This task is largely context-focussed and I’ve used it as a follow up to the lesson suggested in (post Betha Mason part i); this said, I can’t see why you couldn’t begin with this if you preferred. This session is about Victorian ‘Freak Shows’ and it’s worth doing a bit of googling to find examples of shows that were particularly popular with the public around the time Bronte was writing; I’ve found the wild man of the Prairies and the Venus Hottentot work well (particularly the Hottentot) but there’s loads to choose from depending on what angle you want to take…
Direct students to the position assumed in these advertisements by the showman.
Questions:
what kind of language does the showman use to stage ‘freakery’?
how does this work to establish distance between the spectator and the freak?
Now turn back to the JE passage in question:
how does Rochester’s introduction of Bertha compare?
how do his words and imagery work vs his insistence on absolute difference?
What difference does this make to our feelings about Rochester and Bertha in these moments?
At this point, it might be helpful to go right back to the opening of the novel to Jane’s account of her experience in the Red Room at Gateshead.
Questions:
· how important is the mirror in this scene and why?
· what kind of language does Jane use to articulate a sense of her difference?
· in what ways does this scene look forward to the attic scene with Bertha?
· Why do you think Bronte would encourage this connection?
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