When in this state of mind, Antoinette becomes separated from herself and from her own identity. Factors such as judgment and categorizing from other social classes force Antoinette to realize that she doesnt have one to call her own. The twisted perception of Antoinette by other social classes transforms Antoinette into a product of imagination by others. Her obsession with the issue of belonging leads others to believe she is crazy when all she was trying to do was find a family she could call her own. Society regards Antoinette and her family from a binary point of view, as she is neither European nor black. When Antoinette becomes a bit emotional perhaps from the everyday sadness of her life, society, including her husband, labels Antoinette as being insane. In Spanish Town, there was no in between: you were either sane or insane. Antoinette must have appeared strange to others, so she was regarded as being insane. Then, Antoinette herself became unstable by starting to question her sanity. The desire to be accepted by either the white European class or the local Jamaican population results in an inner complexity which is described and perceived as a mental illness or insanity to others.
Mr. Rochester is an example of someone in society who thinks only in terms of binaries. Just because Antoinette and her culture is somewhat different from that of England, which is where Mr. Rochester lived, he complains that he has been, . Tied to a lunatic for life - a drunken lying lunatic - gone her mothers way (106). He categorizes Antoinette as a madwoman with no sanity. Mr. Rochester doesnt know the circumstances in which Antionette has gone through and doesnt have any right to focus only on Antoinettes flawed areas of personality. In addition, Mr. Rochester classifies Antoinette as a red - eyed wild - haired stranger (149) who is impulsive, disturbed, and psychotic. Mr. Rochester abused Antoinette so forcefully that Antoinette eventually lost all sense of her identity.