Jane Eyre

Character Guide

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Jane Eyre

An orphaned, plain, passionate girl raised unwillingly by her aunt, later a pupil and teacher at Lowood School and then a governess. She narrates the novel in first person and is defined by her fierce sense of justice and independence despite her powerless social position.

Mrs. Reed

Jane's wealthy aunt by marriage at Gateshead Hall, who dislikes and mistreats Jane, favoring her own children.

John, Eliza, and Georgiana Reed

Mrs. Reed's children and Jane's cousins, who bully or ignore Jane during her childhood at Gateshead.

Bessie

A servant at Gateshead who is sometimes kind to Jane amid the household's general coldness.

Mr. Brocklehurst

The severe, hypocritical clergyman who runs Lowood Institution on principles of harsh deprivation while living comfortably himself.

Helen Burns

Jane's friend at Lowood, a devout and patient girl whose philosophy of Christian endurance contrasts with Jane's more rebellious nature.

Miss Temple

A kind, fair-minded teacher and later superintendent at Lowood who treats Jane and Helen with warmth and respect.

Mrs. Fairfax

The elderly housekeeper at Thornfield Hall who welcomes Jane when she arrives as governess and knows little about her employer's private history.

Adèle Varens

A lively young French girl who is Jane's pupil at Thornfield, described as Mr. Rochester's ward.

Mr. Rochester (Edward Fairfax Rochester)

The brooding, blunt-mannered master of Thornfield Hall who employs Jane as governess and engages her in unusual, probing conversations about his character and past.

Glossary

Governess

A woman employed to educate children in a private household, occupying an ambiguous social rank—above a servant but below the family, which shapes Jane's precarious position at Thornfield.

Ward

A minor placed under the legal care of a guardian; Adèle is described as Mr. Rochester's ward, meaning he is financially and legally responsible for her upbringing.

Incumbent

The clergyman holding a specific church position or parish, used to describe Mrs. Fairfax's late husband's role at Hay.

Annuity

A fixed sum of money paid to someone annually, often for life; Rochester settles one on Mrs. Fairfax after sending her away.

D.V.

Abbreviation of the Latin 'Deo Volente' ('God willing'), used parenthetically by Jane when speaking of future plans.

Resurgam

Latin for 'I shall rise again,' the word carved on Helen Burns's grave, expressing Christian hope of resurrection.

Ostler

A stableman at an inn who looks after travelers' horses, mentioned when Jane leaves her belongings at the George Inn.

Camel-hair pencils

Fine paintbrushes made from soft hair (traditionally squirrel, called 'camel-hair' by convention), used by Jane for delicate portrait painting.

Bonne

French term for a nursemaid or nanny, used to describe Adèle's attendant Sophie.

Phlegmatic

Calm, unemotional, and slow to react; used to describe the placid temperament of servants like Mary and John at Rochester's remote house.

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