Cause of Antoinette's Insanity

So far, I have read up to the part of the story at which Antoinette explains to Rochester the truth concerning the rumors he has been told by Daniel Cosway. At this point in the novel, many people seem to believe that Antoinette is insane. As a reader, because I clearly see Antoinette’s perspective on her life when she narrates the story, I do not believe she is insane. Having read Jane Eyre, however, I know that at some point she will become insane.  I also believe that when she finally becomes truly insane, it will be caused by the people she is surrounded by, either in Jamaica or England.  I have made this prediction because from Antoinette’s narrations, she seems to be a mostly normal woman who has little anger against the world around her or people she knows.  The only points in the novel at which she seems to dislike the world or people around her (in my opinion the beginnings of insanity) occur when other people upset her somehow.  An example of this occurs in the beginning of the novel, when Antionette describes her mother as somewhat distant, especially when she gets older.  This coldness is seen in a quote in which Antoinette describes her mother as having, “…pushed me away, not roughly but calmly, coldly, without a word, as if she had decided once and for all that I was useless to her.” (page 11).  Another quote notes almost all of the people Antoinette had to learn from and befriend as she grew up:  “These were all the people in my life – my mother and Pierre, Christophine, Godfrey, and Sass who had left us.” (page 13).  Most of these people are people Antoinette would have had trouble befriending had she tried.  Godfrey was apparently a generally disliked man who would probably have been a bad role model for Antoinette and too old to befriend as a child.  Pierre likely had trouble communicating because of his mental disability and thus would not have been someone Antoinette could befriend.  Sass obviously was not available as a friend, so the only person in the quote Antoinette could have had any relationship with was Christophine.  Christophine was luckily a good role model, but not a good sole friend to have as child because she was an adult.  Tia, not named in the quote, seemed to be a friend of Antoinette’s, although she is described as being very unfriendly to Antoinette.  This is shown by the parts of the story in which she stole Antoinette’s pennies and threw a rock at Antoinette’s face.  Therefore, Antoinette seems to have had few healthy relationships growing up in Coulibri, a fact which probably contributes to her eventual anger towards everyone around her and development of insanity.  She later lives at a convent as a child, but even there she seems to have no healthy relationships with others her age.  This is shown by the part of the story when the other children make fun of her before entering her first class.  Later descriptions of her life at the convent do not display any friendships Antoinette has with any other students.  Later in life when Antoinette lives with Rochester in Jamaica, the servants who live with her do not seem to be friendly towards her.  Instead, they are only described as serving Antoinette or Rochester’s needs.  The only friendly person to Antoinette in this part of the book is again Christophine.  This lack of healthy relationships had by Antoinette while growing up is a problem that is common with many people known to have antisocial personality disorders.  Thus, I do not believe, as many characters in the novel seem to, that Antoinette will inherit insanity from her parents.  Instead, I believe Antoinette was driven insane because she was not satisfied with healthy relationships for most of her life.