Bird Imagery in Jane Eyre

In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte uses many types of imagery to provide understanding of the characters and also to express reoccurring themes in the novel. Through bird imagery specifically, we are able to see Jane develop from a small, unhappy child into a mature and satisfied young woman. "The familiarity and transcendence of birds have given them a wider range of meaning and symbol in literature than any other animal. The resemblance of their activities to common patterns of human behavior makes them exceptionally suitable for anthropomorphic imagery that links man to the common forms of nature" (Lutwack xii). Through the use of birds such as doves and sparrows Bronte enables the audience to gain insight into the type of person that Jane is, caring, selfless, and independent. It also allows the reader to see what type of person Mr. Rochester is, strong and controlling, by comparing him to eagles and cormorants. The connotations involved with the specific birds mentioned in Jane Eyre allow the reader to become aware of the distinct traits the characters possess and certain reoccurring themes presented in the novel.

Bronte allows the reader to see the loneliness that Jane is experiencing at Gateshead Hall, by showing the relationship between her and birds. Dismissed from conversation with Mrs. Reed and the Reed children Jane retreats to a window seat and disappears into her own imaginative world with Thomas Bewick’s History of British Birds. She is concerned more with the illustrations than the text, she states "the letter-press I cared little for, generally speaking" (20; ch. 1). Through these illustrations, Jane is able to relate to the feeling of solitude expressed by the pictures. One drawing in particular that Jane observe...

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...round Europe. Rochester, who is likened to birds of prey, seems to fit the description of these birds well. Being ravenous and preying on others is something that Rochester continually does during the novel, and this helps exemplify his dark character. By utilizing these specific connotations that particular birds carry with them the reader is better able to comprehend the traits of Jane and Rochester.

Works Cited

Bewick, Thomas. History of British Birds. Newcastle: Beilby, 1797.

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Ed. Beth Newman. Boston: St. Martin’s, 1996.

Lutwack, Leonard. Birds in Literature. Gainesville: Up of Florida, 1994.

Renfroe, Alicia. "Prometheus Unplugged." 1996.

<http://prometheus.cc.emory.edu/panels/2D/A.Renfroe.html> (25 March 2011).

Rowland, Beryl. Birds With Human Souls, A Guide to Bird Symbolism. Knoxville: U of Tennessee P, 1978.