Jane Eyre & Trees
I read Jane Eyre in 11th grade and started picking up on very notable symbolism to wood and trees. This is not surprising given that nature is often of significance in literature. There was a Mr. Wood, and several mentions of a chestnut tree representative of the love between Jane and Mr. Rochester. I began underlining each tree reference in the book once I picked up on this thread, hoping to understand what was Miss Bronte was trying to say with these trees and maybe unpack them in an English paper. This exploration, however, was never fully realized.
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë, page 291
Fast forward four years later where I ran in the "wild" section of Corolla, NC and found, among many others, this stump pictured above. In addition to my general confusion about how this stump (not driftwood or rootless logs) arrived on the NC coast, the tree "intrigue" from eleventh grade resurfaced. There was something poetic about this find without me being an author creating the symbolism for readers. I was underlining this experience. As the reader here, how was I to unpack what I am reading visually?
This stump to me represents an irony of life. Roots are meant to bring water from the ground through the trunk to the rest of a tree to give life. These stumps, roots in tact, are literally swimming in water, on the edge of an ocean, but yet it is dead. Despite the best efforts of the root life-savers, it could not revive the now stump to the former glory of a tree. It reminds me of the vain efforts we go to in order to preserve our lives, soaking up whatever life source we think will sustain us, only to find out we are completely misunderstanding. Ezekiel has a lot to say about trees in Chapter 31 of his prophetic book. The chapter includes cedars of Lebanon, fir trees, plane trees, and all the trees in Eden. He writes about the fall of Assyria as compared to a great tree being cut down by an axe:
"It was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches; for its roots went down to abundant waters...all the peoples of the earth have gone away from its shadow and left it."
Ezekiel 31:7
Since this time, I have tried to understand more fully what scripture means with the use of different trees. Now, instead of underlining in Jane Eyre, I note each mention of trees in my daily time in the Bible to unpack what nature says about life, as revealed in trees. I'm no arborist, but after gathering tree data since high school, I am ready to start doing something with it! I've been noting different species of tree with reference to where the Bible mentions it and what the general context is. I am positive there is a database query one could run to get all mentions of anything like "tree", but I like having paper (a derivative of trees!) to take my pen to for this.
Journal Entry
Journal of tree references in the Bible
I'll be beginning a series of pen and ink, 4x6, drawings of trees of scripture. Eventually as I learn more about these trees, they will probably develop in conceptual weight, but for now, it's helpful to capture physical form to cross reference with literary mentions. I will be selling these on my store page as I add inventory. In addition, this thread is the motivation behind my Rooted and Established sketch.
Shot of 5 pen and ink drawings
If you have read books with symbolic trees, or have other thoughts, please share in the comments below!