Do Signs Exist?

“Presentiments are strange things! and so are sympathies; and so are signs: and the three combined make one mystery that humanity has not found the key. I never laugh at presentiments in my life; because I have had strange ones of my own. Sympathies, I believe, exist: (for instance, between far-distant, long distant, long-absent, wholly estranged relatives; asserting, notwithstanding their alienation, the unity of source to which each traces his origin) whose workings baffle mortal comprehension. And signs, for aught we know, may be but the sympathies of Nature with man.” (223)

This is the opening paragraph of chapter 21. Jane is talking about the mystery of some things, such as signs, dreams, and future-telling, that can foretell the future. Jane believes that signs of the future do exist. Because of her past and the strange things that have happened to her, she agrees that everything is connected one way or another. Bessie told her that dreams have a meaning and when you dream about a young child, that is a sure sign that something bad is about to happen, either to one’s self or one’s kin. Humans haven’t proven that dreams or signs are sufficient enough to name their outcome as fact. Jane had been having a dream about a child for a week. She recalled the story that Bessie told her and was afraid that something bad was about to happen. Of course in the book, this is used to forebode that something bad is about to happen; Jane finds out that Mr. John dies and Miss. Reed is on the verge of dying. But what if signs do exist? What if there are some things out in the world that can predict danger or good? What if Déjà vu is a true sign of the future?

I believe that signs do exist. From a religious point of view, I believe that God is able to connect with us through signs that tell us about the future. Example: There is a party and there is going to be a lot of drinking. It is also a very hostile environment, due to rival gang members that were both invited. Your friends ask you to go with them, but you say no. You don’t know why you said no, because you really wanted to go to the party, but you immediately denied the request. Afterwards, on the news, you hear that a fire burned down the building where the party was located and everyone dies. I think that that is a sign from God telling you that you had no business going to the party and surrounding yourself with such people. Obviously I’m exaggerating the circumstances, but I believe that these are the type of things that may foretell about the future. Some signs, such as chickens predicting the coming of rain, are a bit unreliable because people can predict rain by looking at dark clouds in the sky. But I believe that there are signs that can serve as warnings for humans.

Here is a link to some common superstitions and signs that Martha Short has provided from her personal knowledge.