Saul and David

"If Saul could have had you for his David, the evil spirit would have been exorcised without the aid of a harp." (446)

In I Samuel, of the Old Testament, Saul is possessed by an evil spirit, which can be rid of temporarily when David plays the harp. Mr.Rochester says that Jane is better than David when they are reunited. He means that Jane can comfort him completely and that he is dependent on her. She is not dependent on him, which is unusual for a husband and wife at that time. Jane does not marry Mr.Rochester to begin with, because by doing so she would have given up her self to love. One of the reasons she did not marry St. John was because she did not want to be completely under his control. When she is reunited with Mr.Rochester she is equal to him and has kept her self respect.

~Beecham, Robert. "Saul and David" Bible Studies For Growth in God.November 18, 2008. November 30, 2008.

Paradise Lost

"a cormorant, sat dark and large, with wings flecked with foam; its beak held a gold bracelet, set with gems" (127)

Jane shows her paintings that she made at Lowood to Mr.Rochester during their first discussion. The first painting is of a sea with a cormorant siting on a mast. This cormorant is from "Paradise Lost" by John Milton. The bird represents temptation and greed. Mr.Rochester is the cormorant because he is tempted by beauty and money. Jane resists the temptation to stay with Mr.Rochester and by this she resists the cormorant in her painting.

~"The Wilderness Classroom Organization" November 30, 2008.

Confined Women

"but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts as much as their brother do; they suffer from too rigid a constraint" (111)

In this passage Bronte rants about her belief that men and women are equal. She claims that women are constrained by domestic tasks and their homes. She believes they need to be allowed to venture and pursue accomplishments such as men do. Bertha Marshal is an example of the consequence constraint has on women. Bertha is kept up in the attic and in turn tries to kill her husband and Jane and successfully kills herself.

Religion

"the native of a Christian land, worse than many a little heathen who says its prayers to Brahma and kneels before Juggernaut " (66)

Brahma is a Hindu god that represents creation, preservation, and destruction. A Juggernaut is a Hindu temple. Mr. Brocklehurst announces that Jane is a heathen and not a Christian to Lowood. He means that if she does not worship God and chooses to take part in another religion such as Hinduism, that she is damned and shall go to Hell. He orders the girls to chop off their curls and be plain when his family wears their hair in curls and dress in fancy attire. Mr Brocklehurst represents the Evangelical movement and Bronte shows that she thinks it hypocritical by his character.

~Bulfinch,Thomas. "XXXVII. b. Hindu Mythology" Bartleby. November 30, 2008.

~Lal Nagar,Dr. Murari. "A collection of pictures of the God Brahma" Hindu Gods and Goddesses. November 30, 2008.

Eliezer and Rebecca

"it was Eliezer and Rebecca: the camels only were wanting (186)

Miss Ingram and Mr. Rochester were playing charades and the second scene seems to be a bridal scene like the first, but it is deceiving. The names Eliezer and Rebecca refer to Issac's story in the Genesis. In the Genesis Eliezer was sent by his master Abraham to find a wife for his son. He found Rebecca to marry Abraham's son, so Rebecca is not actually Eliezer's future wife as Miss Ingram is not going to marry Mr.Rochester. Mr.Rochester deceived Jane only to make her jealous in order for him to see if he can gain her love. The allusion to the Genesis foreshadows Mr.Rochester's intent.

~Ben-Chaim,Moshe. "Eliezer Testing Rebecca" Mesora. November 30, 2008.

Water and Fire

"I heaved them up, deluged the bed and its occupant, flew back to my own room, brought my own water-jug, baptized the bed afresh" (151)

Jane literally saves Mr.Rochester from the fire that his wife has set on him. The connotation of this event is that Jane is saving his heart from sin by baptising him with the water-jug. Due to his past occurrences with his wife Mr. Rochester begins to burn in the fire which represents Hell. Jane saves his heart from Hell and he follows her after this as if she were God. Jane leads him down a better path than the one he traveled before.

Mustard Seed

" 'Is this my mustard seed? This little sunny-faces girl with the dimpled cheek and rosy lips" (262)

Mr.Rochester greets Jane the morning after they express their love for one another. He calls her a mustard seed because mustard seeds symbolize faith. Mr. Rochester is faithful that Jane is his door to happiness. He has faith that if he is saved by Jane than God will relieve and forgive him for marrying Bertha Mason for money and beauty instead of love.

Moon

"it whispered in my heart-
'My daughter flee temptation!'
'Mother, I will.'

A white human form that resembled the moon approached Jane in a vision. It told her to flee from Mr.Rochester the night after she found out about Bertha Mason. Bronte often mentions the moon, which symbolizes femininity. The moon like women tells her to flee because Jane needs to maintain her pride and not let herself be controlled by the man she loves. Bronte uses the moon to show her feminist views.

Crushing Flowers

"he crushed the snowy heads of the closed flowers with his foot" (369)

St. John crushes flowers with his foot as he talks with Rosamond. This act foreshadows that he will resist beautiful Rosamond's temptation and go along with his missionary plans. The flower is beautiful, but not necessary, because it is a mere decoration. By stamping away the flower's life, he is killing the part of himself that finds comfort in empty decor and beauty, which he feels is a sin. He does not truly love Rosamond, for if he were to marry her their love would wilt away quickly like a flower.

