As narrator, Lucy Snowe frequently uses animal imagery, to describe other people. The frivolous and vain Ginevra Fanshawe is initially likened to a “hummingbird” and a “butterfly”, but as Lucy grows less tolerant towards her, she is presented as a “mealy-winged moth”. Polly, perching on the end of her bed, is described as a “white bird”, although Lucy also thinks of her as possessing the “supple softness” and “velvet grace” of a kitten. Mme. Beck's furtive ways are compared to those of a “cat”, but Lucy will later say that she is as “strict as a dragon”. The bestial qualities ascribed to these characters give a sense of Lucy’s true feelings towards them as well as being indicative of her affinity with nature.
Throughout the course of the novel it is a common to find that Lucy is more at home with than people. In the first half of the novel, images of nature are frequently employed to emphasize Lucy's solitude; indeed is seems that Lucy’s bonds with nature provide her with much more strength than those she makes with people. After the death of Miss Marchmont, sees the Aurora Borealis, the “solemn stranger” which will give Lucy “new power” from which she is able to draw in energy. Later on in the work, Lucy will linger in the garden of the pensionnat to keep tryst with the moon, or to “taste one kiss of the evening breeze or fancy rather than feel the freshness of dew descending.” It seems that as Lucy's relationship with M. Paul develops, her association with nature becomes less pronounced. She begins to mature emotionally, and begins to seek strength from within herself, rather that from the world around her. It is ironic, however, that when she does finally find love, it is taken away by a violent tempest. What once had the power to give her so much took, was, in the end, to take away a source of happiness for her.
Images of fire also important in Villette. They are not destructive; rather they are representative of passion and vigor, and association with them becomes more pronounced as the novel unfolds. Early on in the work fire is directly associated with life, as, on the verge of death Miss Marchmont suddenly awakes and “The fire, which had been burning dead, glowed up vividly.” These images are also important for exploring Lucy’s inner feelings. She occasionally sees a “fire” in herself, but states by “the next day I was again Lucy Snowe.” When Lucy finds herself alone in the pensionnat it is very dark except for “the red light shining under and about the stove.” These suppressed flames and heat seem eager to be free; like Lucy, they are a restrained inner power. Perhaps most important is the fire which M.Paul kindles inside Lucy. He is described as a “fiery little man”, and he forces Lucy to take steps which she previously never would have dreamed. He persuades Lucy to act in the school play, and her excitement prior to performing seems to be reflected in the sky: she sees that “Heaven was cloudless, and grand with the quiver of its living fires.”
