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Kaitlin Stanfield
Ms. Winter
British Literature, Period 2
10 May 2016
A Prison of Passion
Passion can be the most incredible emotion someone can feel in their life. It consumes
one with a burning intensity that refuses to be put out. This is the case in Charlotte Bronts
novel, Jane Eyre. In the story, an orphaned Jane Eyre reflects on her life as she talks about her
childhood with her aunt, the Lowood Charity school, and, finally, her stay at Thornfield Hall,
where she meets and falls in love with the brooding Mr. Rochester. Through all of this, the motifs
of fire and red, and the passion they resemble, are symbolic of the oppression women faced
during the Victorian era. The most prominent displays of this passion and the oppression that
follows are seen through the entirety of Janes life, the connection between Jane and Bertha
Mason, and the way Jane projects her passion onto Mr. Rochester.
Janes life is the sole focus of the novel, and as such, she is the embodiment of passion,
and is often compared to fire. She is described as a ridge of lighted heath, alive, glancing,
devouring. (ch.4) (Charlotte Bronte Jane Eyre). One such instance in which Jane
broadcasts this passion is while she is attending Lowood school. When Miss Scatcherd writes
something insulting about Helen on a piece of paper and puts in on her head, Jane ran to Helen,
tore it off, and thrust it into the fire (Bront 80). The lack of passion and the fury of which
[Helen] was incapable had been burning in [Janes] soul all day, and tears, hot and large, had
continually been scalding [her] cheeks (80). When Helen refuses to stand up for herself, Jane
feels like she should be the one to defend her. Jane realizes that, because Helen is constantly

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being treated with injustice, she has to take on the anger Helen refuses to show. Although
oppression brings about Janes passion, in some cases, oppression can be a direct cause of ardor,
such as the time when Jane is put into the red room by her aunt, Mrs. Reed, while she is living at
Gateshead Hall. After Jane lashes out at John Reed, she is caught and exhibits "'such a picture of
passion'" (6) that "'Mrs. Reed subjoined: 'Take her away to the red-room and lock her in there'"
(6). The red room is symbolic of the accumulation of cruelty and abuse that Jane has faced in her
life thus far. Immediately upon showing even the slightest bit of disobedience, Jane is locked in a
room locked up tighter than any prison since no jail was ever more secure (9). Another
occurrence is when Jane awakens in the night to see the roll of red eyes and the fearful
blackened inflation of the lineaments (327). This event terrifies her and, as Richard Juplit puts
it, "Jane's personified oppression finally leads to a self-realization of her darker side as Jane
glances into the candle-lit face of Bertha, and vice versa.... Finally, Jane perceives the invisible
bars that Rochester uses to constrain her and sees the part of herself that she needs to set free."
(Juplit). Finally, there is Janes encounter with her enigmatic cousin, St. John Rivers. As she
spends more time with St. John, he acquire[s] a certain influence over [Jane] that took away
[her] liberty of mind (Bront 461). This is especially true when St. John asks Jane to be his wife
and she refuses him because she would be forced to keep the fire of [her] nature continually
low, to compel it to burn inwardly (473). If Jane marries St. John, then his judgement and his
own self-righteous attitude would subdue the one thing that Jane has held close her entire life
her burning passion. She cannot allow that to happen, however, and returns to Mr. Rochester. The
accretion of Janes fiery passion throughout her life proves that she is truly capable of
overcoming any and all oppressive forces that are thrown at her.

