Fire and Water Imagery in Jane Eyre
In Jane Eyre, the use of water and fire imagery is very much related to the character and/or mood of the protagonists (i.e. Jane and Rochester, and to a certain extent St. John Rivers) -- and it also serves to show Jane in a sort of intermediate position between the two men. However, it should also be noted that the characteristics attributed to fire and water have alternately positive and negative implications -- to cite an example among many, near the beginning of the novel, reference is made to the devastating effects of water ("ceaseless rain sweeping away wildly", "death-white realm" [i.e. of snow]), and fire is represented by a "terrible red glare"; later, fire is represented as being comforting in Miss Temple's room, and it is water that saves Rochester from the first fire. These literal associations with fire and water become increasingly symbolic, however, as the novel progresses, where the fire / water / (ice) imagery becomes a representation of the emotional and moral dialectic of the characters, and it also becomes increasingly evident that the positive and negative potentialities of fire and water also show the positive and negative potentialities of the characters whom they represent.
Rochester is very much associated with fire, with the "strange fire[s] in his look", and particularly with his "flaming and flashing eyes". By extension, so is everything associated with him (i.e. his first wife and Thornfield). Jane's first reaction to Thornfield itself, destined to fall victim to fire, is to be "dazzled" by the "double illumination of fire and candle", just as she is later to be "dazzled" by the fire of Rochester himself. On one level, this "fire" is the Romantic fir...
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Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1991
David Lodge, Fire and Eyre: Charlotte Brontë's War of Earthly Elements
Gates, Barbara Timm, ed. Critical Essays on Charlotte Bronte. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1990.
Jane Eyre. Dir. Franco Zeffirelli. Perf. William Hurt, Charlotte Gainsborough, and Anna Paquin. 1996
Kadish, Doris. The Literature of Images: Narrative Landscape from Julie to Jane Eyre. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 1986.
Lodge, Scott. "Fire and Eyre: Charlotte Bronte's War of Earthly Elements." The Brontes: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Ian Gregor. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1970. 110-36.
McLaughlin, M.B. "Past or Future Mindscapes: Pictures in Jane Eyre." Victorian Newsletter 41 (1972): 22-24.
Solomon, Eric. "Jane Eyre: Fire and Water." College English 25 (1964): 215-217.
Bronte uses symbolism through the use of colour to portray emotions and describe the setting. ' Burning with the light of a red jewel', this reflects the passion Jane and Rochester are constantly feeling. This is very effective because people have already associated different colours with different thoughts and meanings. Another example of this is, 'spread a solemn purple', this is used to describe the sunset
The symbol of the scarecrows and birds of fine song and feather is good because it helps demonstrate how the snobby aristocrats regard and treat the desolate poor. Dickens writes, “But the time was not to come yet; and every wind that blew over France shook the rags of the scarecrows in vain, for the birds, fine of song and feather took no warning.” (Dickens 23) From this statement, one learns that the scarecrows represent the impoverished, meager peasants. They are dying of want and hunger, but the rich do not help them. The fancy birds represent the frivolous nobility because most of them just go to parties, dress nicely, and live lavishly without a care in the world. The rich are oblvious to the poor and ...
Fire and Ice are the central motifs in Jane Eyre, which Bronte introduces to us to for the first time in this passage. Bronte expresses fire as an emblem of Jane's passion which is "alive, glancing, (and) devouring". Ice stiffens and restricts those it affects and throughout the novel is used in an effort to control this fire, and in this extract symbolises Mrs. Reed as she responds to Jane with coldness in an effort to control her. The result of these two opposites is an explosion of feelings, passion and power which allows the reader to see deeper into the character of Jane Eyre.
Modern American culture thrives on the ancient religions of the Greeks and Romans. The Hellenistic myths are kept alive today in the popular culture of the western world. Yet little is commonly known of the religions and myths of the ancient people just to the north of the Romans; the Celts (7). The Celtic region spanned the British Isles, and the north western portion of the European continent from prehistoric times until the Roman invasion in the first century where the region shrunk to Ireland and Scotland (7). Though many conquered cultures managed to survive through Roman rule, the Celts did not (5). This essay explores the limitations of our knowledge of the Celtic religion, and ancient Irish culture, it details how we know what we know about Celtic beliefs, discusses the evolution of Irish culture from the early third century, up until the sixteenth century, and looks at the specific myths that have managed to survive to present day.
