Showalter’s argument that men’s fear of women’s sexuality was so prominent that it leaked into their professional treatment is helpful for examining Bertha Mason and the women in the hospital from Ruth Hall. Our project set out to study these characters using cultural context, and Showalter’s books highlighted the misconceptions surrounding the treatment of women for mental conditions. This source helped satisfy our intrigue on the topic and supported our argument that men were fearful of women. Showalter’s claim helps to explain Fern's portrayal of the women in the hospital. It was clear some were there against their will after being discarded by their husbands, and others there seemed normally emotional, not what some might constitute as insane. Contrastingly, Bronte painted Bertha as a horrific, vampire-esque madwoman. Was Bronte showcasing the way in which Victorian people saw the mentally ill? Or, did she believe the misconceptions about them? After all, the doctors believed them. In the end, the cultural context from Showalter’s book helped us think about and better understand Fern and Bronte’s novels and their depictions of the mentally ill as the Other.