Examine
how Bronte uses animal imagery in Jane Eyre to convey a sense of character.
Show how your understanding of Jane Eyre has been illuminated by your reading
of Wide Sargasso Sea
In the novel ‘Jane Eyre’
written by Charlotte Bronte, there is evident use of bird imagery to convey a
sense of Jane and Rochester’s characters. The side text of this, ‘Wide Sargasso
Sea’ by Jean Rhys, builds on the use of animal imagery, particularly in Rhys’s
description of animals which allude to Antoinette, such as Coco the parrot who
“grew very bad tempered” after Mr Mason “clipped his wings”. Rochester does the
same to Antoinette in this novel by taking away her identity and it becomes
clear that she succumbs to her own “bad temper” at Rochester’s similar
treatment; she is even reduced to the description “you poor creature” by Grace
Poole after her delusional attack on her brother, of which she has no
recollection. However, she takes back control over her own life and destiny at
the end of the story when she dreams that she jumps from the building and the
“wind caught my hair and it streamed out like wings”. Rhys uses this simile to
reveal that Rochester can’t trap her in the end.
Most of the animal imagery in
‘Jane Eyre’ is focused on: the feeling and the actuality of being genuinely
‘trapped’ or ‘caged’. Jane’s character is mostly portrayed through the use of
bird imagery, which depicts her as being a very caring and independent woman.
At the start of the novel, it is clear by the fact that Jane, being excluded
from the conversation with the Reeds, which leads her to wonder off to a window
seat to read ‘Bewick’s History of British Birds’, feels very lonely indeed. She
is not accepted in any way, and therefore she uses the illustrations in this
book to escape from the ‘cage’, which is for her Gateshead.
Before we are introduced to Jane’s experiences at Lowood School, there is significant bird imagery. “My vacant attention soon found livelier attraction in the spectacle of a little hungry robin, which came and chirruped on the twigs of the leafless cherry-tree…” This imagery could possibly act as a foreshadowing on the poor nutrition which Jane will have to endure whilst at Lowood. However it also shows that Jane is indeed a very loving and generous child, most unlike what Mrs Reed makes her out to be. It is at this moment which Jane very much wants her freedom- “…desire for liberty is evident when Jane is at Lowood discussing the need for a routine other than the one she has existed in for the past eight years. Jane declares, ‘I desired liberty; for liberty I gasped; for liberty I uttered a prayer’”. ¹
The next use of evident bird
imagery is between Rochester and Jane. At the start of Jane’s stay at Thornfield,
he makes an observation about her having “…at intervals, the glance of a
curious sort of bird through the close-set bars of a cage: a vivid, restless,
resolute captive is there; were it but free, it would soar cloud-high”
Rochester is trying to understand what Jane’s’ personality really is like since
she is always holding back on herself due to the discipline in Lowood.
However, Rochester soon finds
out that “Whatever I do with its cage, I cannot get at it, the savage,
beautiful creature! If I tear, if I rend the slight prison, my outrage will
only let the captive loose”. This confession of his love for her, and the use
of words such as ‘savage’, ‘tear’ and ‘outrage’ are only further proof of his
devotion and passionate love for Jane, even though they also show that he is
indeed aggressive and very much possessive over her. It is the fact that she
can actually resist this outburst of emotion from his part that shows that she
is so much more in control of herself than he is of him.
He understands that if he so much as tries to ‘capture’ Jane that she will eventually ‘fly’ away from him (just as she does when he tries to marry her). Her spirits are not those which Bertha has accepted in her life- to be captured without any dignity. Jane is not willing to be captured by Rochester, even though it is very clear to the reader that she would very much stay with him because of her love for him. “Jane lives as a voluntary ‘captive’ at Thornfield by being a governess, but also maintains her freedom from Rochester.” ²
He understands that if he so much as tries to ‘capture’ Jane that she will eventually ‘fly’ away from him (just as she does when he tries to marry her). Her spirits are not those which Bertha has accepted in her life- to be captured without any dignity. Jane is not willing to be captured by Rochester, even though it is very clear to the reader that she would very much stay with him because of her love for him. “Jane lives as a voluntary ‘captive’ at Thornfield by being a governess, but also maintains her freedom from Rochester.” ²
A good link to this point is
that even though she runs away from Rochester, she still chooses to come back
to him; she is no longer a ‘prisoner’ due to the sudden appearance of her
fortune and she feels like she can go back to Thornfield without being looked
down on as a poor girl and prisoner to his wishes.
Even though we know that her
love for Rochester is indeed true and very much alive, the moment which she
finds out of the existence of Bertha, she flees from Thornfield Hall to the
Rivers family, where she eventually discovers her true self.
