listing Berthas
features, and her actions it grovelled, seemingly it snatched and growled.
The listing and use of punctuation conveys the speed at which Jane is thinking,
and her fear, which heightens the fear that the reader feels towards Bertha. She
also lists several animalistic verbs, grovelled snatched growled grizzled
to describe Bertha. Not only do the verbs suggest her inferiority, as she grovels,
but they also suggests a lack of humanity and civility. These description further
the animalistic, inferior portrayal of Bertha.
Bronte gives us a glimpse of Berthas humanity and treatment in A fierce cry.
The noun reflects the humanity left in Bertha, as it is the only time in the extract
that Bertha makes a non-animalistic sound. The cry also conveys the suffering
that Bertha must feel, as she is trapped in the attic, and in her own head. This
empathetic view of Bertha is shattered, however, when we receive the metaphor
the clothed hyena. The extended metaphor serves as a tool to de-humanise
Bertha, conveying her not only as sub-human, but sub-animal as well, as the
hyena is at the bottom of the food chain, and is seem as a hysterical creature.
The animalistic imagery here can also be seen as a reference to Berthas
ethnicity, tying her to the wild, exotic animal that Victorian England, and perhaps
Bronte would have considered foreigners to be. Bronte increases the tension with
her use of punctuation in Ah! Sir, she sees you! you better not stay!. The
exclamation marks portray the fear of Grace, a woman who is used to Berthas
company, and therefore instills fear in the reader regarding Bertha.
Bronte again gives us a different view of Bertha as she describes her purple
face those bloated features. We can read the purple, bloated faces as bruises
and sores, as a result of the abuse at the hands of Rochester and Grace Poole.
This conveys a sense of pity and sympathy towards Bertha, which is wildly
different to the majority of Brontes portrayal of her. Her portrayal as a
paranormal, gothic figure is expanded when we read it is not mortal discretion
to fathom her craft. Not only does this set up Bertha as something other than
mortal and human, but it associates her with witchcraft craft. This
demonization is at odds with her animalistic description, how can she be both
sub-human and immortal? Another contradiction we receive here is that Bertha is
so cunning. The portrayal we accept is of Bertha as a sub-human, mindless
animal, which is the very opposite to the sly description given by Grace Poole.
As Bertha steps towards Rochester and her visitors, Bronte speeds up the
interaction with short sentences and use of punctuation. The verbs flung
sprang grappled also increase the speed and tension of the extract, and the
other-worldly, paranormal view of Bertha. The gothic imagery surrounding Bertha
is then furthered with laid her teeth to his cheek. This vampiric motif serves as
another device to demonize and de-humanise Bertha. The paranormal imagery is
again expanded with Rochesters speech, as he describes Berthas red balls,
her demonic eyes. Along with his reference to the bible in with what judgement
ye judge shall be judged seals Berthas fate as a demonised figure as he widens
the divide between his immoral, evil, demonic wife, and his righteous, moral
cause. Throughout the extract Bronte struggles with her different portrayals of
Bertha, switching from an animalistic, violent beast, a sympathetic, pitied soul,
and a demonic, paranormal figure. It is apparent, however, that she is the foil to
Jane, a masculine, immoral, hysterical figure.