A waft of wind came sweeping down the laurel-walk, and trembled through the boughs of the chestnut: it wandered away – away – to an indefinite distance – it died. The nightingale’s song was then the only voice of the hour: in listening to it, I again wept.
– Charlotte Bronte
Jane Eyre, Chapter 23. The wind trembling through the chestnut tree branches and dying off in the distance is a metaphor for Jane’s emotions. Rochester, the man she loves, has just asked her to marry him. But she believes that she must quit Thornfield for a position of governess in Ireland since Rochester is already engaged. The wind and tears foreshadow a troubled relationship ahead that will cause pain.