Fire and Water Imagery in Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre"

667 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Art of Characterization of Charlotte Bronte with reference to Jane Eyre

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...

Show More
Related

  • The Glass Castle Research Paper

    1279 Words  | 3 Pages

    To begin with, fire is one of the symbols that represents life. Initially, Jeannette Walls was with her

    Read More

  • The Meaning of Fire in Fahrenheit 451by Ray Bradbury

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bradbury first depicted fire as a hurtful force through Montag, a fireman, who burn books. With the converted mentality of his culture, “it was [Montag’s] pleasure to burn. It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed” (3). Montag’s culture sees burning as an enjoyment; however, the fire portrayed here demonstrates the destruction of knowledge and personality. While Montag’s profession brings him joy he does not understand that burning is the most permanent form of destruction. He is oblivious to his governments’ strong desire to eliminate the ideas and knowledge that books hold. In this society, where ignorance is bliss and their phobia of unhappiness controls all aspects of life, people believe that their destructive fire “is bright and…clean”, as it is used as a means to keep themselves oblivious and happy (60). In addition, Bradbury establishes the difference in the symbolisms of fire by naming part one of his novel “The Hearth and the Salamander”. The hearth is the fireplace of the home and is the most positive image of fire. This fire contributes warmth and restores relationships between people. The salamander, the symbol of the firemen, and who personify fire’s destruction is contrasted with the hearth, which represents restoration.

    Read More

  • Supernatural and Natural Imagery in Jane Eyre

    2129 Words  | 5 Pages

    Supernatural values and natural imagery are a major theme throughout Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre. This essay will examine the representation of natural and supernatural values that play an integral role in developing the story in Jane Eyre.

    Read More

  • Symbols of Fire and Ice in Jane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte

    669 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Impact of Tone in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

    783 Words  | 2 Pages

    The tone of Jane Eyre is direct, perhaps even blunt. There is no prissy little-girl sensibility, but a startlingly independent, even skeptical perspective. At the age of 10, the orphan Jane already sees through the hypocrisy of her self-righteous Christian elders. She tells her bullying Aunt Reed, "People think you a good woman, but you are bad; hard-hearted. You are deceitful!" and "I am glad you are no relative of mine; I will never call you aunt again so long as I live. I will never come to see you when I am grown up; and if any one asks me how I liked you, and how you treated me, I will say that the very thought of you makes me sick." (In fact, when her aunt is elderly and dying, Jane does return to visit her, and forgives her. But that's far in the future.) With the logic of a mature philosopher, in fact rather like Friedrich Nietzsche to come, Jane protests the basic admonitions of Christianity as a schoolgirl: "I must resist those who ... persist in disliking me; I must resist those who punish me unjustly. It is as natural as that I should love those who show me affection, or submit to punishment when I feel that it is deserved." And this bold declaration, which would have struck readers of 1847 (in fact, of 1947) as radical and "infeminine":

    Read More

  • Techniques Bronte Uses to Evoke Sympathy from the Reader in Jane Eyre

    869 Words  | 2 Pages

    typical female child of her time. She was told to do as she was told

    Read More

  • Passion in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

    1216 Words  | 3 Pages

    Passion in Jane Eyre & nbsp; It is believed that we are born with a predestined personality. Our spiritual individuality is just as much a product of our genetic makeup. as the color of our skin or our eyes.  With our soul firmly planted, we can then build upon this basis as we are educated in the world. The social climate and cultural atmosphere shape our personalities, however, it is the people in our lives who have the greatest influence. Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre  reveals this idea through the development of the protagonist.

    Read More

  • Jane Eyre Through Bronte's Eyes

    3631 Words  | 8 Pages

    Analyse the methods Charlotte Brontë uses to make the reader empathise with Jane Eyre in the opening chapters. Reflect on how the novel portrays Victorian ideology and relate your analysis to the novel’s literary content.

    Read More

  • Fire Exists Throughou-Tment And Survival In Frankenstein

    1085 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although fire is linked to human life, as it is essential for survival, not only its use for food, security and warmth, particularly in the extreme cold weather but also it could harm and smolder entirely. In Mary Shelley 's novel, “Frankenstein,” fire exists

    Read More

  • Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre

    1754 Words  | 4 Pages

    Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre chronicles the growth of her titular character from girlhood to maturity, focusing on her journey from dependence on negative authority figures to both monetary and psychological independence, from confusion to a clear understanding of self, and from inequality to equality with those to whom she was formerly subject. Originally dependent on her Aunt Reed, Mr. Brocklehurst, and Mr. Rochester, she gains independence through her inheritance and teaching positions. Over the course of the novel, she awakens towards self-understanding, resulting in contentment and eventual happiness. She also achieves equality with the important masculine figures in her life, such as St. John Rivers and Mr. Rochester, gaining self-fulfillment as an independent, fully developed equal.

    Read More

  • Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

    1347 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are many stages throughout the book in which the reader can feel sympathy for Jane Eyre; these include when she is locked in the Red Room, when Helen Burns dies at Lowood, and when she and Mr. Rochester are married the first time.

    Read More

  • The Themes of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Comparing Jane Eyre and Yellow Wallpaper

    1645 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Use of Weather in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

    557 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Morals And Psychological Aspects in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

    375 Words  | 1 Pages

    her off to school.  She tells him that he should "keep a strict eye on her,

    Read More

More about Fire and Water Imagery in Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre"

Open Document