Jane Eyre: Force of Nature

391 Words2 Pages
In Chapter 23 of Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte utilizes the force of nature as a symbol of the relationship between Jane and Rochester. In this episode, Jane and Rochester are walking in a garden when Rochester proclaims his feelings for Jane and proposes marriage to her under a chestnut tree; Jane, who can hardly grasp what has happened, undoubtedly accepts. A thunderous rainstorm ensues. At the end of the passage, Bronte depicts the same chestnut tree that has been split by lightning amidst a raging rainstorm. Bronte’s use of symbolism is manifest here. The split tree, which is a likely metaphor for the hardly perfect union of Jane and Rochester, provides insight to the couple’s relationship, one of deceit and untruthfulness on Rochester’s part. This symbol also implies that Rochester’s secrets will split up their marriage, just as lightning split the tree. Furthermore, the splitting of the tree foreshadows the separation that will soon befall Jane and Rochester. Nature plays an essential role in symbolically portraying the couple’s sentiments for each other and the significance of their bond. Rochester and Jane’s love for each other is passionate as fire, powerful as a strike of lightning, and raging as a rampant storm. But just as the bolt of lightning has divided the tree into two halves, Bronte implies that Rochester’s dishonesty will in due course leave the two lovers apart from each other. The tree symbolizes all the questions that fill Jane’s mind the night before her wedding. The tree is a dark and ominous sign, which is telling Jane that disaster is soon to come. Interestingly, while Jane is running in the rain toward Rochester, she sees that the afflicted chestnut tree has merely a hole that separates it into two and roots that hold it together. These strong roots that serve as the life of the tree are perhaps a symbol of the unbreakable love that Jane and
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