Two popular feminist theorists, Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar, stated in their essay "The Madwoman in the Attic" that there is a pattern in the literary story which places female characters in one of the following two stereotypes: either the “passive angel” or the “active monster”. The image of the “angel in the house” is that of a domestic woman whose ultimate goal is to please and care for her husband (Gilbert 55-57). Jane Eyre, although often portrayed as a strong female character, obviously fits well into this stereotype. Early in the novel she is sent to be educated at Lowood Institute and no doubt gains an education in female submission, as later she seeks employment as the ultimate example of domestic servitude - a governess. It is evident that Charlotte Brontë intends to cast Jane in the role of "the angel", as Jane willingly commits to her role as governess and fulfills Rochester's wishes to gain his acceptance. The more Jane falls in love with Rochester, the more he plays with her emotions, and any feminist ideals she may have displayed as a rebellious child begin to give way to inferiority and complacency. Jane fully assumes the role of the angel because she essentially believes herself to be weaker and unworthy of his love. This is common throughout the novel, as Jane often imposes on herself the mental stigma that she is an inferior person and does not deserve happiness. Some particular "angelic" examples of Jane are demonstrated through her submission to Rochester throughout the fire scene, Mr. Mason's biting and orders to take care of him, and the end of the novel in which she helps him regain his health. . (Brontë ch.15, 20, 38) Rochester's role in the novel, and in Wide Sargasso Sea, is that of image classifier, as he literally refers to Jane as his "angel" and uses his patriarchal power as a way to label it. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essay The monster, in the case of Jane Eyre, would be the character Bertha Mason. In most cases, the stereotype of the “monster” is actually representative of the darker side of the angel. (Gilbert 359-361) In the case of Brontë's novel, Bertha Mason provides the binary for almost all of Jane's personality characteristics: she is the rage against Jane's repression, the rebellion against her tolerance, the "great woman … of virile strength” for the “poor, obscure, simple and small” Jane (Brontë ch. 26, 23). Even their respective marriages to Rochester conflict: Bertha's for sex and money and Jane's for love and equality. Bertha is essentially the psychic split between the woman who submits to the patriarch and the madman who rebels. According to Gilbert and Gubar, the stereotype of the “mad girl in the attic” is achieved when a female character rejects the role of servitude to her husband and society and is “sexually fallen” (Gilbert 355-356). This demonizes women and denies their place in society. Bertha is a dramatic example of this by refusing to play the role of “the perfect wife” for Rochester. In return, he strips her of her humanity, places her under the image of an animal and literally locks her away from the world. Rochester's primary role in defining stereotypes for these two women through labeling is accomplished in Bertha's case as he voluntarily changes her birth name. In Wide Sargasso Sea, Bertha is actually introduced as Antoinette Mason. However, in attempting to exercise his patriarchal power over Antoinette and tame her "monstrous" tendencies, Rochester dehumanizes her.and gives it a name of his own creation. By accepting this new nickname, Bertha acquiesces to her role not only as “crazy girl in the attic,” but also as a colonized other. (Spivak 249-251) Rochester certainly uses his power of patriarchal sexual desire on her because his relationship with Antoinette is largely based on erotic relationships. “I saw her die many times in my way, not hers,” he says of their communal relationships (Rhys 55). The fact that most of their relationship was conducted through sexual communication demonstrates Rochester's power over Antoinette, now Bertha, through sexual domination. Furthermore, this reinforces her position as a “monster” to the extent that she is now “sexually fallen.” The feminist theory of "the angel in the house" versus the "madwoman in the attic" is important to both Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea. Jane as the protagonist and Bertha as the antagonist demonstrate the characteristics rooted in these stereotypes and play further into the ideals of patriarchal society. Jane is essentially intended to be a strong feminist character, which is indeed demonstrated by her escape from Rochester's sexual advances, her eventual gain of financial independence, and her marriage to Rochester (her own power is evidenced by the statement " Reader, I married him"). (Brontë ch. 38) Despite her ultimate independence, Jane's role as an angel stereotype is undeniable. Bertha Mason's role is that of a dehumanized animal, a creature intended solely for Rochester to use his power and dominate. Interestingly, while both of these stereotypes ultimately yield their power to the patriarch, only the angel has the ability to eventually find independence. (Cho 107) This may be due to the idea that Bertha is, in fact, the repressed side of Jane's personality. Bertha never finds her place in society because she has been completely stripped of her humanity; the only way for her to escape her fate is death. With the death of her monstrous side, Jane can now follow her own will and realize her identity, thus reaching her happy ending and expanding out of the image of submission and toward that of feminine independence. The “angel” versus “monster” dichotomy strongly influenced female writers of the Victorian era. In response to the pressures of being women writers in a literary patriarchy, these writers often felt figuratively paralyzed by the debilitating options their culture offered them. This often led them to transfer their feelings of "author anxiety" into the characters of their novels in the form of physical and mental illnesses. Throughout the 19th century, most mental illnesses were considered "feminine illnesses" due to maladjustment to the social environment and even came to serve as the basis for the definition of femininity. (Gilbert 53-78). Anorexia, one of the most common “female illnesses,” is often seen on the surface as being caused by vanity and low self-esteem. This may be true; however, a deeper cause may be found in the woman's desire to literally shrink her body in hopes of becoming invisible or escaping death. It is no exaggeration to say that Charlotte Brontë expressed her anxiety about fatherhood and her sense of imprisonment in her own sex by creating Jane as a character attempting to escape through the physical disorder of l 'anorexia. In fact, the "angel in the house" character in literature often suffered from literal illness in an attempt to demonstrate their conditioned femininity. (Gilbert 55) The Red Room scene is the first example in which we see.