Descending the laurel walk I faced the wreck of the chestnut-tree; it stood up, black and riven: the trunk, split down the centre, gasped ghastly. The cloven halves were not broken from each other, for the firm base and strong roots kept them unsundered below; though the community of vitality was destroyed – the sap could flow no more: their great boughs on each side were dead, and next winter’s tempests would be sure to fell one or both to earth: as yet, however, they might be said to form one tree – a ruin, but an entire ruin.
– Charlotte Bronte
Jane Eyre, Chapter 25. On the day of her wedding Jane revisits the chestnut tree, which has been split in two by a lightning storm the night before. The tree is a symbol of her and Mr. Rochester’s relationship, it is a ruin and their relationship will soon be also. Like the tree, they will break apart and endure hardship and rocky times. But just as the tree’s strong base and roots keep the broken halves from being completely sundered, Jane and Rochester’s will eventually bring them back together.