"The Widow" Bertha

"I have a way to end our marriage without ruining your reputation, so that you can boldly pursue Miss Jane Eyre."

When her words fell to the ground, Rochester frowned and said, "Why do you know about this?"

Sure enough, it was this reaction, and the corners of Bertha's mouth curled up.

How does a madman prove that he is normal?Bertha chose not to testify.The simple words brought out the issue that Rochester was most concerned about at this moment, and other matters naturally came after.Apparently Bertha's own safety and health were "the other thing" in the eyes of her cheap husband.

"You think you've covered it up very well," Bertha teased. "No one in the manor has noticed it, not even Miss Jane Eyre, but the authorities are fascinated, Edward."

In the original novel of "Jane Eyre", Bertha "breaks out" several times and leaves the attic to make troubles, and Miss Jane Eyre always bumps into, or notices, as if she is deliberately wandering around Jane Eyre.From the perspective of God, readers can often understand that this is the author's plot arrangement, but now Bertha is in the story, and when thinking about the reason why Bertha always hovers around Jane Eyre, it seems meaningful.

Maybe it was because he noticed Rochester's special feelings for Miss Jane Eyre, maybe...it was a crazy woman who wanted to warn an unmarried young girl to stay away from the tomb of Thornfield.

"A few weeks ago, while I was still awake," said Bertha, "I set a fire in your bedroom."

This is the plot of the original "Jane Eyre". After the fire, the original Bertha fell ill and lay on the bed in the attic for half a month.

"Yes."

Rochester quipped: "It's an honor to know that my wife hates me enough to kill me."

Bertha sneered back: "You're welcome, Edward, I really wanted to kill you at that time, but it wasn't because I hated you. It was because even if I went crazy, I knew that if you died, I would be free and leave here."

Rochester choked heavily.

He personally ordered Bertha to be locked in the attic, even if Bertha was a crazy woman, it was his fault.

But now Bertha was not in the mood to argue with him about who was wronging whom. She continued: "Miss Jane Eyre smelled smoke and broke into your bedroom to save you. In fact, Edward, I was Didn't leave, just looked around, I see you have gratitude and love for Miss Jane Eyre, you want to hug her - I'm still your wife after all, Edward, I know you want to hug a woman What kind of expression is that?"

Bertha who said these words was fiddling with her hair, and her thin figure was lying lazily on the bench by the fireplace.If it weren't for the indifference written all over her face, it would really be a bit of pity for me.

"Unfortunately."

But this pity for me was quickly replaced by gloating: "Miss Jane Eyre doesn't seem to appreciate it."

Rochester: "..."

Bertha: "I knew from that moment that you were in love with Miss Jane Eyre, Edward."

But Bertha was lying.

With her limited memory, the original Bertha left after setting the fire.But in order to round up the topic thrown out, Bertha had to talk nonsense based on the content of the original "Jane Eyre".

Fortunately, Rochester accepted this statement.

After the arson that night, the two were nervous, and Rochester did not seriously search the surroundings.In addition, Bertha did get along with him for a while before she went crazy, so it is normal to have some understanding.

"You said you have a way to end our marriage," so Rochester asked, "What way?"

"Don't worry."

Bertha said slowly, "Before that, I have three conditions. You should first see if they are acceptable."

Rochester was slightly vigilant: "Please."

"First."

Bertha was not polite to him, but spoke directly.

"Once our marriage is over, we will have nothing to do with each other again. I will remain anonymous and leave Thornfield. From then on, neither you nor I can interfere in each other's lives. Even if we meet again after separation, we will still be strangers."

"That's reasonable," Rochester nodded, "You start your own new life, and I won't interfere."

"second."

"Give me back my dowry," continued Bertha.

Marrying a crazy woman comes with compensation.Bertha Mason's parents, to be precise, the father, knew that their daughter was handicapped, so they gave Edward Rochester's father a dowry of £[-].It is equivalent to Bertha's father losing money and dumping his "crazy daughter" as a burden, but Rochester at the time had no knowledge of it.

What was the concept of thirty thousand pounds in the Victorian era?The annual salary of a skilled worker living in London is estimated to be around fifty pounds.Bertha's dowry was enough to sustain a worker for 600 years.

She made a second request, and Rochester fell into deep thought.

"Didn't you, Edward?" Bertha couldn't help laughing, "when it comes to money, you hesitate?"

"Do not."

Rochester didn't care about Bertha's ridicule. He shook his head: "This money belongs to you. If you want to leave, I will return it to you. But thirty thousand pounds is really not a small amount. If it is paid in one lump sum, for me Words are tricky."

Also.

Rochester had received this dowry for ten years, even if he didn't spend it extravagantly, it must have been exchanged for investment and land.Bertha had no interest in the assets and land in his name, she only wanted money.It always takes time to turn fixed assets into bank deposits.

