Lilia Hassaine's Novel JE Reimagines Jane Eyre from Bertha's Perspective, Longlisted for Prix Goncourt

Lilia Hassaine's fourth novel, JE, published by Gallimard, is among the standout titles of the 2026 literary season and has been named to the first selection for the Prix Goncourt. The novel retells Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre through the eyes of Bertha Antoinette Rochester, Mr. Rochester's first wife, who was confined to an attic for ten years due to supposed madness. In Hassaine's version, Bertha is not a dangerous madwoman but a victim of a violent, manipulative husband, abandoned by her peers. The author explained that her personal connection to the character, discovered upon rereading Jane Eyre as an adult, sparked the project. She chose fiction over testimony to highlight the timeless, universal nature of gender-based violence, drawing on gaps in Brontë's original to construct a more contemporary narrative. Hassaine noted that Rochester's controlling, deceitful traits were already present in Brontë's text, and that these behaviors shaped a romantic imaginary for young women. She also emphasized the colonial and racist context: Antoinette, a white Creole from Jamaica, faces prejudice in England that legitimizes and amplifies the violence against her. When asked about other female literary characters deserving a voice, Hassaine argued that cultural context shapes interpretations and that revisiting past works can reveal authors' forward-thinking intentions, rather than imposing modern deconstruction. The interview was published by RFI on September 17, 2026.