Twins are most commonly known as two beings that were born at the same time and have many similar characteristics, sometimes they look exactly alike and sometimes they do not. It is interesting to view two characters that had never known or met one another as doubles, such is the case of Bertha and Jane in the novel Jane Eyre. Jane who is a poor English clergyman’s daughter was raised in a charity school; Bertha on the other hand is an exotic Creole, and a wealthy Jamaican planter’s spoiled daughter. Furthermore, how is it that these two distinct characters could be considered each other’s double?
Despite the clear contrast in characterization between Jane and Bertha, it is important to note similarities in their lives at Thornfield. While Jane feels figuratively trapped, Bertha is …show more content…
What it was, whether beast or human being, one could not, at first sight, tell: it grovelled, seemingly, on all fours; it snatched and growled like some strange wild animal: but it was covered with clothing; and a quantity of dark, grizzled hair, wild as a mane, hid its head and face” (p. 338). However, the descriptions that follow are far less flattering: Bertha is described as – “the clothed hyena,” “the maniac,” “that purple face,” and “the lunatic” (p.338). These descriptions of Bertha as animal-like or savage connect her to Jane and the time Reeds and their servants reacted to Jane’s tantrum prior to her being locked in the Red Room. Jane herself is described as “a mad cat” (p.15) and a “bad animal” (p.11). This is a further connection to Bertha being Jane’s double because it is almost like Bertha is Jane’s young spirit, the young girl that once fought back, against this male-dominated society that imposes strict rules on women, determining what is proper versus