Symbolism in Jane Eyre

Symbolism is a key underlying factor that contributes to the success of the novel Jane Eyre.

These symbols help convey Charlotte Bronte's meaning in the emotions and relationships of her main character, Jane.

• Red Room
• Bertha Mason
• Split Tree

The split tree:

"Before I left my bed in the morning, little Adele came running in to tell me that the great horse-chestnut at the bottom of the orchard had been struck by lightning in the night, and half of it split away." (276)

The tree, where Rochester and Jane had discussed their marriage, split, symbolizing the eventual split of their relationship. The tree is used to represent the growing love of the two characters but when lightning strikes there is not much that can be done to prevent a split.

Bertha Mason:

“She took my veil from its place: she held it up, gazed at it long, and then she threw it over her own head, and turned to the mirror. At that moment I saw the reflection of the visage and features quite distinctly in the dark oblong glass...fearful and ghastly..it was a savage face.” (305)

One of the most symbolic characters in Jane Eyre.

Bertha is Jane’s consciousness. She embodies Jane’s repressed fear and anger. Although Jane declares her love for Rochester, her dreams suggest that she also secretly fears being married to him, and even that she secretly wants to rage against the imprisonment that marriage could become for her.

Bertha burned Thornfield down. This happened while Jane was away. This was actually Jane and her anger at Rochester about how he treated her and her pay back, instead of simply leaving. She didn’t want to contain her anger and finally let it out through Bertha.

“Daylight began to forsake in the red-room; … my habitual mood of humiliation, self-doubt, forlorn depression, fell damp on the embers of my decaying ire.” (11, Jane)

The red represents death, along with intense emotions such as fear, anger and suffering that Jane experiences in her life all being bottled up.

Red:

Red, in art and literature, is often used to represent passion, frustration, and anger.

The Red Room:

Jane was locked in The Red Room by Aunt Reed whenever she was acting out. This means that she was “locked out” from the rest of the family and world. Therefore, she was forced to keep all of her anger, frustration, sadness, and any other type of emotion bottled up and kept in this room.

Symbolism in Jane Eyre

Throughout Jane’s life, she endures a tremendous amount of hardships and struggles. From when she is a child until the very end of the book, she has challenges and situations that she must overcome. Although Jane has learned to deal with difficult situations easily, she must channel her anger and rage somewhere. Because it is not apparent when Jane actually is angry or filled with rage, the author, Charlotte Bronte, shows these emotions through symbolism. Symbolism is used a lot in Jane Eyre to assist in telling the story.

In the book Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Jane’s true emotions are symbolized through the environment and people around her.

Hailee Fortuin

Jane Eyre:

1847

Symbol:

something that stands for or suggests something else.

Symbolism:

a movement of the late 19th century in French art and literature.