Characters
J ane Eyre
Jane is the narrator and protagonist of the novel. At the start of the novel Jane is 10
years old, the events of the novel track the next 10 years of her life and the final
chapter of the novel is set a further ten years later so Jane is approximately 30 years
old at the end of the novel.
J ane is a strong willed, plain looking daughter of a poor clergyman. Both of her
parents die while she is still an infant. A cruel aunt rears her to age ten as an
unwanted and inferior member of the family, she then sends her to a charity school,
Lowood Orphan Asylum. Jane spends six years there as a student and two years as a
teacher before accepting a position, at age eighteen, as the governess of the ward of
Edward Rochester at his estate, Thornfield Hall. Jane is intelligent, well educated
(thanks in part to her love of books), industrious, loyal, compassionate, religious and
morally upright, with an independent spirit.
dward Fairfax Rochester (Mr Rochester)
E
Mr. Rochester is Jane’s employer at Thornfield Hall. He is gruff and sometimes an
arrogant and moody employer. He falls in love with Jane, who is about half his age,
and gains her assent to marry him even though he already has a wife (Bertha - who
he keeps in the attic of Thornfield Hall).
rs. Reed
M
Mrs. Reed is Jane's maternal aunt by marriage, who reluctantly adopted Jane in
accordance with her late husband's wishes. Accordingly Mrs. Reed resents Jane as
her late husband pitied her and often cared for her more than for his own children.
Mrs. Reed's resentment leads her to abuse and neglect the girl. She lies to Mr.
Brocklehurst about Jane's tendency to lie, and asks him to be severe with Jane when
she arrives at Lowood School.
oung John Reed
Y
The young John Reed is Jane’s 14 year old cousin (the son of John and Sarah Reed).
He constantly bedevils Jane, reminding her that she is a lowly orphan who does not
deserve to live in the Reed home. He is a cruel and mischievous boy. John eventually
ruins himself as an adult by drinking and gambling, and is rumoured to have
committed suicide.
liza Reed
E
Eliza Reed is Jane’s 13 year old cousin, Like her brother John and Sister Georgiana
she is cruel to Jane. She is envious of her more attractive younger sister (Georgiana)
, nd a slave to rigid routine, she self-righteously devotes herself to religion. She
a
leaves for a nunnery near Lisle after her mother's death, determined to estranged
herself from her sister.
eorgiana Reed
G
Georgiana Reed is Jane’s 11 year old cousin. Like her older siblings John and Eliza she
is also cruel to Jane. Georgiana is beautiful and indulged, she is insolent and spiteful.
Georgiana eventually marries a, "wealthy worn-out man of fashion."
essie Lee
B
Bessie Lee, is the nursemaid at Gateshead. She often treats Jane kindly, telling her
stories and singing her songs, but she has a quick temper.
r. Brocklehurst
M
Mr. Brocklehurst is a clergyman, director, and treasurer of Lowood School, whose
maltreatment of the pupils is eventually exposed. A religious traditionalist, he
advocates for his charges the most harsh, plain, and disciplined possible lifestyle, but
not, hypocritically, for himself and his own family.
iss Temple
M
Miss Temple is the kind superintendent of Lowood School, who treats the pupils with
respect and compassion. She helps clear Jane of Mr. Brocklehurst's false accusation
of deceit and cares for Helen in her last days.
elen Burns
H
Helen Burns is Jane's best friend at Lowood School. She refuses to hate those who
abuse her, trusts in God, and prays for peace one day in heaven. She teaches Jane to
trust Christianity and dies of typhus in Jane's arms. Symbolises tolerance and religion.
dele Varens
A
Adele Varens is an excitable French child to whom Jane is a governess at Thornfield.
Adele's mother was a dancer named Celine. She was Mr. Rochester's mistress and
claimed that Adele was Mr. Rochester's daughter, though he refuses to believe it due
to Celine's unfaithfulness and Adele's apparent lack of resemblance to him. Adele
seems to believe that her mother is dead, Mr Rochester later tells Jane that Celine
actually abandoned Adele and ran away to Italy with a musician or singer. Adele and
Jane develop a strong liking for one another, and although Mr. Rochester places
