Fire And Ice Essay, Research Paper
Charlotte Bronte, in writing the novel Jane Eyre uses a great deal of
symbolic imagery to convey various themes throughout the novel. The most
interesting type of imagery is Bronte’s use of fire and ice imagery to develop
the characters of the novel and show the struggle the character of Jane Eyre
goes through. Fire most commonly represents passions. While fire and
passion can provide warmth and comfort, they can also burn. Ice, or water,
symbolizes calm reason, devoid of passion. Ice and reason can provide calm
and soothing comfort, but they to can also burn. Throughout the novel, Jane
goes back and forth between these two temptations, trying to achieve the right
balance between the two, while still preserving her own self.
To develop the character of Jane, Bronte uses a great deal of fire
imagery. This is most evident at Gateshead. The novel opens with Jane
seating herself at the window-seat. She draws shut the red curtains around
her, effectively closing herself off. Jane sees through the window the cold and
gloomy outside world. The winter landscape represents society, cold and
emotionless. The curtains, representing Jane’s passionate nature, symbolize
how Jane’s fiery personality alienate her from society. A short while later,
John Reed, representing a male-dominated society, enters the room in search
of Jane. When John attempts to assert his dominance over Jane, she is unable
to control her passionate nature and retaliates. As punishment for giving in to
her fiery side, Jane is locked inside the red-room. Obviously, the color red is
of importance here. Red is the color of fire and heat, and represents passion
and fury. Jane describes the red room’s, “massive pillars of mahogany, hung
with curtains of deep red damask”(15), which represents her very passionate
nature. At the same time, Jane also describes the red-room as being very cold,
having an icy chill. The cold room, devoid of emotion symbolizes the way
society thinks people should behave. When Aunt Reed locks Jane in the
red-room, she is locking Jane’s fiery nature in with the cold emotion that
would temper Jane’s passionate side. This very effectively demonstrates
society’s response to a female who is not quiet and docile. It also shows that
strict social tenets severely limit Jane in her attempt to express her passion
and her self.
Ice, or water, imagery also plays an important role in defining Jane’s
character. One of the paintings that Jane shows to Rochester is an apt
example of this. The first painting that is described shows death by drowning.
Also, “the swollen sea”(128) in the painting gives the impression of
impending danger. Jane sees the water as a locking out of passion and
emotion. She believes that if she were to follow society by acting docile and
unemotional, it would destroy her true self, her passion and emotion. She
feels that if her passion were taken away, all that will be left is a cold,
unemotional corpse. Jane is intelligent though, and realizes the need to keep
calm and be reasonable, to exert some restraint on her passion.
The two facets of Jane’s character, fire and ice, have physical
manifestations that symbolize Jane’s struggle to bring these two elements into
balance. The first of these manifestations is the character of Rochester, who
embodies the fire in Jane’s spirit. With the introduction of Rochester a great
deal of fire imagery manifests. His mere arrival at Thornfield gives warmth
and life to the cold and silent hall. Jane describes the change in Thornfield
saying, “a warm glow suffused both it and the lower steps of the oak
staircase” and there was “a genial fire in the grate”(120). Rochester’s physical
appearance is described with imagery as well. Rochester is not only the fire
that warms the hall, but he is also the fire that beckons Jane’s passionate side.
Rochester represents the temptation of passion over reason. To achieve
maturity, Jane must exert some control over her emotions. Rochester is a
threat to this. By stirring her emotional desires, he is encouraging her to
unleash the fire that is within her. When Rochester says, “Come to the
fire”(125), and begins to question her at their first formal meeting, it…
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