“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.”(261)
Is it meant to be? In a previous blog I wrote about Jane and Mr. Rochester's relationship and stated that I disagree with it, but Jane Eyre followed her heart, and in chapter 23 we learned, that she accepted Mr. Rochester's proposal. Mr. Rochester proposed to her under a chest-nut tree, and soon after a storm irrupted. Was this a sign? Is Jane making a mistake? Also, the same tree that Mr. Rochester proposed to her under was struck by lightning in that storm. It seems to me that Jane has done something terribly wrong, and the storm showed us that. Soon after Jesus was crucified an enormous earthquake broke out, and then the Romans realized what they had done, was wrong. This is the exact same message that Charlotte Bronte is trying to portray to her readers. As her mouth spoke "yes" the sun was overclouded by the dark storm, and at that moment, the storm irrupted. We are not sure what Jane has done wrong, but something bad is sure to happen. Although the tree was struck, do we know if it was killed? So this doesn't mean that Mr. Rochester and Jane's relationship won't survive, it just means that it will be a lot harder than Jane anticipated.
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The tree being struck is just that Jane thinks is a omen, but it might not mean anything. If everything stays the way they are(the love between Mr. Rochester and Jane), then most likely nothing will happen. It seems that Jane is going to take this sign too seriously and try to avoid Mr. Rochester. If she does that, then the sign will only be a self-fulfilling prophesy.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. I had never thought about it like this. It might just be her superstitious beliefs but it might also mean something more. I personally hope their marriage works out, but if she gets bad thoughts in her mind she might make the opposite come true.
ReplyDeleteMichael, you do a good job of looking at different aspects of the symbol, which is quite obvious in the novel. Do we read such symbols in real live, or are these just literary devices? Is this superstition or a sign from above? How do we know?
ReplyDeleteWhere is your "something extra" for this entry? Also, I think you mean erupted (not irupted, used twice).