Charlotte Bronte makes frequent use of symbolism in jane eyre. Several repeated images are used, in part as a means of bringing together a narrative of immense generic variety. The following analysis focuses on Bronte’s use of images of fire and ice, exploring the symbolic attributes of these images and how they are used in various scenes throughout the text. Excerpts are from the Oxford World’s Classics 2000 edition of the novel.

There is a dichotomy in the narrative between the representations of fire and ice. Fire is frequently associated with passion and rebellion, which becomes evident in the following excerpt, where the young protagonist reflects on the state of her mind after criticizing her aunt’s mistreatment: “A crest of heather lit, alive , watching, devouring, would have been a worthy emblem of my mind when I accused and threatened Mrs. Reed” (1, 4, p.37). However, when the fire has died down, the crest itself is described as “black and burned after the flames are dead” (1, 4, pp. 37-8). Coldness is often associated with isolation and desolation in the text.

Jane feels angry with her aunt because of the woman’s unfair treatment of her. From the first chapter, she is shown to be isolated from the Reed house. Images of fire and ice are invoked in this scene where the protagonist sits alone at her casement window. She is cut off from the rest of her adoptive family and from the warmth of the fireplace. Bronte describes only glass panels “protecting, but not separating” (1,1, p.8) his heroine from the cold and windy November afternoon.

The ‘realms white as death’ depicted in Bewick’s illustrations history of british birds, which Jane is reading, serve to exemplify icy images and deepen the theme of coldness. These images are also significant because they foreshadow certain events much later in the story, including Jane’s solitary wanderings on the Yorkshire moors after her escape from Thornfield. The “desolate regions of dream space” (1, 1, p.8) amplify the protagonist’s own sense of desolation and her desire for an accepting home.

While the images of ice are used to symbolize Jane’s own inner sense of loneliness and desolation, fire is used figuratively to illustrate the heroine’s anger at her mistreatment. When she is locked in the red room, Jane notices how cold the room is because the fireplace is rarely used. She describes herself as cooling “little by little like a stone” (1, 2, p.16). When she wakes up in the nursery at the beginning of the next chapter, she tells the reader “a terrible red glow, shot through with thick black bars” (1, 3, p.18). Although it appears that this is just the nursery fire, when this section is viewed in conjunction with the previous scene, where the protagonist reflects on her situation inside the Reed house, it becomes apparent that this is an early instance of Bronte using footage of fire to portray the anger of his heroine.

In Gateshead, Jane’s anger culminates in her outburst against Mrs. Reed, before she is sent to Lowood School, and although she later learns to control her fiery nature, the theme of anger against injustice and its expression through the fire continues throughout the narrative, albeit at a more subdued level. When Jane works as a governess, an important section recounts her pacing the length of Thornfield’s third floor, reflecting on her restless disposition. In this scene, fiery imagery is associated with ambition, as Jane feels restricted by her current vocation.

The nature of Bronte’s descriptions of his heroine’s environment is often determined by Jane’s emotional states. A scene that aptly illustrates this quality occurs after Jane learns that Rochester is already married. Gazing out at the prospect of the summer solstice from his bedroom window in Thornfield, he recounts how “ice glazed the ripe apples, rain crushed the roses in the wind; in the fields of hay and corn lay a frozen shroud” (2 , 11, p.295). The heroine’s dejected state of mind is outwardly represented through Bronte’s winter symbolism. Descriptions of her are reminiscent of the snowy Arctic wastelands of Bewick’s book.

Various readings of Bronte’s novel, especially those that have adopted a feminist point of view, have identified a thematic connection between the heroine and Rochester’s mad wife. They see Bertha as the physical manifestation of Jane’s psychological rage. Bertha’s deranged violence is literally expressed with fire, both when she tries to set fire to Rochester’s bed and when she burns down Thornfield. This contrasts sharply with Jane, whose anger is expressed through figurative representations of fire.

As the narrative unfolds, it becomes clear that there is a juxtaposition of passion and reason. The images of fire and ice play a symbolic role in representing these qualities. Jane’s two potential suitors, Rochester and St. John, are juxtaposed in the qualities they embody. Rochester is closely related to fire, with his passionate and reckless nature, while St. John is compared to ice, with his cold reasoning disposition and emotional detachment.

Jane experiences intense mental turmoil regarding her feelings for Rochester after discovering that he is already married. When she agonizes over accepting her offer as her lover or leaving Thornfield, she describes how she felt as if “a fiery hand of iron gripped my insides. Terrible moment: full of fighting, darkness, burning!” (3, 1, p.315). At this stage in the story, Bronte implies that it would be inappropriate for Jane to accept Rochester’s current proposal. The narration suggests that Rochester must redeem his dissolute position if he and Jane are to marry. The physical damage he suffers through his attempts to save Bertha could be seen as a baptism of fire. Therefore, the final union of Jane and Rochester could be seen as a resolution of passion and reason.

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