One of the levels of oppression that this symbol encompasses is that associated with gender, for it is Antoinette's marriage to this white Englishman that ultimately leads to her ruin . Having married not for love, but because her unnamed husband (who is supposed to be the husband of Bertha Mason, Rochester in Jane Eyre), is offered a large sum of money by Mr Mason's son to propose to Antoinette. The two barely know each other and their marriage is loveless and clearly incompatible. Rochester is a cold man who offers nothing of himself to Antoinette. Sure, he lusts after her sexually, but he didn't love Antoinette. As he puts it plainly: “I didn’t like him. I was thirsty for her, but that's not love. . . she was a stranger to me” (Rhys 78). Rochester felt no love while looking at Antoinette's "sad, dark eyes of an alien"; he felt hatred (Ryhs 56). When he looked at her, he saw “the hatred in her eyes” and felt “his own hatred springing up to meet him” (Rhys 139). Rhys certainly paints a picture of a very unhappy marriage. In addition to Rochester's disregard for Antoinette's happiness, readers see very clearly how, by marrying Antoinette, he comes to completely control her life. There are several