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One of the most influential,characters is Bertha Mason, Rochesters attic wife. For ten
years, she has been locked in her own prison at Thornfield Hall. She resembles the person Jane
could become if she accepts her fate and allows her oppression to take control of her life. The
hardships she has endured are shown through her facial features when Rochester takes
everybody up to the attic to meet her: That is my wife...with the red [eye]balls yonder (339).
The many years of oppression completely changes her, eventually turning her into something
that is the antithesis of femininity, as she has grovelled, seemingly, on all fours; [Bertha]
snatched and growled like some strange wild animal (337). In this respect, she is much like the
Hebrew religions original woman, Lilith, who flew away to the edge of the Red Sea to reside
with demons because she refused to be treated as anything less than mans equal (Gilbert and
Gubar). This allusion, coupled with Berthas red eyes, paint a vivid picture of the oppression of
women; likewise, this same suppression is demonstrated through Berthas action when she
attempts to set Rochester on fire. When Jane smells smoke leading towards Rochesters room,
she sees tongues of flame dart[ing] round the bed (Bront 168), and even the curtains were on
fire (168). Right in the middle of this fire, Mr. Rochester lay stretched motionless, in deep
sleep (168). This heated catastrophe is a symbol of the repressed femininity that Bertha feels.
Instead of being treated like a woman should, "Bertha is left without a voice and in place of it is
a growl. Her character depicts the masculine nocturnal beast that wanders Thornfield Hall at
night and hides during the day" (Carpenter). Instead of using her voice, or even her growl, Bertha
must express her growing frustrations with fire. As more of her feminine nature is stripped away,
only to be replaced with man-like and beast-like qualities, she can only enunciate her feelings
through images of irrationality, passion, and imprisonment (Foster 95)" (Carpenter). Events
only escalate further after this incident. After Jane decides to leave Rochester, Bertha burns down

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Thornfield Hall, causing Rochester to go blind. This fire broke out at night, and...the building
was one mass of flames (Bront 494). This final fire is not only an explosion and final end to
Berthas oppression once her passion is released, but an escape from the prison that she was held
captive in for a decade. Instead of living in her pen, Bertha yelled and gave a spring, and the
next minute she lay smashed on the pavement (497). This suicide puts an end to her
helplessness and her isolation, the same thing that caused Lilith to run to the Red Sea (Gilbert
and Gubar). Bertha uses her passion to finally leave the mouth of hell (Bront 339). When it all
comes together, readers can see that Bertha is emblematic of the female subversive desire to
challenge all, something that everyone can appreciate and learn from (Carpenter).
Oppression is seen throughout much of Victorian society, and as such, has had an impact
on Victorian literature and art, such as Paula Regos Come to Me (Figure one). In this image,
created specifically to showcase oppression and passion in Jane Eyre, a woman is locked away
in the red room. This image correlates exactly to Janes emotional turmoil (Charlotte Bronte
Jane Eyre), which makes her so weak that she can barely stand (Charlotte Bronte Jane
Eyre). The red in the background resembles the submissiveness, modesty, [and] selflessness
that all young girls should aspire to have, and the consequences that befall them if they do not.
Jane must face these repercussions after she defies common sense and acts instead on her sense
of passionate injustice, striking her cousin John Reed (To Storm or Fire). The lady in the
painting is old and withered, her femininity taken away from her, just as Bertha Masons is. This,
along with Thomas Hardys Tess of the DUrbervilles help to push forward the red passion in
Jane Eyre. In Thomas Hardy's novel, a young and naive Tess succumbs to the seemingly
harmless Alec DUrberville. In one of the books most famous scenes, Tess gives into temptation
when Alec offers her a red, delicious strawberry and feeds it to her himself: "D'Urberville began

