"Red Skies at Night"

Bear with me here, people, this will get twisty:

But today my mind has been bent around some great ideas that were brought to me by various bloggers [thank you!] and I am now reeling (and in one case swooning) all over again.

First, I visited (r)Evolutionary (neofauvist) Art, where Cristian René started out talking about a beautiful sunset he saw last night. Here in Philly, we also had a spectacular evening sky, sorta "Red Skies at Night." He made a beautiful picture, and then quoted Byron. Here's the poem:

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods
from Childe Harold, Canto iv, Verse 178

THERE is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the Universe, and feel
What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal.

- Lord Byron

Which immediately made me think of my most favorite Byronic Hero - Mr. Edward Rochester. What a dream-boat, especially as played by Toby Stephens (in the BBC 2006 version). [sigh]

I just want you all to know that I am not alone in adoring Mr. Rochester. I guess, (from this article) Charlotte Bronte was a huge fan of Byron's and so created Mr. Rochester as an homage. It says, "Jane Eyre is no ordinary romance, and it seems in keeping with the novel's gothic atmosphere that its hero should be decidedly Byronic."

And after reading Pruned, again this morning, I think that a there's an added dimension to Jane's character, that I never really saw before, or at least couldn't put into words. But I just learned this new word today: Phytoremediation.

Phytoremediation is a general term used to describe various mechanisms by which living plants alter the chemical composition of the soil matrix in which they are growing. Essentially, it is the use of green plants to clean-up contaminated soils, sediments, or water. The word "phytoremediation" is from the Greek prefix phyto- meaning "plant" and the Latin root word remidium- meaning "to correct or remove an evil". In soil, the "evil" could be anthropogenic (man-made) contaminants such as organic solvents, heavy metals, pesticides, or radionuclides.

Jane is "planted," by chance in Thornfield, a cold, barren place, (the name says it all!) and brings warmth and love to Rochester. She draws out the poison, the evil, and allows Mr. Rochester to be free of the horrors of his past. [The plant's name is "pennycress," isn't that appropes for Jane Eyre??]

Still with me? Yeah, it's a stretch, but it's what's rolling around in my head today.