This is supposed to be a prequel to Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, describing the background of Mr Rochester’s first marriage to the mad woman, Bertha. Wikipedia calls the book a post-colonial and feminist outlook. I can’t say I loved the book; it has a different feel, kind of dreamy in a way, that I didn’t really relate to. But all in all, I thought it was interesting endeavor. Part of me thought that the author took a lot of liberties in assigning traits to Rochester and the Englishmen, but on the other hand, Jane Eyre was a fictional story itself, so it’s not like one could claim that these assignments weren’t based in reality anyway. All of the traits of all the characters were made up, so why couldn’t Rhys assign motives that would explain Bertha in a more sympathetic light?  

Rhys does seem to portray Bertha in a sort of madness, but given the background Rhys paints, one can be sympathetic to Bertha rather than dismissive. I suppose one could, if one were so inclined, take this prequel and add it to the original story to make up a sort of canonical understanding. I can’t bring myself to do that. I think it’s an interesting take on Bertha, but I can’t bring myself to think about it as anything more than that. Perhaps because I’ve come to love Jane Eyre, I’m reluctant to add these particular details to my understanding… I dunno. But I just read it for what it is: someone else’s take on possibilities. I don’t know if anyone else actually takes it as a more realistic version of Bertha. That would be an interesting thing to know.