Bertha Mason

E248053

character in a novel fictional character literary character

Bertha Mason is the infamous "madwoman in the attic" in Charlotte Brontë’s novel *Jane Eyre*, whose secret confinement by Mr. Rochester drives much of the story’s gothic tension and moral conflict.

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All labels observed (2)

Label	Occurrences
Bertha Mason canonical	8
Bertha Mason (character in "Jane Eyre")	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T2247791 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Bertha Mason
Context triple: [Jane Eyre, mainCharacter, Bertha Mason]

A. Bertha
"Bertha" is a popular live staple and fan-favorite rock song by the Grateful Dead, first released on their 1971 self-titled live album (often called "Skull and Roses").
B. Harriet Westbrook
Harriet Westbrook was the first wife of English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, whose tragic early death and troubled marriage have drawn significant biographical interest.
C. Gerty MacDowell
Gerty MacDowell is a young Dublin woman featured in the "Nausicaa" episode of James Joyce’s novel *Ulysses*, known for her romantic fantasies and the voyeuristic encounter with Leopold Bloom on Sandymount Strand.
D. Agnes
Agnes is a feminine given name of Greek origin meaning "pure" or "chaste," historically popular in various European cultures and Christian traditions.
E. Agnes
Agnes is the sweet, unicorn-obsessed youngest daughter of Gru in the Despicable Me franchise, known for her innocence, enthusiasm, and iconic “It’s so fluffy!” line.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Bertha Mason
Target entity description: Bertha Mason is the infamous "madwoman in the attic" in Charlotte Brontë’s novel *Jane Eyre*, whose secret confinement by Mr. Rochester drives much of the story’s gothic tension and moral conflict.

A. Bertha
"Bertha" is a popular live staple and fan-favorite rock song by the Grateful Dead, first released on their 1971 self-titled live album (often called "Skull and Roses").
B. Harriet Westbrook
Harriet Westbrook was the first wife of English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, whose tragic early death and troubled marriage have drawn significant biographical interest.
C. Gerty MacDowell
Gerty MacDowell is a young Dublin woman featured in the "Nausicaa" episode of James Joyce’s novel *Ulysses*, known for her romantic fantasies and the voyeuristic encounter with Leopold Bloom on Sandymount Strand.
D. Agnes
Agnes is a feminine given name of Greek origin meaning "pure" or "chaste," historically popular in various European cultures and Christian traditions.
E. Agnes
Agnes is the sweet, unicorn-obsessed youngest daughter of Gru in the Despicable Me franchise, known for her innocence, enthusiasm, and iconic “It’s so fluffy!” line.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (47)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	character in a novel ⓘ fictional character ⓘ literary character ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	Bertha Antoinetta Mason ⓘ the madwoman in the attic ⓘ
appearsIn	Jane Eyre ⓘ
associatedWithConcept	madwoman in the attic trope ⓘ
causeOfDeath	jumping from the roof of Thornfield Hall ⓘ
causesEvent	fire at Thornfield Hall ⓘ injury of Richard Mason ⓘ interruption of Jane and Rochester’s wedding ⓘ
confinedBy	Edward Fairfax Rochester ⓘ linked to: Mr. Rochester
creator	Charlotte Brontë ⓘ
criticalInterpretation	figure of feminist resistance ⓘ representation of racialized otherness ⓘ
ethnicBackground	Creole ⓘ
familyOrigin	West Indies ⓘ
firstAppearance	Jane Eyre ⓘ
firstPublicationYear	1847 ⓘ
gender	female ⓘ
genre	Gothic fiction ⓘ
hasSibling	Richard Mason ⓘ
influencedWork	Wide Sargasso Sea ⓘ
inheritance	large fortune from her family ⓘ
keptSecretFrom	Jane Eyre ⓘ
literaryTheme	colonialism ⓘ confinement ⓘ madness ⓘ patriarchal control ⓘ
mannerOfDeath	suicide ⓘ
marriageMotivation	Rochester’s financial gain ⓘ
marriageType	arranged for money ⓘ
mentalState	considered mad by other characters ⓘ mentally ill ⓘ
narrativeFunction	embodiment of the secret in the attic ⓘ source of Gothic tension ⓘ
nationality	Jamaican ⓘ
placeOfConfinement	Thornfield Hall attic ⓘ
reimaginedAs	Antoinette Cosway in Wide Sargasso Sea ⓘ
relatedTo	Mason family of Jamaica ⓘ
roleInWork	antagonist ⓘ obstacle to Jane and Rochester’s marriage ⓘ
spouse	Edward Fairfax Rochester ⓘ linked to: Mr. Rochester
symbolism	Victorian anxieties about madness ⓘ colonial other ⓘ repressed female rage ⓘ
timePeriodWithinFiction	early 19th century England ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (9)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Jane Eyre → mainCharacter → Bertha Mason ⓘ

Mr. Rochester → spouse → Bertha Mason ⓘ

Mr. Rochester → keepsAtThornfield → Bertha Mason ⓘ

Bertha → hasCulturalReference → Bertha Mason (character in "Jane Eyre") ⓘ

linked to: Bertha Mason

Grace Poole → associatedWith → Bertha Mason ⓘ

Mr. Mason (brother-in-law) → hasRelative → Bertha Mason ⓘ

Bertha Antoinetta Mason → alsoKnownAs → Bertha Mason ⓘ

Antoinette Cosway → basedOn → Bertha Mason ⓘ

subject linked to: Antoinette Cosway in Wide Sargasso Sea

Antoinette Cosway → renamedAs → Bertha Mason ⓘ