Taking into account inflation, the 21 pounds in the [-]th century can be said to be close to [-] million in the [-]st century. Even the richest people have to think beforehand if they want to hand out tens of millions of cash in one go.

One knew that as the heroine of a romance novel, Rochester would definitely not be a money-grubbing and lustful person.

"You don't need to pay in one lump sum," Bertha was very reasonable, and she took the initiative to make concessions. "My request, including the method of repayment, can be written in a contract later. You can repay it on time according to the provisions of the contract." .”

"it is good."

Speaking of this, Rochester's tense expression has unconsciously relaxed.It seemed that he already believed that Bertha had really come back to her senses--that's not what a mad Bertha Mason would tell him.

"What about your third condition?" Rochester asked proactively.

"You and I," replied Bertha, "must be kept in the knowledge of Miss Jane Eyre."

"no!"

Rochester categorically rejected Bertha's third condition, and his already strict face was filled with disapproval: "The grievance between you and me belongs to you and me, and Miss Jane Eyre doesn't know about it. I will definitely not use the past to harm an innocent woman with the filthy haze."

"If she is just a tutor, you and I have nothing to do with her," Bertha retorted. "If she becomes your wife, don't you think she should know?"

"I don't think so."

Rochester said coldly: "Why should she know?"

Bertha: "..."

I really can't talk to you straight men 100 years ago!

It was only a few minutes of communication with Rochester, and Bertha was blocked enough by him.This kind of guy is better left to Miss Jane Eyre to clean up!It's better for her to hurry up and leave Thornfield Manor.

"Compare your heart to your heart, Edward," Bertha persuaded patiently, "My father lied to you to marry me by hiding my history of mental illness. Your marriage and mine were based on lies, and then you also understood what the consequences were. .If the mistake of marrying me still hasn't taught you the need to be honest in your feelings, then you have suffered ten years in vain."

Rochester didn't speak.

Bertha knew that he had listened, and continued to speak: "Edward, the lie will be revealed sooner or later. You admit that you love Miss Jane Eyre deeply, do you want Miss Jane Eyre to suffer for it afterwards? She dared to break through the defenses between men and women , broke into your room to save you, it proves that she is a firm woman who doesn't care about the eyes of the world. She will forgive you, if not, I advise you to think about whether this woman is worthy of your love. "

At the end, Bertha sighed somewhat.

Not for Rochester, but for everyone involved in this farce.

It was true that Bertha Mason was a victim, but Rochester was also unlucky enough.In the 21st century, if one of the parties to a marriage conceals a history of mental illness, the other party can sue the court for an invalid marriage.

Like Bertha's father, he concealed the fact that his daughter was mentally ill, and left her alone after being thrown out like a burden. In modern society, Rochester could sue the court and easily make the marriage legally legal. invalidated.

But not in the nineteenth century.

Even though Bertha became more and more crazy after getting married, and even showed violent tendencies, and the extreme behavior of hurting people was repeatedly prohibited, Rochester could not do anything to her.

In the Victorian era, doctors couldn't cure Bertha, Rochester couldn't divorce her, and threw her into a madhouse?That is tantamount to a dead end.Considering many factors, it is really helpless to lock her up in Thornfield's attic and keep her under strict surveillance.

As for the £[-] dowry?He promised to return it to Bertha, which is enough to prove that Rochester will not accept a crazy wife for this money.

And Miss Jane Eyre was even more pitiful. She didn't know anything until she agreed to Rochester's marriage proposal.

No matter how you look at it, the entanglement between Bertha and Rochester is an unresolved bad debt, and Miss Jane Eyre is completely irrelevant.

Bertha's attitude is that if you can't figure it out, just ignore it, can't you afford to hide it?Whether it is the current Bertha or the former Bertha, she just wants to leave Thornfield Manor as soon as possible. With such a large sum of money, why can't she go and get entangled in the countryside?

"She has the right to know, Edward," Bertha said warmly, "If she loves you too, she has the right to know what the person she loves has experienced."

In the end, it was these words that moved Rochester.

The cold and stern color on his face melted in an instant, and Rochester looked at Bertha's calm posture, and sighed: "Grace Poole asked me to tell me that you were awake. I was skeptical at first, but now I believe you have Come back to your senses, Bertha. Not only that, but you are a much different man than you were ten years ago."

Because the original Bertha is dead.

Fortunately, she was relieved to die, and Bertha in the past didn't have much nostalgia for this world.Her only obsession is to escape, and she, who has traveled through time, can help accomplish this.

Thinking of this, Bertha smiled mockingly: "I was only 15 years old ten years ago. Even if my mental illness is not counted, Rochester, you did not allow a woman to grow up, Edward."

Rochester didn't answer, he didn't care at all.

"Now you and I have basically reached an agreement," he said, "I can explain exactly what you can do to end our marriage."

"It's simple."

Bertha said happily: "Let me set a fire and burn down Thornfield Manor."

Rochester: "..."

He looked at Bertha as if she were still a madman.