To Storm or Fire the World Must Fall:
An Analysis of "Jane Eyre"
Jane Eyre is a novel that explores the development of the titular protagonist through a near-autobiographical chronicle of suffering, isolation, emotion, and bitter internal conflict. More specifically, she applies some of the novel's central themes- namely, the battle between sense and passion- to emphasize the progression of the character, while such motifs as weather, fire, and ice help to depict the expression of these themes within the characters themselves, with said expression being centered largely on Jane. Indeed, the battle of sense and passion is truly focused entirely on Jane, with a scattering of other integral characters (namely Edward Rochester and St. John Rivers) representing one quality or the other in isolation. The weather seems only to further her purpose, mirroring her emotional state for the duration of the story. Thus, the themes and motifs of the novel all serve to illustrate Jane's development.
To commence, the conflict between sense and passion is an integral facet of Jane's maturation. As literary critic Nicholas Johnson states so eloquently, "Passion and reason, their opposition and eventual reconciliation, serve as constant themes throughout the book" (Johnson). The conflict is present from the very beginning of the novel, when Jane defies common sense and acts instead on her sense of passionate injustice, striking her cousin John Reed. She is constantly torn between what her heart wants and what her head tells her is right. For example, when she discovers the secret about Bertha Mason, she is distraught at the idea of leaving Rochester, even though that course of action would be the most reasonable. She even says, "But the answer my mind gave- "leave Thornfield at once"- was so prompt, so dread, that I stopped my ears" (Bronte 297). However, despite the pain present in such a course, Jane is willing to sacrifice the happiness of her passionate love for the sake of her sanity. She is entirely unwilling to let passion rule her actions, as she believes it to be an expression of madness. She takes it for an agent of enslavement, and is afraid to submit to its tempestuous power at the risk of 'losing herself' (Johnson).
Nevertheless, it is prudent to note that Jane later feels equally stifled by an 'excess' of cold rationality. She feels at risk of losing herself again, simply because a life governed by 'icy reason and self control' will kill her, in her mind (Johnson). This is evident in her relationship with St. John Rivers; when he proposes to her under those conditions, she says, "The suggestion was sensible, and yet I could not force myself to act on it" (Bronte 475). Such a thought solidifies the conflict between these two poles of her nature: she is afraid of the dangers of untamed passion, but she feels equally trapped and crushed by stark rationality. Critic Ralph Bellas concurs with such a theory, stating that "if refusing to establish strong emotional ties destines one to destruction, accepting the full burden of love is equally perilous" (Bellas).
This battle is exacerbated by Jane's connections to Rochester and St. John, who represent the opposing manifestations of passion and reason that are present within Jane herself. Rochester, in his overwhelming love for Jane, his violent, mutable temper, his reckless spontaneity (in his proposal), his mad needs, and his disregard for propriety, represents the side of Jane that embodies such passion and abandon. He epitomizes the attractions and dangers of such a lifestyle that is free of restraint, continence, and biding morals. He is perfectly willing to live in sin, and is just as eager to drag Jane right along with him.
In stark contrast to Rochester's vehemence, St. John is as cold as ice. His passions are firmly shackled by his fervent commitment to religious isolation. He distances himself from all expressions of emotional ardor: he shuns the advances of Rosamond Oliver (the woman he loves), does not deign to admit to any of his feelings, and even renounces love entirely, in his prosaic proposal to Jane. Indeed, he minces no words in relating this lack of torridity to Jane, telling her, "Reason, and not feeling, is my guide" (Bronte 375). Therefore, just as Rochester embodies Jane's passionate side, and epitomizes the dangers and attractions of ardent love and sin, St. John represents the side of Jane that is detached, cool, and rigidly moral. Interestingly, he is, essentially, what Jane wishes to become (someone guided by reason, not passion), in an extreme sense. However, the dangers inherent in this pure state of distance are just as grave as those of unbridled love: such pious asceticism leads to restless dissatisfaction, unhappiness, eventual death, and near-total isolation from the beauty of emotional connection. In trying to impose such a regimented sequestration on Jane, St. John is willing to sacrifice her earthly happiness and pleasure for the sake of her immortal soul, which he believes to be 'endangered' by her reluctance to abandon passion (Bellas).
Bronte's continued references to fire and ice help to symbolize the warring natures of passion and reason; 'ice may be hewn into any form, where it will remain, fixed and perfect as long as it stays frozen,' while fire 'can be hard to control' (Johnson). In accordance with these observations, it is prudent to note the frequency with which fire is associated with Rochester; he is almost killed by conflagration on several occasions, and is eventually maimed and crippled in a fire. This destructive element is also associated with Rochester's mad wife, Bertha Mason, who easily represents passion that has gone too far, essentially. In contrast, St. John can be directly linked to ice, with his cold rationality, unflappable temper, rigidity ('he is inexorable as death' (Bronte 357)), and pale, perfect appearance. Both fire and ice are palpably annihilatory under the proper conditions, as are passion and sense, as Jane's conflicted emotions and situations display. Thus, the metaphors easily parallel the opposition of those two states while remaining concentrated in the two characters that embody said states within the narrator.
