Mental Illness in Jane Eyre Essay Sample

Kanye West, an icon in the rap industry, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2017. His unpredictable behavior and antics on the internet have been viewed by millions. While most people see this as entertainment, mental illness affects millions of Americans and has only recently been discussed publicly.  In the novel, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, an abundance of mental illnesses are present in the characters, all of which go undiagnosed considering the book was written during the Victorian era. When someone had a psychological disorder in the Victorian era, they were perceived as a demon or a devil. While individuals can be horrified or entertained by their actions, a closer examination of the characters’ actions and words can lead to possible diagnoses of many different conditions, such as depression, schizophrenia, alcoholism, and narcissism. 

Bertha Mason, the crazy girl in the attic, has schizophrenia, and, instead of being sent to a mental institution, Edward Rochester keeps her locked in the attic. She is very aggressive and sets fire to Thornfield; however, Rochester still feels like Bertha is safer in his home. Grace Poole is Bertha Mason’s guard to prevent her from leaving the attic; however, Grace is an alcoholic, so it makes it extremely easy for Bertha to escape the attic to go and cause chaos in the house. This happens when Bertha goes and tears up Jane Eyre’s very expensive veil while Grace Poole is passed out drunk upstairs. Edward Rochester is narcissistic because he always feels the need to have himself looking his best and he has a servant to do everything for him, including taking care of his daughter, Adele. 

Celine Varens, Adele’s mother, is histrionic and an opera singer.  She runs away from Thornfield leaving Adele in Rochester’s care; even though he later finds out that Adele is not biologically his. Blanch Ingram is narcissistic and histrionic because she believes that she is superior to everyone else and her family is rich. She makes many comments about Jane’s social status when she realizes that Rochester fancies Jane more than her.  Ms. Reed, Jane’s aunt, is extremely selfish which leads her to have a narcissistic personality. She never takes Jane’s side and treats her terribly because she does not want Jane to end up with any of her money. John Reed, one of Jane’s cousins, gets everything he wants growing up and does not have an education leading him to party and gamble his money away. He has a histrionic personality disorder, and, instead of taking the blame for his actions, he kills himself. Another histrionic is John Reed’s sister, Georgiana Reed, because she only cares about herself and does not care who she hurts in the process of always getting what she wants. Eliza Reed, Jane’s cousin, may have a dissociative personality disorder and runs away to a convent to prevent having to get married. 

At the beginning of the book, Jane is depressed because of the way she is treated by her aunt and her cousins. She is not able to understand why she is treated poorly, and, instead of standing up for herself all the time, she just takes it and is always sad. Later in the novel, she learns to love herself and proves everyone wrong because she becomes extremely successful and well-adjusted.  St. John, Jane’s cousin, wants to marry Jane for his benefit, so they can go to India together because Jane is amazing at learning new languages. He has a narcissistic personality because he only thinks about himself and what will eventually end up benefiting him. 

Throughout Jane Eyre, the characters express many qualities associated with undiagnosed psychological disorders. Jane Eyre introduces everyone to an interesting cast of characters whose actions and words suggest they may have been suffering from various mental illnesses that those around them do not understand. Grace Poole and Bertha Mason’s personalities prevent them from being able to get their daily tasks done. They are treated differently because during the Victorian Era if anyone shows a sign of a mental disorder, they go into solitary confinement. Even today when a person like Kanye West is diagnosed with a psychological disorder, people often focus only on how their shocking behavior is entertaining, or how it is portrayed in the media. This reaction was the same in the Victorian Era even though mental illness was not discussed and individuals were not diagnosed or treated for mental illness.