Chestnut Tree

"The cloven halves were not broken from each other, for the firm base and strong roots kept them unsundered below; though community of vitality was destroyed -the sap could flow no more" (280)

This quote describes a chestnut tree that has been struck by lightning the eve of Jane and Mr. Rochester's wedding night. The tree is mentioned several times throughout "Jane Eyer" and it symbolizes Jane's relationship with Mr. Rochester. The tree is split into two pieces that are burnt, but still alive and together at the roots. This is a natural warning to Jane that her bond with Mr.Rocheseter is soon to be torn apart and it will scorch the two of them badly. This image foreshadows hope for their future together because the roots underground are still alive and well. At the end of the novel Mr.Rochester talks of a "budding woodbine"(452)covering "it's decay with freshness"(452). This means that their love is regrowing from the shadow and soil of the old stricken chestnut tree in Thornfield orchard.

Achan

" 'Thornfield Hall-this accursed place- this tent of Achan.' " (305)

Mr. Rochester alludes to Joshua 7., a Biblical Passage when describing Thornfield. In this passage Achan stole treasures against God's will and hid them in his tent. God had said that he would protect the Israelites if the treasures were not stolen, so the Israelite were angry at Achan and burned him. The treasure in Achan's tent is like the Mr.Rochester's wife in his attic. It was a sin to keep her their in confinement, concealed from Jane's knowledge. Mr. Rochester is admitting to his sins when he alludes to this event. Mr.Rochester does end up being set on fire by Bertha Mason, just like Achan.

~Brasseur,Courtney. "Charlotte's Web:" Biblical Passages in Jane Eyre. 2005. November 30, 2008.

Small Child

"I was burdened with the charge of a small child" (286)

Jane dreamt of a small child every day for a week before her wedding. Previously in the novel Jane spoke of Bessie Lee having a dream about a baby that was a premonition for the death of someone she knew. When Jane dreams of this small child it is a warning that tragedy is on its way. Bronte specifically made the warning for tragedy a child because it also symbolizes immaturity and innocence. After the dreams Jane is faced with the fact that the man she is in love with is already married and that he had lied to her about it. This event forced Jane to mature and stripped her of an innocent and unbruised mind.

Gulliver's Travels

"I begged her to fetch Gulliver's Travels from the library. This book I had again and again pursued with delight." (20)

Gulliver's Travels was a very popular book published in 1726 by Jonathan Swift. It is in in four parts and tells of Captain Lemuel Gulliver's travles across the sea to many remote places. Gulliver's travels are filled with misfortune, as he gets shipwrecked, abandoned, and attacked by his own crew. Jane is attracted to this novel because it is realistic and she wants to travel far from where she is, but then she is also disheartened by it because Gullliver's journey is so harsh. Her interest in this book foreshadows that she will endure adventures filled with hardships.

~Jaffe, Lee "The Contents" Jonathan Swift- Gulliver's travels. July 11 1999. November 30, 2008. ,http://www.jaffebros.com/lee/gulliver/contents.html>

Masculine Voice

" "I should kill you-I am killing you? Your words are such ought not to be used: violent, unfeminine and untrue.' " (420)

When Jane accuses St. John of killing her she means that he is controlling and confining her to the point that her pride is being diminished. Jane's character is distinct from the other women in "Jane Eyre" because she does not hide what she thinks and sticks up for herself when she believes she is being treated unjustly. Another example of this behavior is when she accuses her Aunt of being awful to her.

Vulcan

"Your eyes dwell on a Vulcan" (449)

The god of fire and craftsmanship was called Vulcan by the Romans. He was born ugly and deformed, so he was thrown from Olympus by his mother. Mr. Rochester's physical flaws emphasize the importance of soul over beauty. Mr.Rochester marries Bertha Mason for her beauty and money and found that he vexed her personality. Consequently he was robbed his hand, eye and love. Jane admits to Mr. Rochester that she does not think that Mr. Rochester is hansom, and that beauty does not matter to her. Once Jane says she will marry Mr.Rochester, he tries to make her into something she is not, by buying her expensive dresses and a fancy veil. Mr.Rochester's vision was taken away to scold him for over valuing beauty. Once he is blind he does not want to buy Jane beautiful dresses and realises that outer beauty does not matter. Bronte made the importance of soul over outer beauty a very prominent moral in "Jane Eyre".

~Reyer, Virginia"Hephaestus-Vulcan in Mythology" November 31, 2008.

The Pilgrim's Progress

"His is the sternness of the warrior GreatHeart, who guards his pilgrim convoy from the onslaught of Apollyon." (460)

Charlotte Bronte is alluding to "The Pilgrims Progress" by John Bunyan. The second part of this book's hero was GreatHeart, a servant to an interpreter on a pilgrimage to the Celestial City. He shows his bravery by protecting his pilgrims from monsters and Apollyon, who is a dragon like angle of Hell. Apollyon has the literal meaning of destroyer. The second part of "The Pilgrims Progress" has women go on the pilgrimage which coul be why Bronte chose to compare St. John to Greatheart. St. John is stern and ambitious like Greatheart, and therefore too controlling to have taken Jane with him on his pilgrimage, beacause Jane is the leader of her own pilgrimage to Ferndean. Jane is an indepedent that does not allow a man such as St. John decide her future and what is best for her.

~H. C. Selous or M. Paolo Priolo "Critian's Combat With Apollyon" Bedfordshire Libraries. 16th October 2006, November 30, 2008.

~Silvestra Mariniello, Paul A. Bové."Gendered Agents" Google Book Search. 1998.November 30, 2008.