ABSTRACT
The Charlotte Bronte women would have had little recourse to studying coloring in professional artwork because of the family's limited means and isolated location in Yorkshire. One of the primary ways in which Jane is able to participate in the joys of color is through her artwork. The purple description gestures towards Bertha Mason dangerous Creole blood, carrier of the germs of madness, and visually represents the mixture of wine and blood coursing feverishly throughout her body, rising to her face whenever her passionate nature is inflamed. Colors are described through the lexicon of costly gemstones: purple dresses are "amethyst", while red glasswork is "ruby". Purple, in particular, was understood to be a color with a sexualized history, associated with "apparently immoral women" to symbolize the convergence of power, wealth, and female seduction. The purple coloring is a sign to be read, making Bertha's otherness visible.
