Fire and Ice in the Characters of Jane Eyre
Two of the main characters in Jane Eyre have a sense of fire and ice in their
personalities, which is displayed through their emotions and their actions. Although, Edward
Rochester seems cold and icy in the beginning of the book, his true trait of fire is reveled
throughout the book as we get to know him better. St. John Rivers, who isn't introduced
until the late chapters of the book, plays a important role of contrasting Rochester by way of
ice.
In the first chapters where Rochester was introduced, he seemed cold and icy both
in his personality and his appearance. The first time Jane meets Rochester, she notices his
coldness; "his full nostrils, denoting. I thought, choler; his grim mouth, chin, and jaw - yes, all
three were very grim and no mistake." (77) As we learn more about Rochester and see
him and his actions around Jane we come to find out that he has the warmness of fire within
himself. After Rochester proposes to Jane he is constantly around her, kissing and holding
her. On the night the terrible storm blew into town and past Thornfield hall, Rochester went
to Jane's room, more than once, to check on her well being. Rochester wanted Jane to
know how much he loved her, by buying her beautiful dresses and jewelry. He wanted to
spend every waking moment of the day pampering and loving Jane, and he did.
Rochester talked of all the places they would trav...
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...e personality.
Even though the personalities of Edward Rochester and St. John Rivers are
opposites, they each have something that makes them similar in a way. Throughout Jane
Eyre, we have seen these two characters change from showing one of their traits to
showing a completely different trait. Rochester acted cold and icy when he was first
introduced into the novel, and then his true personality of fire and warmness came out when
he met Jane. St. John acted warm, when he took Jane into his home, but as we got to
know him better we realized that his true trait is coldness. Thus in the novel, Jane Eyre,
Edward Rochester represents fire, and St. John Rivers represents ice.
To begin, fire imagery permeates Mr. Rochester and Jane Eyre’s relationship from beginning to end. Since the passionate love that Rochester and Jane first held was sinful, it was accompanied by images of fire and burning. This can possibly be an image of hell. For example, when Rochester was trying to convince Jane to stay with him despite the fact that he was married, he described what he expected her reaction to be, "I was prepared for the hot rain of tears…but I err…your heart has been weeping blood." This image of hot rain and weeping blood lends itself to an image of punishment. Similarly, when Jane showed signs of fatigue, he carried her in his arms up to her room, holding her tightly. As a result of his "sinful" touching, Jane’s senses were dulled, "all was cloudy to my glazed sight." Yet when he placed her in front of the fireplace to warm up, she felt revived, "I felt the reviving warmth of a fire" Here the fire cleansed Jane of her stupor. It awoke her conscience to what Rochester ...
The novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë is an early 19th-century English literature; a literary work that is evocative and riveting. It depicts acts of betrayal between family members, loved ones and self-inflicted betrayal. The acts of betrayals are done by Mrs. Reed, Mr. Rochester and Jane Eyre herself.
...ment and realization that he has lost Jane to another man in the following dialogue between them, “’I know where your heart turns, and to what it clings. The interest you cherish is lawless and unconsecrated. Long since you ought to have crushed it: now you should blush to allude to it. You think of Mr. Rochester?’ It was true. I confessed it by silence. ‘Are you going t seek Mr. Rochester?’ ‘I must find out what is become of him.’ ‘It remains for me, then,’ he said, ‘to remember you in my prayers; and to entreat God for you, in all earnestness, that you may not indeed become a castaway. I had thought I recognized in you one of the chose. But God sees not as man sees: His will be done.’” (Bronte 436) Though Jane Eyre’s stay at Moor House and Morton were crucial for her recovery to stability of her life, she yearned to be at Thornfield and wedded to Mr. Rochester.
