Jane Eyre
Richard Mason
Bertha's brother
Bertha's nervous brother from Jamaica, whose visit sets off a night attack and later stops the wedding.
Richard Mason is a timid, easily upset gentleman from Spanish Town, Jamaica. He arrives at Thornfield during the house party, asking for Rochester. Rochester turns pale at the name.
Mason cares for his sister but cannot manage her. He is weak-willed and nervous, and he is the one who brings Rochester's secret to light when the moment comes. His loyalty to Bertha and his fear of her are both clear.
“I have travelled from the West Indies, madam. Is Mr. Rochester at home?”
In the story
Contains spoilers.
That night Bertha attacks Mason in the attic, and he says she bit him like a tigress. Rochester brings Jane to sponge his wounds and tells her to say nothing. A surgeon is called, and Mason is taken away at dawn.
On the wedding day he goes to the church with the attorney Briggs. They declare that Rochester has a wife living, Mason's sister. This ends the wedding and leads to the revelation of Bertha.
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