Jane Eyre - Bertha Mason: The Gothic Monster!

This engaging and informative lesson enables students to make precise and perceptive interpretations of the character of Bertha Mason in Jane Eyre. Through close analysis of specific extracts from the text, students develop an understanding of how Bertha fits the conventions of a quintessential ‘gothic monster’, and also explore her position as a prime example of the ‘Other’ in Victorian society.

The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which students learn through:
Defining the key term ‘gothic novel’ and understanding the key conventions of gothic literature;
Reading selected extracts from the text and answering comprehension questions considering Bertha Mason as fulfilling the role of the gothic monster;
Considering ideas of the Victorian ‘Other’ and establishing how Bertha Mason recycles these ideas;
Analysing how ideas of Bertha link to predominant 19th Century ideas about mental health and ethnicity;
Using the knowledge they have gathered over the lesson to design and describe their own gothic monsters;
Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts.

Included is:
Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive;
Bertha Mason worksheet;
Selected extracts (from chapters 11, 20, and 26);
Character profile template;
Comprehensive lesson plan.

There are also opportunities for group learning, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. These resources were originally taught to GCSE students, but with subtle adaptations they have also been used with both younger and older (up to A Level) students. Worksheets are provided as word docs (so that you can edit) and PDFs (to protect formatting).

All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.