In addition, Jane's own rigid morality often compounds her internal discordance between sensible integrity and temerarious abandon. This adherence to rectitude is very notable in her interactions with Rochester. When he encourages her to commit adultery by staying with him (after she discovers the truth about Bertha), she expresses a desire to keep her soul and life free of sin; she is determined to uphold 'the law given by God; sanctioned by man', and says, in defense of her decision to leave Thornfield, that "Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigour; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be" (Bronte 316). This statement reveals an intrinsic sense of propriety, integrity, and morality that prevents her from submitting wholly to a such passionate existence as Rochester offers, due to her belief in the sinful nature of such expressions of intemperate emotion and desire. The fact that Rochester effectively lacks such a moral compass also serves as a powerful deterrent; Jane is leery of surrendering to his yearnings when they violate her principles so deeply.
Given the strength of her virtue, it therefore stands to reason that, when St. John pressures Jane to follow in his footsteps as a 'helpmeet' and a missionary's wife, the particular path appeals to Jane's moral sensibilities...at first. However, the idea of a loveless marriage, and a dutiful obligation to a dispassionate, prosaic union fills her with dread, and she expresses this horror quite candidly, saying, "The suggestion was sensible, and yet I could not force myself to act on it. I so dreaded reply that would crush me with despair" (Bronte 425). This aversion clearly displays the balance between reason and passion that Jane is so desperately seeking, but is unable to find. She cannot reconcile herself to the thought that rationality in an isolated state could prove to be just as deleterious to her mind and soul as passion in that same state.
To reprise once more, such themes as the conflict between sense and passion have been revealed and nurtured throughout the novel, ostensibly to illuminate the growth and transfiguration that Jane undergoes. Interestingly, these changes are clearly seen through Jane's constant attention to and relationship with the weather. The novel's weather serves, as the reader discovers, a pellucid purpose: to mirror and display Jane's mental and emotional states, thus consolidating the reader's understanding of the novel's themes and conflicts.
Bronte uses cold, raw, dreary weather to symbolize cold, raw, and dreary circumstance. For instance, as Jane is leaving Gateshead (alone), she says, "The moon was set, and it was very dark; Bessie carried a lantern, whose light glanced on wet steps and gravel sodden by a recent thaw. Raw and chill was the winter morning: my teeth chattered as I hastened down the drive" (Bronte 37-38). Then, too, are Thornfield, Lowood, and Moor House often subjected to gloom, cold, and tempest. Images of such bleak conditions are present in these locations because Jane's circumstances match them: she is lonely, frigid, and saturnine. She also experiences turbulent emotional conflicts that are mirrored in the storms of her surroundings.
Just as Jane's circumstances change, so too does the novel's weather undergo a transformation: the days become bright and gay after Jane and Rochester confess their love for each other. Indeed, she says, in response to this change, "Nature must be gladsome when I was so happy" (Bronte 256). This change, again, mirrors her emotional state. The weather in the story tended thus far toward the dreary and damp, to represent her chill reserve and sepulchritude. Now, such a momentous anachronism as happiness has caused an equally out-of-place change in the weather: the cold and gloom have given way to lively brilliance, elevating the reader's understanding of Jane's buoyant mood. Interestingly enough, the bright sun seems to 'stick around' for the duration of her period of happiness, only to dissolve into rain and storms once it is quelled.
The motif of weather, then, can easily be connected to the theme of passion versus sense and in the differences in meteorological happenstance that are present in juxtaposition to the conflict of the two paths. The weather tends to mirror whichever sense Jane is struggling with at a given moment. In moments of great emotional tension and heat, such as her admittance of love for Rochester, the aftermath of the proposal, and her flight from Thornfield, the weather proves equally turbulent: it is uncharacteristically sunny in the first scenario and stormy in the latter two. Conversely, her confrontations with stark reason- namely, St. John's proposal- are accompanied by placid, cold climes. The weather, then, mirrors the mood accompanying the conflicts of passion (happiness or tormented rage) and sense (detached, frigid calm). These contrasts serve to highlight the immense disparity between the two states, emphasizing their polar impacts.
To recapitulate in finality, the major theme of sense versus passion is present throughout the novel, and can be observed through the weather's mirroring of Jane's emotional states and circumstances. The conflict between sense and passion manifests itself in Jane's attraction to and fear of its characterial embodiments: Rochester and St. John. She refuses to be swayed to follow one path or the other; she is determined to make the final choice of her own volition. The weather is constantly indicative of Jane's moods, and accompanies her internal conflicts with violent tempest and alienates her at the same time. These central ideas all aid and abet the novel's ultimate purpose: to illustrate Jane's development and maturation. Her enduring conflict between sense and passion dominates her character and psyche, reflecting her uncertainty and fear of being controlled. Her consummate decision- to follow her heart and remain with Rochester- displays the wisdom that she has accumulated through her experiences, despite its lacking 'realistic resolution of tension between Jane's reasoning and passionate natures' (Johnson). Still, the decision was wholly hers, demonstrating the increase in strength and maturity that she has achieved. Thus, Jane is, by the novel's end, fully in control of her own destiny, and is alone no longer.
Works Cited:
Bellas, Ralph A. "Chapter 4: Jane Eyre." Charlotte Bronte. Margaret Howard Blom.
Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1977. Twayne's English Authors Series 203.
Literature Resource Center. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.
Johnson, Nicholas. "The Tension between Reason and Passion in Jane Eyre." Jane Eyre
and Villette, a selection of critical essays. Miriam Allott, ed. London: Macmillan
Press, 1973. The Victorian Web. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.