The Jew in the Jamaican, the Amalgam in the Attic: A New View of Bertha Mason in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre.

This essay argues that Charlotte Brontë’s character Bertha Mason Rochester in *Jane Eyre* is represented as having a hybrid ethnocultural background combining Jamaican, Jewish, and Creole elements, rather than merely symbolic Jewish traits as previously suggested. Drawing on historical evidence of Jamaican Jewish Creole communities, textual analysis of Bertha’s family, birthplace (Spanish Town, Jamaica), and connections to Madeira’s wine trade, the essay contends that Brontë coded Bertha’s lineage as literally Jewish, which intensifies her role as an embodiment of radical otherness and resistance to change. This portrayal aligns with Victorian-era stereotypes about Jews, particularly regarding obstinacy and failure to convert to Christianity, reflecting contemporary sociopolitical debates about Jewish emancipation and evangelization in England. The essay further situates Bertha’s characterization within the novel’s broader thematic polarity between stagnation and growth, contrasting her inconvertibility with the transformative journeys of Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester.