ent of character, it is most significantly used to convey the various themes and concerns of the novel. As shown earlier, Rochester brings out the passionate side of Jane and encourages her to feel these passions, with some disregard for reason and thought. He appeals greatly to her sense of passion and romantic side. Bront, in fact, uses fire and water imagery, in the person of Bertha Mason, to show the potential dangers of allowing only passion to rule uncontrolled. Bertha represents unleashed, untamed passion, without any reason or control. When she goes to Rochester's room the night before his departure to the Leas, she torches his bed and curtains. The destructive image which is presented to the reader is designed to make the reader appreciate the grave danger of uncontrolled passion; also, the idea of Rochester, who is still erring by not controlling his passions, is reinforced - "in the midst of blaze and vapour, Rochester lay stretched motionless, in deep sleep". This is effective as Rochester is indeed oblivious to the fact that he is allowing his passions to rule untamed. "In the midst" of his passion, he fails to recognise that he has not truly acknowledged Jane as an equal by keeping the truth about Bertha from her. Jane's act of dousing the flames with water is significant, also - she must learn to control her passions as well. Later when she decides that she cannot marry Rochester, she in fact repeats this action of dousing the flames of passion, as she is making a choice to seek reason and control. Jane's words, "get up, do, you are quenched now", remind one of countless biblical references, where Jesus Christ commanded the people he healed to "get up and walk". Jane, by pouring the water of reason and control on Rochester, must heal him of this passionate nature. And she does, too, as seen in her strict adherence to social bonds, by refusing to be Rochester's mistress. He initially cannot understand this, himself being r...
