Burning flames, conflagration, burning. Fire imagery has long been linked to power and passion. Fire can cause complete obliteration, but can also forge a new beginning where only the scattered ashes of the past remain. The symbolic motif of fire features prominently in many works of great literature, including Charlotte Brontë's canonical Jane Eyre and Jean Rhys's revised Wide Sargasso Sea. Fire actually works in reverse in these two novels, representing creation in Jane Eyre and symbolizing destruction in Wide Sargasso Sea. In this article I will analyze the fire lit in Mr. Rochester's bed in Jane Eyre and the burning of Coulibri in Wide Sargasso Sea, two key scenes centered schematically around the plot of fire. Although they serve seemingly opposing metaphorical capacities, these two moments reveal key symbolic themes at the heart of their respective plots. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Jane's rescue of Rochester from his burning bed contrasts supernatural and evil forces with the holy will of God and highlights an interpretation of Jane as Rochester's sacred savior from his tainted past. Rochester first views Jane as an elf, an otherworldly creature, represented here when his first response to her presence is to call her “witch, witch” (Brontë, 169). However, Jane is not the witch he first imagines, as she herself has already commented on an evil presence by describing "a demonic laugh", an "unnatural sound", and wonders if Grace Poole, who she suspects of being the author of the crime, of the fire, is “possessed by a devil” (Brontë, 168). However, Mr. Rochester soon realizes that Jane is not the incarnation of the evil source that "plotted to drown" him. Rather, she represents a higher, holier influence that essentially saves him from the demonic influence of his first wife, who attempted to murder him using fire, an image intrinsically linked to demons. However, the fire only succeeds in symbolically killing any connection to Rochester's past with her, allowing Jane to be seen in the role of a sacred savior. Brontë presents Jane's heroic act in a highly religious light, describing how she put out the fire and "baptized the couch" with "the help of God" (Brontë, 168), and later, Jane implored Rochester to get out of bed “in the name of heaven”. (Brontë, 169). Through the fire and rescue, Rochester realizes that Jane is, in fact, his “cherished protector” (Brontë, 171) rather than an unnatural creature. This serves to represent Jane as the savior who can put out the fire. sinful fire from his past with his first wife, which depicts her, and ultimately their relationship, in a holy and reverential manner. In addition to sanctifying Jane's role as Rochester's savior, the fire demonstrates how Jane's persistent, unapologetic agency allows her to play this role. Jane is a quick thinker and doer, and her saving Rochester from his burning bed highlights this ability to act, in contrast to Rochester's passivity and inactivity, where Rochester "lay still, in a sleep deep ". in his bed because “the smoke had stunned him” (Brontë, 168). Being stunned and still suggests that he is immobilized, perhaps unable to move on from the sin of his past. On the other hand, strongly objecting to Rochester's immobility, Jane is in the room working to put out the fire "in an instant" (Brontë, 168). All his actions, such as "rushing", "lifting", "flying", "throw” and “run”, emphasize the rapid action and force she employs in this intense moment, which allow her to conquer the equally rapid and powerful force of fire. Through her actions, she “awakens” (Brontë, 169) and saves Mr. Rochester. This scene foreshadows his later success in healing Mr. Rochester both emotionally and physically after he is left alone and disabled at the end of the novel. Despite the danger and destructive nature of the fire, it allows Jane to show her bravery and perseverance to save Rochester. It enables the creation of their relationship, literally functioning as the spark that ignites the passion of their affection. Jean Rhys refocuses the symbolic function of fire from that of creator to that of destroyer in Wide Sargasso Sea, the story of the madwoman who causes the major fires of Jane Eyre. Unlike Brontë's novel, the crucial fire scene in Rhys's story betrays a complete lack of action among the characters, mainly because of their inability to see or hear. At first, the characters try to believe that they are in control of the situation and that the rebellious slaves cause “no reason for alarm,” as Mr. Mason tries to assure himself (Rhys, 38). However, as Aunt Cora soon realizes: "This place is going to burn like tinder and there's nothing we can do to stop it" (Rhys, 40). Unlike Jane, these characters do not have the ability and means to avoid destruction by fire. The fire invades Antoinette so much that she cannot see her mother: “I didn't see her, just smoke” (Rhys, 39 years old). Visual terms dominate this section, as there are a total of thirty forms of “look,” “see,” or other references to the visual, such as “recognize,” “look,” and “eyes.” Yet this preoccupation with the visual is largely a matter of not seeing. Antoinette mentions a few times how she closes her eyes, refusing to see the horror that transpires. Her aunt Cora encourages this effort by saying, “Don’t look… Don’t look,” to which Antoinette “hides” her face (Rhys, 43). Even the image of his dying and injured brother focuses on a description of the visual, as “his eyes were rolled so that only the whites could be seen” (Rhys, 39). Yet even when Antoinette tried to see, she “didn't recognize anyone” among the indigenous blacks because “they all looked the same, it was the same face repeated over and over” (Rhys, 42). In a novel characterized by the inability of characters to communicate effectively with each other, the inability to see within the contextual framework of the fire is representative of the inevitable destruction of any relationship. Yet this quote should also be read as the inability of his white family members to view black people as possessing any individuality or subjectivity, which ultimately leads to the breakdown of their own societal institutions. This fire scene brings to the forefront the destruction of all people. notion of white superiority among Masons and Cosways, and the idea that baseness of character transcends racial difference. The institution of marriage is symbolically devastated when Antoinette's mother, Annette, wrings her hands and "her wedding ring falls and rolls into a corner by the steps" (Rhys, 39). Although Mr. Mason and the servant Mannie both attempt to retrieve it, their efforts are thwarted when they realize that the back of the house is in flames. The wedding ring is the physical object that best encapsulates the idea of ​​marriage, and its loss symbolizes the loss of the institution of marriage. Marriage, and its association with monogamy, is often seen as one of the lines of distinction between man and beast. The loss..