The Meteorologist Metaphor
Jane Eyre is a novel filled with rich metaphors and foreshadowing that is as detailed as the characters that make up the pages. These metaphors are used to create imagery; but more importantly, Charlotte Bronte makes use of reoccurring metaphors that come together to form themes and symbolism. Think of the novel as a Jello mold. A Jello mold becomes much more interesting and tasty if it has random fruits scattered throughout trapped within the sweet gelatin. These fruits do for the Jello, what metaphors do for a novel. However, if there is one fruit that continuously is found within the Jello, say... bananas, than those bananas become more than just flavor enhancers. The bananas become a “theme” of the Jello, a “theme” that could be individually studied if the Jello was allowed to melt. Now I will attempt to melt the Jello that is Jane Eyre. In this case, weather is the bananas. Obviously I’m not as skilled at using metaphors as Charlotte Bronte.
In Jane Eyre, good weather is Bronte’s tool used to foreshadow positive events or moods. Similarly, poor weather is her tool used in setting the tone for negative events or moods. This technique is exercised throughout the entire novel, alerting the readers of the upcoming atmosphere. Jane’s mood is, to a degree, determined by the weather mentioned. For example, after Jane was publicly and falsely accused of being a liar by Mr. Brocklehurst, an upcoming positive event is predicted when Jane describes her surroundings:
Some heavy clouds swept from the sky by a rising wind, had left the moon bare; and her light streaming in through a window near, shone full both on us and on the approaching figure, which we at once recognize as Miss Temple. (79)
After this sentence was read, Miss Temple invited the two girls to her room and treated them with cake and tea, which brings Jane comfort from the public humiliation she had recently endured. Another example of this is Jane’s first morning at Thornfield. A positive mood is foreshadowed when Jane describes the weather as such:
The chamber looked such a bright little place to me as the sun shone in between the gay blue chintz window and carpeted floor, so unlike the bare planks and strained plaster of Lowood, that my spirit rose at the view. (105)
This not only foreshadows the positive mood of Jane, but also the experience she will have in the near future living in Thornfield. She will soon discover her husband to be Mr. Rochester and appreciate her newfound companions namely Mrs. Fairfax and Adele. These two are the first in Jane’s life to treat her as an equal. Bronte is consistent with this use of the weather.
On the other hand, poor weather in the novel is used to foreshadow negative events or moods. In the opening of the novel, when Jane is living in Gateshead, she is reading while an unpleasant visit of John Reed is foreshadowed: “After it offered a pale blank of mist and cloud: near, a scene of wet lawn and storm-beat shrub” (20). Later Jane confronts John Reed and is sent to the red room that she dreads. Further along in the novel, when Mr. Rochester proposes to Jane, the departing of the two is strongly foreshadowed with the phrase, “[the tree] had been struck by lighting... half of it split away” (248). Following this description, the truth of Mrs. Rochester is revealed and Jane forces herself to leave Mr. Rochester. This once again assures the accuracy of the meteorologist metaphor.
Charlotte Bronte is clever with her use of the weather to foreshadow upcoming moods and events. Although this strategy follows a strict rule, the scenes in the novel are not expected or plain. She gives the readers hints of what is to be expected, but these hints are only useful if the reader knows to look for them. The beauty of the novel is that Bronte makes such symbolism available should the reader be so inclined to deeply investigate her work. One could entertain him/herself for weeks searching through Jane Eyre for symbolism and foreshadowing. The use of weather is what I found to be the most interesting. Whether weather or just Jello, we can all enjoy the bananas of Jane Eyre.