"'Jane, be still; don't struggle so like a wild, frantic bird, that is rending its own plumage in its desperation.'
'I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will; which I now exert to leave you.'"
- Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
Jane and Mr Rochester are discussing the matter of marriage. Rochester has just informed the former that he shall be marrying Miss Ingram, and so Jane must soon leave Thornfield. This leads Jane to reveal her feelings for Rochester, who now attempts to propose to her instead. However, Jane is now resolved to leave Thornfield, believing Rochester to be mocking her and finding it incapable to bear him marrying another woman.
This conversation takes place at night, below a chestnut tree in Thornfield's grounds. Much has been made of the greenery and life around, such as the moth that serves as the instigator for the interaction. The garden is alive, but as the conversation progresses Brontë focuses solely on the dialogue, with little description of the surrounding environment. This serves to heighten the intensity of the emotions and depth of feelings being discussed, as their surroundings are effectively "blocked out".
Only two things break through this intensity, and even more focus is placed on them by virtue of the relative silence that preceded them: the nightingale (quite literally interrupting Jane at one point) and the storm, and it is no accident that they do.
Jane first hears the nightingale when she is walking alone in the garden. She does not comment on it, but it is there, making up the fabric of Thornfield with its song. The second time we hear of it, Rochester interrupts Jane to instruct her to listen to it, and she weeps. This is during the discussion of her leaving Thornfield, and we can take Jane's response as a suggestion that the nightingale has become a representation of Thornfield, Mr Rochester, Adele and everything that she would lose. The third and final time comes after the two have reversed opinions on the matter, yet the nightingale still makes Jane weep, affirming to us that Jane doesn't really want to leave Thornfield, especially as Rochester is now trying to make her stay - it is only out of necessity for her.
The nightingale represents Thornfield, and in this quote, Jane is likened to a bird, in a simile put upon her by Rochester. On one level, this serves to strengthen their reversed points of view - Rochester sees her as the nightingale, as belonging in Thornfield, whereas Jane, needing to leave, actively defies this notion by refusing the simile.
This simile is also relevant on a more thematic level of characterisation, relating to the plight of Jane's autonomy. Bird motifs in literature are often connected with the dichotomy of confinement vs liberty: either feeling trapped, like a bird in a cage, or free, like a bird on the wing. After having been trapped throughout the novel, with her family and at school, when Rochester offers her this role of a desperate bird*, Jane rejects the dichotomy outright, defining herself as a "free human being with an independent will". This is some great character development from:
“to gain some real affection from you [Helen], or Miss Temple, or any other whom I truly love, I would willingly submit to have the bone of my arm broken, or to let a bull toss me, or to stand behind a kicking horse, and let it dash its hoof at my chest”
Jane's future independence, personally and financially, is thus foreshadowed by the steps she takes in this moment.
The storm serves to elevate the atmosphere. It only kicks in after Jane's acceptance of Rochester's marriage proposal - as Jane's situation has changed, so has the natural world. However, a storm isn't exactly a cheery sort of weather, and in this way Brontë foreshadows the literal turbulence of Jane's future, caused by her association with Mr Rochester.
Adele informs us that a chestnut tree had been struck by lightning in the middle of the night, and split in two. While it is not confirmed to be the same tree, we remember that Jane and Rochester had been sitting under a chestnut tree the night before. This could symbolise many things - a new beginning, an omen for their relationship, the end of Jane's confinement, the future split of Jane from Thornfield, etc. etc. Whatever way it is read it can be significant.
*before this, Rochester is the one who points out the nightingale. This potentially shows him to be more in control of the situation, as he has a "broader perspective" (he is able to focus on the conversation as well as the song, perhaps indicating that this conversation doesn't carry as much weight for him as it does Jane). Thus Jane's subversion of this power dynamic in her defiance of the bird simile only highlights the growth of her autonomy.
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