Jane Eyre Imagery
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- Category: English: Novels
- Date Submitted: 09/21/2011 07:34 AM
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Jane’s account of her visit to Mrs Reed (ch. 21)
Pattern of imagery
Mrs Reed continues as “icily” and “stony” towards Jane as ever, but tries later to explain to Jane her shock at her niece breaking out all “fire and violence”.
Mrs Reed’s “ice-cold and clammy hand”, her “eye of flint”, and “cold lid” are consistent with a corpse or the form of someone fast approaching death. They also establish a clear contrast of character and values between herself and Jane: Jane passionate, forgiving and with a lot of feeling; Mrs Reed hard, with no good emotions, revengeful.
These contrasting images do not automatically define fiery characters as good, and icy characters as bad. The terms “flint” and “stony” are also used in respect to Mr Rochester: “His whole face was colourless rock: his eye was both spark and flint.” (Ch 26.)
Neither passion nor cool reasoning is in itself totally desirable or undesirable: fire warms, but it can also burn; ice freezes, but it also soothes a fever.
* Question:
What symbolic implications and suggested patterns of similarity and contrast do you find in the names Burns, Rochester and Rivers?
Interesting analysis by David Lodge: “Fire and Eyre: Charlotte Brontë’s War of Earthly Elements.” He says Brontë uses a system of “objective correlatives” (a term coined by T.S. Eliot for concrete objects or situations in a literary work to arouse a specific emotion required by the author), both literally and metaphorically. Central to this system are the four elements – earth, water air and fire. So when the author refers to fire, its meaning is therefore defined by its position within this system of opposing forces: where the love between Rochester and Jane is expressed in fire imagery, images of earth and water are used in relation to those things that threaten it, separation or St John Rivers.
Extremes of heat and cold are potentially fatal to Jane, both literally and figuratively. Traces back to her experiences of overwhelming passion in...
Pattern of imagery
Mrs Reed continues as “icily” and “stony” towards Jane as ever, but tries later to explain to Jane her shock at her niece breaking out all “fire and violence”.
Mrs Reed’s “ice-cold and clammy hand”, her “eye of flint”, and “cold lid” are consistent with a corpse or the form of someone fast approaching death. They also establish a clear contrast of character and values between herself and Jane: Jane passionate, forgiving and with a lot of feeling; Mrs Reed hard, with no good emotions, revengeful.
These contrasting images do not automatically define fiery characters as good, and icy characters as bad. The terms “flint” and “stony” are also used in respect to Mr Rochester: “His whole face was colourless rock: his eye was both spark and flint.” (Ch 26.)
Neither passion nor cool reasoning is in itself totally desirable or undesirable: fire warms, but it can also burn; ice freezes, but it also soothes a fever.
* Question:
What symbolic implications and suggested patterns of similarity and contrast do you find in the names Burns, Rochester and Rivers?
Interesting analysis by David Lodge: “Fire and Eyre: Charlotte Brontë’s War of Earthly Elements.” He says Brontë uses a system of “objective correlatives” (a term coined by T.S. Eliot for concrete objects or situations in a literary work to arouse a specific emotion required by the author), both literally and metaphorically. Central to this system are the four elements – earth, water air and fire. So when the author refers to fire, its meaning is therefore defined by its position within this system of opposing forces: where the love between Rochester and Jane is expressed in fire imagery, images of earth and water are used in relation to those things that threaten it, separation or St John Rivers.
Extremes of heat and cold are potentially fatal to Jane, both literally and figuratively. Traces back to her experiences of overwhelming passion in...