WebQuest Template-Taken from Bernie Dodge’s WebQuest Site
Who is Bertha Mason Rochester?
Introduction | The Task | The Process | Resources | Evaluation | Conclusion | Teacher Notes
Introductory Prompt:
Who is Bertha Mason Rochester? Are she and Antoinette “Bertha” Cosway Mason Rochester
one and the same? Looking more closely at these two characters (the first of whom comes
from Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, and the second from Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea),
one begins to understand the reasons why Jean Rhys—a century after Jane Eyre was
published—felt compelled to rewrite Bronte’s “madwoman in the attic.” You are about to
embark on a journey that will lead you to see what influenced Rhys to not only write Wide
Sargasso Sea, but also why she portrayed Antoinette so differently than Bronte portrayed
Bertha. As you make your way through the adventure, keep in mind the following: What is
“truth”?
The Task:
The end result of your journey will be to take the information you learn along the way and
compile a paper (2+ pages) outlining the reasons you believe Rhys’ chose to rewrite
Bronte’s Bertha, as well as the reasoning behind why Rhys envisioned her so differently
than did Bronte. At the end of the paper, you will declare which “truth” you think is more
convincing and how you reached your decision.
The Process:
As you begin on your journey, remember to make use of the teacher-provided flow chart to
document any treasures (i.e. answers to the questions below) that you encounter along the
way. Bon voyage!
1. First you'll go to the following website: http://www.literature.org/authors/brontecharlotte/jane-eyre/chapter-26.html and read Chapter 26 of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane
Eyre. As you read, write down any details describing Bertha Rochester and answer
the following questions:
a. How does Jane see/portray Bertha?
b. Where is Bertha from?
c. How did she end up in England?
2. Once you've done this, you’ll go to the following site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Rhys. Answer the following questions:
a. When was Jean Rhys born?
b. Where was Jean Rhys born?
c. Where was Jean Rhys’ father from?
d. Where was Rhys’ mother born? What was her ancestry?
e. What is a creole?
f. How old was Rhys when she moved to England?
g. Do you see any parallels between the lives of Bertha and Rhys?
3. Now you are going to find out a little about what was going on in the West Indies
during the time Wide Sargasso Sea takes place.
a. Go to the following website: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/colonialism and
answer the questions,
1. What is colonialism?
2. How do you think you would feel if you were a native of a country that
had been colonized?
b. Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postcolonial_literature and answer the
question, What is Postcolonial literature? Note that Wide Sargasso Sea was
first published in 1966 when Postcolonial literature was in its early stages.
c. Go to http://www.lennoxhonychurch.com/article.cfm?Id=394 and write a
Dominican timeline for the period of 1834 to 1844. What is the political
climate in the West Indes during this time period? Keep in mind that Wide
Sargasso Sea opens in 1833. Why is this significant?
4. Next you are going to look at Rhys societyal/cultural background.
a. Go to http://www.lennoxhonychurch.com/jeanrhysbio.cfm and read about why
Rhys identified with the black community of her childhood. While you are on
this site, take a look at the photo of Rhys as a young woman, as well as the
photos of places that were a part of Rhys’ childhood and note any connections
there are between these places and Wide Sargasso Sea.
b. Go to http://lennoxhonychurch.com/africa-dominica.cfm and write down three
influences African culture has had on Dominica.
5. Next, read the information found at at least one of the following. Questions/ideas are
provided to guide your reading.
a. http://qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofEnglish/imperial/carib/janeeyre.htm
How does slavery compare to the position of women in the 19 th century? What
does this say about Bronte’s differing portrayals of Jane and Bertha? How do
you think this disparity made Rhys feel when she read Jane Eyre?
b. http://qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofEnglish/imperial/carib/colonising-marriage.htm
What is the difference between the colonized and the colonizer?
How does Antoinette and Rochester’s marriage symbolize colonization
(colonizer and colonized)?
c. http://www.bibliomania.com/1/7/263/2467/29149/1/frameset.html
What is the Wide Sargasso Sea? Where is it?
What does the Wide Sargasso Sea symbolize in the novella of the same
name?
d. http://www.enotes.com/nineteenth-century-criticism/colonialism-victorian-english-literature
As a post-colonialist, what does Edward Said say about colonialism in his book,
Orientalism (1978)?
6. Finally, you are heading toward the end of your journey. Now it is time to compile
the information you have found along the way and think about why Rhys felt
compelled to rewrite Bronte’s Bertha. Write a paper (2+ double-spaced pages)
outlining the reasons you believe Rhys’ chose to rewrite Bronte’s Bertha, as well as
the reasons you think Rhys envisioned her so differently than did Bronte. At the end
of the paper, you will declare which “truth” (Bronte’s or Rhys’ version of
Bertha/Antoinette) you think is more convincing and how you reached your decision.
Resources:

