History & The Arts
When Edward met Bertha: Mental Health, Colonialism, Race and Patriarchy in Jane Eyre
...religion of the Empire forced upon them. Just as Rochester gains a fortune in the colonies, so does Jane, having been left a fortune by her uncle in Madeira. But it is her cousin, St. John Rivers, who demonstrates the zeal of the colonising religious zealot. The forces of patriachry and racism are embodied in this handsome cousin who wishes her to wed him, and go with him...