Like the candle he is first associated with, Sydney is “kindled…into fire—a fire, however…quickening nothing, lighting nothing”. Whilst the motif of darkness remains as he “lights nothing”, an irrevocable change has occurred as the light now comes from inside Sydney rather than his surrounding as he becomes the personification of a “fire”. The oxymoron composed of the juxtaposition between being a “fire” and “lighting nothing” creates a dramatic irony as Sydney fails to see his developing usefulness that will ultimately bring salvation to the novel. The use of “fire”, an elemental, irrepressible force, able to gift life or death and cast light or shadow on an object is a common motif in Gothic and Romantic literature for uncontrollable emotion. Dickens will inverse this stereotype, signifying a distinct withdrawal from the typical Romantic hero often canonised in French Revolution literature, as Sydney will consciously sacrifice his emotions to become the redeeming character of the novel whilst still embodying a fire as he brings light to France, even if it reduces him to ashes and darkness
Gilbert, Sarah M. "Plain Jane’s Progress." Jane Eyre. Ed. Beth Newman. Boston: St. Martin’s, 1996. 475-501.
" We will see how "Jane Eyre" comments on all of these. Several natural themes run through the novel, one of which is the image of a stormy sea. After Jane saves Rochester's life, she gives us the following metaphor of their relationship: "Till morning dawned I was tossed on a buoyant but unquiet sea. . . I thought sometimes I saw beyond its wild waters a shore. . . now and then a freshening gale, wakened by hope, bore my spirit triumphantly towards the borne: but. . .
... Jews, communists, intellectuals and any other people they believed opposed the regime. Block wardens were placed in nearly every apartment to spy on normal people and report anything remotely suspicious to a Nazi official and thus this created confusion and mistrust in society as well as many broken societal bonds. This put the people of Germany into a panicked state and thus the chaotic people turned to the only thing the remained constant: the government.
Circuses portray animals as talented and well-behaved beings, but behind closed doors, the animals are placed in pain and misery to perform the demeaning acts. Animals suffer without the publics’ knowledge of such torture. Laws protect these animals but are not sturdy enough to stop the overall sadness of the animals.
The first thing we will look at is what drug abuse is. Drug abuse is a condition that results when a person ingests a substance, such as cocaine, or heroin, that can cause pleasure, but the continued use of which becomes compulsive and will start interfering with everyday life, such as school, work, parenting responsibilities, or relationships. Addicts are not generally aware that their own behavior is out of control and are usually oblivious to the problems that they are causing to themselves and to others.(“What is Addiction?” 2014) The longer the addiction and addictive behaviors persist, the worse the person will become, and the more dependent they will become on the drug. The reason it is so hard for an addict to change their ways is because the brain’s chemistry is altered from addiction.
In the beginning of Jane Eyre, Jane struggles against Bessie, the nurse at Gateshead Hall, and says, I resisted all the way: a new thing for me…"(Chapter 2). This sentence foreshadows what will be an important theme of the rest of the book, that of female independence or rebelliousness. Jane is here resisting her unfair punishment, but throughout the novel she expresses her opinions on the state of women. Tied to this theme is another of class and the resistance of the terms of one's class. Spiritual and supernatural themes can also be traced throughout the novel.
Lodge, Scott. "Fire and Eyre: Charlotte Bronte's War of Earthly Elements." The Brontes: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Ian Gregor. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1970. 110-36.
In the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, good weather is Bronte’s tool to foreshadow positive events or moods and poor weather is her tool for setting the tone for negative events or moods. This technique is exercised throughout the entire novel, alerting the readers of the upcoming atmosphere.
... all the heavy, dark, imagery is used to conjure up a sweltering passion between Jane and Mr. Rochester who later becomes her love and at the end of the novel, her husband. In reverse, the eyes of St. John are described as “large and blue” (Brontë 345), foiling Mr. Rochester. Later on in the novel, St. John’s demeanor is described as “cold”, several times, indicating the lack of passion that exists between him and Jane.
Although written during both the Victorian and Gothic time period, Jane Eyre draws upon many revolutionary influences that ultimately enabled it to become one of the most successful books of all time. Jane Eyre is merely a hybrid of a Victorian and Gothic novel, infusing a share of dark allusions with overzealous romanticism. The primitive cultures of the Victorian period reflect high ethical standards, an extreme respect for family life, and devotional qualities to God, all in which the novel portrays. Yet, to merely label Jane Eyre as a Victorian novel would be misleading. While the characteristics of a Gothic no...