Symbols
1. The red-room symbolizes how society traps Jane by limiting her freedom due to her class, gender, and independent streak. The red-room can be viewed as a symbol of what Jane must overcome in her struggles to find freedom, happiness, and a sense of belonging. In the red-room, Jane’s position of exile and imprisonment first becomes clear. Although Jane is eventually freed from the room, she continues to be socially ostracized, financially trapped, and excluded from love; her sense of independence and her freedom of self-expression are constantly threatened
2. Symbol of emotion in the novel. Mr. Rochester has a fiery personality, while St. John is associated with ice and snow. St. John has an ice and snow character, symbolizing his dispassionate personality. Jane draws arctic scenes in her portfolio that symbolize death. She wants the vitality that fire brings, but also wants to keep in under control. Rochester and Jane have a fire and ice relationship, as well as St. John and Jane
3. The night before the wedding of Jane and Mr. Rochester there is a violent storm. A lightning strikes the large chestnut tree and splits it into two, charring its bark. However thought the top is broken the base of the tree is still held together by its roots underground. This tree symbolizes the upcoming marriage of Mr. Rochester and Jane. Although Jane runs away after finding out his wife, she does not completely sever ties with him; she still loves him very deeply, with a bond that cannot be broken. The storm signifies the rocky and uneven times that are coming shortly to divide in between them, but like the roots, Mr. Rochester and Jane's love will bring them back together eventually.
…
