Jane Eyre Characters wjec-eduqas 19th-Century-Prose

Jane Eyre: Characters

The most important thing to remember about characters is that they are usually used to express a writer’s ideas. In Jane Eyre, Brontë’s characters symbolise her views about important aspects of human nature and society. Therefore, it is extremely useful to learn about each character and the way they interact and contrast with each other. This will help you to understand how they represent the central ideas in the novel. 

Below, you will find character profiles of:

Main characters

• Jane Eyre

• Edward Rochester

Other characters

• Mrs Reed

• The Reed children (John, Georgiana and Eliza)

• Mr Brocklehurst

• Helen Burns

• Miss Temple

• Blanche Ingram

• Bertha Mason

• St John Rivers

Jane Eyre

• Jane Eyre is the protagonist of the novel

• The novel is written as her fictional autobiography

• She tells her story in the first person:

  • Every event in the novel is seen from her perspective

  • She gives us a subjective account of her experiences, thoughts and emotions 

• She is the moral centre of the novel:

  • Her views illustrate Brontë’s ideas about social and moral justice

  • Her story suggests that Brontë believes in the power of personal integrity to overcome injustice 

• Jane is presented as:

  • Moral:

    • She speaks out against injustice, even when she is punished for it

    • She is critical of hypocrisy and oppression, such as the regime at Lowood

    • She speaks honestly about her thoughts and feelings

    • She tries to do the right thing, even if it does not make her happy, such as when she leaves Rochester

• Passionate:

  • She often speaks her mind without thinking about the consequences

  • She feels things intensely, even when she does not express her feelings

  • Her attachments to the people she loves are sincere and enduring

• Rational:

  • She understands the limitations of her personal agency

  • She knows that she is plain-looking and socially awkward

  • She is capable of making evidence-based decisions, such as applying for a suitable job when she wants to leave Lowood in Chapter 10

  • She can evaluate situations critically:

  • For example, when she reflects on the lack of opportunities for women in Chapter 12

• Imaginative:

  • She is sustained by her ability to escape into her imagination:

    • She paints pictures based on imaginary scenes and characters

    • She responds positively to the natural world (often referred to as “Nature”) and finds joy in natural beauty

    • She can be frightened by unexplained events, such as the “demoniac” laughter she hears at Thornfield

    • She often perceives a supernatural dimension to her experiences:

      • She “hears” Rochester’s voice calling her, even though he is hundreds of miles away

• Jane is used by Brontë to represent the experience of many women in England during the Victorian era:

  • Her limited personal agency is caused by a lack of meaningful opportunities for women in Brontë’s time

  • Her lack of wealth increases her disadvantages as a woman in a patriarchal society

• Jane also represents the way that independence can be empowering:

  • Her independence of thought and spirit means that she makes the right personal choices

  • Her refusal to take the morally wrong option results in her eventual happiness:

    • Her decision not to become Rochester’s mistress is vindicated when they are reunited

• Her eventual financial independence enables her to make choices that would have been unavailable to her previously

Edward Fairfax Rochester

• In Jane Eyre, Rochester represents romanticism and moral ambiguity:

  • He is outspoken, sincere and passionate

  • He is also deceptive, cruel and arrogant

  • He is honest and direct in his emotional responses to Jane

  • He also conceals vital information about himself

  • He uses his power as a rich man to manipulate and control the people around him:

    • He compels his servants to keep the secret of his imprisoned wife

• In many ways, he is Jane’s opposite and acts as an antagonist in the novel:

  • He disguises himself as a gypsy fortune-teller to trick her into revealing her feelings for him

  • He convinces Jane he is going to marry Blanche Ingram to make her declare her own love for him

  • He acts dishonestly and immorally by concealing the existence of his wife

  • He behaves deceptively in order to provoke a reaction from Jane:

• In other ways, he is Jane’s soulmate and they share a deep affinity:

  • He reflects Jane’s (often unspoken) passionate feelings and responses

  • He is sensitive and reacts honestly to Jane’s views and opinions

  • He values Jane’s innocence, honesty and directness

• He is often described as a “Byronic hero“: 

  • He is moody, intense and often mysterious

  • He has a “dark face, with stern features and a heavy brow”, as described by Jane when she first meets him in Chapter 12

• Brontë uses Rochester to represent the power imbalance between men and women, and between wealthy and poor people:

  • This emphasises her small stature, but also her relative lack of power

  • He is able to imprison his wife and ensure this is kept secret by his servants

  • Jane is his employee and calls him “sir” and “master” throughout the novel

  • He frequently refers to Jane using the adjective “little”: “little girl”; “little nonette (nun)”; “my little wife”:

• Rochester also symbolises the possibility of redemption:

  • Rochester acknowledges that he was “wrong”, and experiences “remorse” and “repentance”

  • He recognises Jane as his moral superior, telling her: “you are my better self – my good angel”

  • The ending of the novel is a happy one for Rochester, demonstrating that perhaps even the worst actions can be redeemed by repentance and good intentions

Other characters

The minor characters in Jane Eyre may only appear for a few pages each, but they are still important. They often move the action along, or enable the main characters to learn something about themselves. Brontë also uses them to express her ideas, just like the main characters.

Mrs Reed

• Mrs Reed is Jane’s aunt and legal guardian, with whom Jane lives until she is ten

• She is consistently unkind and unfair in her treatment of Jane

• Mrs Reed is used by Brontë to represent injustice, which Jane rebels against

John, Georgiana and Eliza Reed

• John, Georgiana and Eliza are Jane’s cousins, who Jane has been brought up with

• They look down on Jane and treat her unfairly

• John Reed bullies Jane “continually”, often violently

• Brontë uses the characters of the Reed children to illustrate how injustice can be normalised within systems like families

Mr Brocklehurst

• Mr Brocklehurst is the manager of Lowood school, where Jane is sent at ten years old

• He is a cruel hypocrite:

  • Jane sees him as a “black pillar”, suggesting his lack of human feeling

• His character is used by Brontë to represent religious hypocrisy:

  • He preaches Christian values like honesty and humility, while benefiting from his position dishonestly

Helen Burns