By comparing St. John to a statue, the reader is forced to see St. John as someone who is cold and rigid. Jane sets up the perception that St.John is disconnected from human feelings. Jane also presents a biased view of men when she first meets Rochester, who later becomes her husband. Furthermore, Jane’s first impressions of Rochester are also negative. Upon first being introduced to Rochester, after he asked to see her, Jane comments, “But it appeared he was not in the mood to notice us, for he never lifted his head as we approached. . .
continue to fluctuate as she matures. Jane Eyre begins her life in the wrong place at the wrong
The book has many features which are found in Gothic novels such as romance. Romance plays a very important role as Mr. Rochester and Jane are both uncertain if their powerful love is being returned. Another common feature of the Gothic novel is lovers being parted; in the story of Jane Eyre Jane and Rochester are parted when Rochester leaves to visit Blanche Ingram and also when Jane goes to see her dying Aunt Reed. There is also tension between the true love and society. Mrs. Fairfax appears to disapprove of Jane's and Rochester's marriage because of their difference in social class.
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.
"Each picture told a story; mysterious often to my undeveloped understanding and imperfect feelings, yet ever profoundly interesting." --Jane Eyre (9)
One of the most interesting aspects of the story of Jane Eyre is Charlotte Bronte's ability to use metaphors in order to convey Jane's feelings towards the world around her, and her feelings for it. The most frequently appearing example of this is the image of ice. This image frequently appears in Jane's thoughts and is further able to convey her feelings towards people and situations to the reader. The references to ice are often the means by which Bronte is able to fully convey to the reader the inner workings of Jane's mind. The idea of ice and coldness is usually used to represent the forces that Jane must fight in order to achieve happiness and are often found in close relationship to Jane's emotional state of loneliness and despair.
Jane started out with no family, causing her to yearn for someone to accept her as their family, treating her with love and respect. At a young age, Jane lost her parents, leaving her with her aunt and cousins. They treated her poorly, acting as if she was incompetent and considering her more of a servant than a family member. Then, they sent her off to school, forgetting about her entirely. Eventually, Jane acquired the family she had always dreamt of. She never felt quite right with other people accepting her, that is, until Mr. Rochester came into her life. She did not feel as though she had found her true family until she had met him. "All these relics gave...Thornfield Hall the aspect of a home of the past: a shrine to memory.” (92). When they get married, her dreams are achieved, as she finally got the family she had always wanted.
Fire is the process in which materials ignite and combine with oxygen to give off heat, light, and flames. Likewise, water is composed of H20 molecules and acts as a counter to fire by possessing the ability to extinguish it. However, in literary terms, fire is mostly related to passion while water usually represents reason and calmness. Both elements are considered unique because of the ability to destroy and give life. Water can be directly related to life since it is an essential element for survival and makes up most of a human’s body. Similarly, fire is energy and provides warmth and comfort. In her novel Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte constantly uses fire and water imagery throughout the novel to describe people and settings. Images of water and ice are constantly seen during her stay at Lowood and Marsh End. Also, fire destroys Thornfield and provides warmth for Jane during the winter days at Gateshead. Throughout the novel, Jane is constantly traveling back and forth between fire and ice. By experiencing different societies, she tries to find the perfect balance betwe...
In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte uses various characters to represent aspects of reason and passion, thereby establishing a tension between the two. In fact, it could be argued that these various characters are really aspects of her central character, Jane. From this it could be argued that the tension between these two aspects really takes place only within her mind. Bronte is able to enact this tension through her characters and thus show dramatically the journey of a woman striving for balance within her character. As a prerequisite for marriage, Jane uses this determination in her relationships with Mr. Rochester and St. John.
He misleads her by supposedly courting a beautiful woman and then proposes to her even though they are in different classes and she is amazed but accepts. On the day of their marriage it is discovered that Mr. Rochester already has a crazy wife, Bertha Mason locked upstairs, which explains some strange goings on at Thornfield. Jane leaves Thornfield knowing she can't be with Mr. Rochester. She wanders about with nowhere to go and no money until she meets three relatives of hers whom she wasn't aware of and they take her in.
fact, it is this buoyancy of Jane's relationship with Rochester that keeps Jane afloat at her time of crisis in the heath: "Why do I struggle to retain a valueless life? Because I know, or believe, Mr. Rochester is living."
This detailed description shows Jane’s dedication to her decision to leave Thornfield, and allows the reader feel as if they are with her in the moment. The sequence conjures up strong imagery, which the reader is likely familiar with, such as the sight of early dawn. The locked gates suggest both a sense of confinement and security within Thornfield. Such a layering of small details and observations creates the sense of realism that is characteristic of classic Victorian realist literature.