Jane Eyre - Analysis of Nature

Eyre," and comments on both the human relationship with the outdoors

and human nature. The Oxford Reference Dictionary defines "nature" as

"1. the phenomena of the physical world as a whole . . . 2. a thing's

essential qualities; a person's or animal's innate character . . . 4.

vital force, functions, or needs." We will see how "Jane Eyre"

Several natural themes run through the novel, one of which is the

image of a stormy sea. After Jane saves Rochester's life, she gives us

the following metaphor of their relationship: "Till morning dawned I

was tossed on a buoyant but unquiet sea . . . I thought sometimes I

saw beyond its wild waters a shore . . . now and then a freshening

gale, wakened by hope, bore my spirit triumphantly towards the bourne:

but . . . a counteracting breeze blew off land, and continually drove

me back." The gale is all the forces that prevent Jane's union with

Rochester. Later, Brontė, whether it be intentional or not, conjures

up the image of a buoyant sea when Rochester says of Jane: "Your

habitual expression in those days, Jane, was . . . not buoyant." In

. . .
" Just like a

benevolent God, nature will accept Jane no matter what: "Nature seemed

to me benign and good; I thought she loved me, outcast as I was.

Having established some of the nature themes in "Jane Eyre," we

can now look at the natural cornerstone of the novel: the passage

between her flight from Thornfield and her acceptance into Morton. "

Nature and God have protected her from harm, providing meager shelter,

warding off bulls and hunters, and giving her enough sustenance in the

form of wild berries to keep her alive. Perhaps Brontė is telling us that this

idea of escape is no more than a fantasy-one cannot escape when one

must return for basic sustenance.

Making this claim raises the issue of the nature of St. John is more human than God, and thus he and his sisters

are able to help Jane. Brontė was surely not aware of the large number of species of

bird that practice polygamy. Though

Darwin didn't release "On the Origin of Species" until 1859, the seeds

were already being sown; indeed, there's speculation that Charles

Darwin's grandfather adumbrated some of Charles' theories. For Brontė, this posits the heath in "Jane Eyre" as

something dated, the past more than the future. But this isn't enough, and Jane is forced to seek sustenance

in the town.

Jane is seeking a return to the womb of mother nature: "I have no

relative but the universal mother, Nature: I will seek her

breast and ask repose.

They have bent what is established as human nature to help her. She reads of "death-white realms" and "'the solitary

rocks and promontories'" of sea-fowl. Her old self is

not strong enough, and must die. " What is important here

is that St.

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Approximate Word count = 1903
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

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