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gathering specimens of the [strawberries] for her, handing them back to her as he stooped.....he
stood up and held it by the stem to her mouth" (Hardy). These
strawberries, emblematic of Alecs passion for Tess, lead to Tesss
oppression, as Alec beds her, causing her to become pregnant and
burdened with a baby that she does not want. She becomes
isolated and unwanted by the men surrounding her until her baby
dies and she leaves her hometown. In both depictions of Victorian
life and oppression, passion becomes an inevitable prison that
cannot easily be broken through.
For the most part, passion leads to oppression, but
considering the fact that "Charlotte Bront's Jane Eyre epitomizes
the spirit of a passionate heroine, desperately trying to reconcile her desire for love", passion can
also be symbolic of love, as perceived through Rochesters burning love for Jane (Vaughon). One
of the first major sightings of Rochesters love for Jane is the night he proposes to her. As
Rochester speaks to Jane, he says, you almost unearthly thingI love you my own flesh
(Bront 293). Soon after his proclamation of love, Rochesters face becomes very much
flushed (293). It is not hard for readers to grasp the love that Rochester feels for Jane in this
scene, nor is it hard to see how he physically expresses his passion through his flushed cheeks.
The next time Rochesters passion pokes its head out is when Jane is leaving him after the secret
of his attic wife is revealed. Just before she walks out of the room, Rochester states that Little
Janes love would have been [his] best reward (368). Soon after, the blood rushed to his face
(368) and forth flashed the fire from his eyes (368). Considering Rochesters desire for Jane to
stay, it is easy to conclude that when it comes to Rochester, red can only mean that he is

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desperately in love with her, especially since he is never cool and dispassionate (350) around
his little darling (347). Considering that a solemn passion is conceived in [Rochesters] heart
[that] draws [Jane] to his centre...wraps [his] existence about [her], and, kindling in pure,
powerful flame, fuses [Jane] and [Rochester] in one, it comes as no surprise that Rochester
would feel determination to keep Jane at his side (363-64). Finally, after a year of separation,
Jane comes back to Rochester and brings him a tray with water [and]...candles (502) to
replace the neglected handful of fire burnt low in the grate (502). Jane makes a better fire
(507), and soon joy dawned on his forehead: his lineaments softened and warmed (507). It is
only through Janes presence and his love for him that restores him to his former self. Jane has
literally restored the flames of passion in his heart just before they burned out on him, and that
type of love cannot be ignored. In the end, JAne and Rochester belong together and there is no
doubting the explosive passion the couple feels for each other.
All in all, passion is always present, whether it be in the form of oppression or love. The
way the motifs of fire and red reflect the Victorian era are incredible, and this connection cannot
be questioned. Through Janes life and Bertha Mason, one cannot help but be outraged at the
treatment women faced in Victorian society for showing even the slightest amount of passion,
and that oppression is thoroughly seen not only in Jane Eyre, but also in todays society with
Paula Regos painting. Readers need not worry too much, for there is one silver lining:
Rochesters love. At the end of the day, the reader can enjoy the fact that Jane finds a way out of
the angel and monster archetypes (Gilbert and Gubar).

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Works Cited
Bront, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. 1847. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2009. Print.
Carpenter, Crystal. Bertha Mason. MixLit. Clark University, 7 Nov. 2013. Web. 1 May
2016. <http://wordpress.clarku.edu/mixlit/bertha/>.
Charlotte Bronte Jane Eyre. http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu. N.p., 1 Dec. 2004.
Web. 2 May 2016.
<http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/jane302.html>.
Gibert, Sandra, and Susan Gubar. The Madwoman in the Attic. 1980. Literary Theory:
An Anthology. Ed. Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan. 2nd ed. Malden: Blackwell
Publishing, 2004. 812-25. Print.
Hardy, Thomas. Tess of the DUrbervilles. 1891. N.p.: n.p., 2016. Kindle file.
Juplit, Richard. The Personification of Oppression Through a Doppelgnger Double.
http://public.wsu.edu. N.p., 7 Feb. 1999. Web. 2 May 2016.
<http://public.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/eyre.doppelganger.html>.
Rego, Paula. Come to Me. 2001-2002. coloured lithograph. Tate Museum.
To Storm or Fire the World Must Fall: An Analysis of Jane Eyre. Archive of Our
Own. N.p., 5 Dec. 2014. Web. 1 May 2016.
<https://archiveofourown.org/works/2723249>.
Vaughon, Wendy. Images of Passion in Jane Eyre. The Victorian Web. Brown
University, 1993. Web. 1 May 2016.
<http://www.victorianweb.org/victorian/authors/bronte/cbronte/61brnt2.html>.