Oppositional Conflict in "Jane Eyre"

Paper Summary:

In Bronte's "Jane Eyre", the characters Rochester and St. John Rivers represent the nature of oppositional conflict, as they affect its protagonist and narrator. Looking further at these characters, this paper reveals that we must look at Bronte's perspective through theories of narrative growth and character progression that temper her observations of secondary characters such as Rochester and St. John Rivers. The paper shows that Rochester represents an inquisitive side of Jane's imagination in the earlier part of the novel ,and his passionate nature reveals the story's secret after Jane is delivered, as it were, by St. John Rivers, who feeds and clothes her after she flees Thornfield House. Rochester and St. John Rivers work as sort of oppositional poles to the narrator in a confusing experience that involves preconceptions and mysteries about both men that she alternately seeks to
understand imaginatively and logically.

From the Paper:

"A common theme to be found in Jane Eyre is that of fire. This represents an uncontrollable and powerful force that is capable of providing both warmth and destruction. Jane describes Rochester in terms of fire after she is won over by his friendly and frank manner: "gratitude" made his face the object I best liked to see; his
presence in a room was more cheering than the brightest fire (Bronte, p. 166). Fire is used to represent both destructive, scandalous passion and comfort in the novel. As a positive and self-determined female, Jane is able to differentiate from among many different kinds of metaphorical fire, seeking comfort without being burned. Others are
not so lucky: "master had been reading in his bed last night; he fell asleep with his candle lit, and the curtains got of fire" (Bronte, p. 176)."

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