Essay: Jane Eyre

The final location Jane inhabits is Fearndean, a place we also find in Charlotte’s life under the name of Wycoller Hall. Fearndean is believed to have been pencilled after this location built by the Hartley family in the latter part of the 16th century.
On her way there, Jane describes the places she passes by as compared to a fairytale. The way to the manor-house passed through a forest she describes as ‘so thick and dark’ (Bront??, p. 425) and then the forest opens up and she can see a house: ‘presently I beheld a railing, then the house’scarce, by this dim light, distinguishable from the trees; so dank and green were its decaying walls. Entering a portal, fastened only by a latch, I stood amidst a space of enclosed ground, from which the wood swept away in a semicircle. There were no flowers, no garden-beds; only a broad gravel-walk girdling a grass-plat, and this set in the heavy frame of the forest. The house presented two pointed gables in its front; the windows were latticed and narrow: the front door was narrow too, one step led up to it.’
Leggatt and Parkes entitle Ferndean ‘a romantic retreat’ and further argue that since the house is hidden in the middle of the woods, Jane’s wishes for living closer to nature and ‘to lead a romantic life’ come true (Leggatt and Parkes, p. 184).
The appearance of the manor-house also provides Jane with information about Rochester. She presents the house’s walls as being decaying and she also inspects the interior. Klotz makes a comparison between Rocherster’s present house and his life at Thornfield Hall. While Jane gives a detailed description of Thornfield, concerning Fearndean she does not get into details. The poor description Jane gives to Fearndean reveals ‘Rochester’s solitary and miserable condition’ (Klotz, p. 19). We are also presented the parlour in the house and also Rochester: ‘This parlour looked gloomy: a neglected handful of fire burnt low in the grate; and, leaning over it, with his head supported against the high, old-fashioned mantelpiece, appeared the blind tenant of the room.’ (Bront??, p. 427). It is interesting to notice the fire that appears in this part of the novel. Jane notices ‘a neglected handful of fire burnt low in the grate’ (427). Carlton-Ford asserts that the image of the weak fire is an indication to Mr Rochester’s miserable state of mind (Carlton-Ford, p. 379).
The weather is also in accordance with Rocherster’s state: ‘sad sky, cold gale, and continued small penetrating rain.’ (Bront??, p. 425).
The final part of the novel presents Jane and Rochester in nature by a river with Jane telling her story from the moment they separated. If we were to considerate Solomon’s representation of fire and water, the ending gets even more exciting: ‘The fiery passion of Jane, and, later, Rochester, must be quenched by the cold waters of self-control’ and he continues by saying that ‘if their bodies burn, their minds must dampen the fires’ . Thus, even if the surrounding nature allows them to be passionate, the cool water restrains their fiery passion.
When Charlotte sets the scenes she frequently uses the imagery of ice and fire in order to indicate the character’s moods. She also provides the reader with information about the characters by describing the houses she inhabits for different periods of time, time which is not exactly mentioned. The presentation of the setting mediates the characters’ feelings or even gets to predict events in the near future. Thus, it is obvious that Charlotte makes use of the setting to add a deeper understanding of the story.