Bronte’s Jane Eyre, Chapter 26
http://www.literature.org/authors/bronte-charlotte/jane-eyre/chapter-26.html

Biography of Jean Rhys

Colonialism

Postcolonial literature

History of Dominica

Rhys’ ties to black community and photographs

African influences on Dominica

Slavery and the position of women in the 19th century

Colonization within marriage in Wide Sargasso Sea
http://qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofEnglish/imperial/carib/colonising-marriage.htm

What is the Wide Sargasso Sea

Edward Said on “colonialism”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Rhys
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/colonialism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postcolonial_literature
http://www.lennoxhonychurch.com/article.cfm?Id=394
http://www.lennoxhonychurch.com/jeanrhysbio.cfm
http://lennoxhonychurch.com/africa-dominica.cfm
http://qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofEnglish/imperial/carib/janeeyre.htm
http://www.bibliomania.com/1/7/263/2467/29149/1/frameset.html
http://www.enotes.com/nineteenth-century-criticism/colonialism-victorian-english-literature
Evaluation:
Your performance on the paper will be evaluated using the following rubric:
Beginning Developing Accomplished Exemplary Score
1
Student read
assigned material
Clear thesis
statement
Clear understanding
of cultural
differences and
background
2
It is evident
It is evident
through
through
comments
comments
made in the
made in the
paper that the
paper that the
student read
student read at
less than half
least half of the
of the
assigned
assigned
material.
material.
3
4
It is clearly evident
through comments
made in the paper
that the student
read most of the
assiged material.
It is clearly
evident
through
comments
made in the
paper that the
student read
all of the
assigned
material.
Student
unclearly
Student clearly
Student states
states why
states why
why he/she
he/she
Student clearly
he/she
believes Rhys
believes Rhys
states why he/she
believes Rhys
decided to
decided to
believes Rhys
decided to
rewrite Bronte’s
rewrite
decided to rewrite
rewrite
Bertha,
Bronte’s
Bronte’s Bertha,
Bronte’s
providing
Bertha,
providing some
Bertha,
somewhat
providing little
textual evidence as
providing
limited textual
or no textual
to why the
ample textual
evidence as to
evidence as to
protrayal of
evidence as to
why the
why the
Bronte’s Bertha
why the
protrayal of
protrayal of
affected Rhys so
protrayal of
Bronte’s Bertha
Bronte’s
strongly.
Bronte’s Bertha
affected Rhys so
Bertha
affected Rhys
strongly.
affected Rhys
so strongly.
so strongly.
Student
Student clearly
unclearly
Student states
states reasons
states reasons
reasons Rhys
Student states
Rhys
Rhys
envisioned
reasons Rhys
envisioned
envisioned
“Bertha” so
envisioned “Bertha”
“Bertha” so
“Bertha” so
differently than
so differently than differently than
differently
did Bronte,
did Bronte,
did Bronte,
than did
providing
providing good
providing
Bronte,
somewhat
evidence from
strong
providing little limited evidence
assigned readings. evidence from
or no evidence from assigned
assigned
from assigned
readings.
readings.
readings.
Student
unclearly
Declaration of “truth” states which
version of
Bertha he/she
finds more
convincing and
does not
clarify how
he/she
reached this
decision.
Student states
which version of
Bertha he/she
finds more
convincing but
does not clarify
how he/she
reached this
decision.
Student states
which version of
Bertha he/she finds
more convincing as
well as how he/she
reached this
decision.
Student clearly
states which
version of
Bertha he/she
finds more
convincing as
well as how
he/she reached
this decision.
Conclusion:
What is truth? By thinking about the different portrayals of Bertha/Antoinette, you have
taking a glimpse into two differing “truths” exemplified through characterization in the
works Charlotte Bronte and Jean Rhys. Though Rochester’s first wife is only one “person,”
she is perceived quite differently through the eyes of two different women who come from
two different cultures and two different centuries. Can you think of other people (or events)
with different “truths”? What role does perspective play in these differing views?
Teacher’s Notes:
Purpose/rationale for the lesson: Why are you teaching this lesson?
What State of Oregon content standard/benchmark are you targeting in this lesson?
Learning Objectives for the lesson: What do you expect the learners to know and/or
accomplish as a result of participating in this lesson?
Prior Knowledge/Background Information: What concepts and/or skills do students
need to have in order to be successful in this lesson?
Key Concept(s): What are 2-3 concepts (related to content and/or process) that
students will encounter as a result of this lesson?
Include tips/instructions/additional teacher resources for teaching the WebQuest. (This
is something you would do after students and you complete this project or assignment.