Charlotte Bronte uses settings to represent relationships and to interconnect events throughout the novel. Thornfield is the primary setting because it is in the middle of the plot and it attributes "structural unity" to the novel (Napierkowski 172). Thornfield is the ideal home for Jane in that every other place she has ever or will ever reside in is subject to comparison to the mansion. Moor House is Thornfield's "antithesis" because Moor House is a place where Jane is cared for, whereas in Thornfield, she is one of the caretakers of A

Trees and orchards are remarkably significant symbols of Jane and Rochester's relationship. When Jane and Rochester first acknowledge their love for one another, they are sitting amongst the trees in the orchard at Thornfield, and it is here that Rochester proposes to Jane. The fact that Rochester proposes in the orchard is significant because it represents "the idea of the coming to fruition of their love, the conception of a Garden of Eden..." (Sherry 67). From that moment forward, Jane is very much in love with Edmund Rochester. Before their parting from the orchard, however, lightning strikes a nearby chestnut tree, splits it in half, and burns it. The splitting and subsequent charring of the tree foreshadows "the inevitable parting of the lovers" (Chase 50). The chestnut tree also foreshadows Rochester's "mutilation" (Brophy 77). The lightning splits the chestnut tree by means of fire, and Rochester's limb is lost because of his actions during the burning of Thornfield. Just as the orchard at Thornfield was ever present, the trees at Ferndean (Rochester's other residence) are of great importance. The house itself is "hidden by the 'thick and dark...timber...of the gloomy wood about it'" (Napierkowski 174). The trees at Ferndean are important because they represent Jane and Rochester's relationship, and without the trees, their relationship would not be the same. The trees assist them with communication. This becomes evident when Rochester tells Jane about his blindness. Rochester says that, with his blindness and lost limb, he is "no better than the old lightning-struck chestnut tree in Thornfield orchard;" Jane reassures him that he is "green and vigorous" and "plants will grow about [his] roots...because [his] strength offers them so safe a prop" (Napierkowski 174). Jane uses Rochester as a prop in the sense that she needs him to feel loved, thus, Jane and Rochester have an extremely complex relationship.

In the novel Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte cleverly compares and contrasts characters and settings to thicken the plot. Jane's daunting childhood is a tool that enables Bronte to depict Thronfield with great vividness. Because St. John Rivers and Edmund Rochester are so different, it is easy for Jane to decide whom she will marry. Bronte eloquently uses the technique of foreshadowing events that are to occur in Jane Eyre, however, she did not predict the success of the novel.

Bronte uses images of fire and ice to contrast the characters of Rochester and St. John Rivers. According to Eric Solomon, "[Jane's] love must find a middle way between the flames of passion and the waters of pure reason" (74). Jane, torn between Rochester and St. John Rivers, must decide whom she loves the most; this task should be relatively simple to overcome since Rochester and St. John are opposites (Solomon 73). Jane attempts to fulfill the love she lost during her childhood in her adult relationships (Ashe 180-1). Because St. John "is frozen over with 'an ice of reserve'," Jane tends to distance herself from him because his icy demeanor reminds her of Aunt Reed (Solomon 73-4). St. John also reminds Jane of Mr. Brockelhusrt because

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Approximate Word count = 2139
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)