For a long time after finding out Rochester’s ‘dark secret’, she feels unable to do anything because of the pain that has been automatically caused by running away from him, and the love which they both felt for one another.
For a long time after finding out Rochester’s ‘dark secret’, she feels unable to do anything because of the pain that has been automatically caused by running away from him, and the love which they both felt for one another.
“Impotent as a bird with both
wings broken” describes how much pain she actually is going through by being
far from him. This imagery of a flightless bird is a very good link between
both novels. In ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’ Antoinette has a parrot called Coco. The
drastic fire which is started by the villagers’ ends up killing Coco. “He made
an effort to fly down but his clipped wings failed him and he fell screeching.
He was all on fire” This horrible and gruesome visual imagery really shows how
bad the little creature suffered- this imagery of Coco falling to his death
within the fire can also be a foreshadowing of Bertha’s own death. Adding on to
this pain, comes the fact that people used to believe that it was very unlucky
to kill a parrot, and therefore this only adds to the families poor reputation.
This agony and pain at not being able to fly, is exactly what Jane feels at
being separated from Rochester.
After the return of Jane to
Thornfield, the reader realizes how much Rochester is now going to have to
depend on her rather than the other way round like it was at the start of the
novel. With her new-found independence, follows the responsibility and the
willingness of helping him get better and be able to live just as he used to.
Unlike her, he finds it hard to admit out loud that he is going to need her
more than ever before, “The water stood in my eyes to hear his avowal of
dependence: just as if a royal eagle chained to a perch, should be forced to
entreat a sparrow to become its purveyor”.
Describing him as a royal eagle not only shows his
grandeur but also acts as a clear reminder of the separation between these two classes;
whilst he has always been wealthy from birth, Jane has seemed to evolve
throughout the novel from ‘robin’, ‘dove’ and now ‘sparrow’. The word ‘chained’
is very important in this imagery, showing that he is indeed unable to do many
things by himself since becoming blind by the fire at Thornfield Hall.
Jane’s likeness to a ‘sparrow’ sheds light on her true nature; sparrows are known for their boldness and often are a symbol for humanity, this is evident by her brave attitude on leaving Thornfield without any money or anything to eat, and then at her courage at coming back and deciding to help him.
Jane’s likeness to a ‘sparrow’ sheds light on her true nature; sparrows are known for their boldness and often are a symbol for humanity, this is evident by her brave attitude on leaving Thornfield without any money or anything to eat, and then at her courage at coming back and deciding to help him.
This description of Rochester
as a ‘royal eagle chained to a perch’ can also be linked to Bertha’s
description of being a ‘beast’ caged in Thornfield. Whilst he seems to have
been ‘chained’ accidentally due to his blindness, he is chained as if he was
something precious; Bertha on the contrary, has been caged for everyone’s
safety. Rochester does seem to be untroubled by having caged Bertha, but he
feels compelled to allow Jane to be free, even though he would rather have her
for himself. This freedom granted to Jane can be linked to the scene of a moth
being burnt by a candle in ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’. Rochester is extremely careful
with this “beautiful creature” and after having admired and awed at the
“intricate pattern on the wings” it allows it to fly away instead of trapping it;
unlike how he traps Bertha, even though she is described as being “the boast of
Spanish Town”.
It is of no surprise that the most prevalent use imagery by Bronte is connected to birds. Through the use of bird imagery she is able to portray very exactly and in extreme detail the personalities and characteristics of each of her main characters. By describing Rochester as a royal eagle she does not only evoke a visual image of his majestic air, but also of the fact that he is considered to be a predator bird which adds to his dark character.
Rochester at one point addresses Jane as a dove which according to Bewick is “…a beautiful bird, willing to be an attendant to man and dependent on his bounty.” ³ He also says that doves ‘live as rather voluntary captives, or transient guests. Than as permanent inhabitants’ ”. ⁴ On the other hand, likening Jane to a sparrow not only shows her as a brave and independent person, but it is also said that they are very crafty and are able to know when someone is trying to trap them; however in many cases Jane is entrapped without noticing.
Bibliography
Tricia Mason “Bertha' in Charlotte Bronte’s 'Jane Eyre' and
Jean Rhys’s 'Wide Sargasso Sea' - Comparison and Analysis” http://trish-m.hubpages.com/hub/Bertha-in-Jane-Eyre-and-Wide-Sargasso-Sea
The Ecology
of Jane Eyre http://www.collegetermpapers.com/TermPapers/Book_Reports/The_Ecology_of_Jane_Eyre.shtml
Richard Juplit
“The
Personification of Oppression through a Doppelgänger Double” http://public.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/eyre.doppelganger.html
